Jane Austen: Writer in the World

Written to commemorate two hundred years since the death of Jane Austen in 1817, Jane Austen: writer in the world edited by Kathryn Sutherland, discusses the status of Jane Austen's writing during that time. The book consists of a series of chapters by different writers who evaluate aspects of Jane Austen's life and work based on artifacts held in special collections and museums.

The first section concerns life in Georgian England and has chapters discussing Jane Austen's early, unpublished work, the importance of music in Georgian society, costume - including a pelisse-coat once owned by Jane Austen, plus the art of letter writing and the importance of correspondence in telling Jane's story. Section two, the Novelist in the World, has chapters on women writing during the time of war (particularly the Napoleonic wars), how Jane Austen wrote her books and a study of novels in 1817. Jane Austen Imagined investigates the few possible portraits of Jane Austen while the last chapter looks at the significance of Jane Austen's legacy after two hundred years, not just in England but throughout the world.

Jane Austen: writer in the world provides interesting background material for those interested in the novels of Jane Austen and life in Regency England. Each chapter contains photographs and illustrations of objects and artwork relating to the content. There area detailed notes for each chapter plus a list of other relevant books and an index.

Jane Austen's Bookshelf: the women writers who shaped a legend

American rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney, provides an insight into the work of female authors whose books were probably read by Jane Austen (1775-1817). Jane Austen is celebrated as an author of novels set in Regency England but there were a number of other female authors who were respected writers for a time. Why did Jane Austen become even more popular over time while the work of other female authors has largely been forgotten?

 In Jane Austen's Bookshelf, Rebecca Romney looks at the work of female authors who are mentioned in the work of Jane Austen or in Jane Austen's correspondence or who may have written books read by Jane Austen. These authors are Frances Burney (1752-1840), Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), Charlotte Lennox (c1729-1804), Hannah More (1745-1833), Charlotte Smith (1749-1806), Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821), Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (1741-1821) and Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849).

This book provides an overview of fiction written by female authors during the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The author provides an overview of the struggles faced by women to have their work published and read by the general public. Jane Austen was known to be an avid reader and would have read the works of fellow female authors. Careful reading of Jane Austen's work at time shows where she has been influenced by writers of fiction popular at the time.

Rebecca Romney set out to recreate a library of books that Jane Austen would have read. She not only collected fiction titles of the time but also works that discuss individual writers and their works. An appendix contains detailed descriptions of some of the works mentioned in this book. There is also a bibliography and detailed list of notes. There is some repetition in this work but overall  it provides an informative and important insight into the development and influence of the work of female authors.

The Jane Austen Remedy

The Jane Austen Remedy is the memoir of Ruth Wilson who at the age of seventy decided to leave her family and spend time on her own in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. A lover of reading, especially the novels of Jane Austen which she had been reading and rereading since the 1940s, Ruth hoped that spending the time to reread these books again, explore the characters and look critically at what Jane Austen is saying may help her to reflect upon her own life and the issues she currently faced.

As well as discussing the works of of Jane Austen and what information we have about the author herself, Ruth also refers to other works of literature which have left an impression on her life. The books cause Ruth to reflect upon her life and why choices were made. As she rereads these books, she gradually comes to an understanding of why she feels the way that she does about life and relationships and how she can adapt to relate to people better but also maintain her independence.

Eventually the decision is made to move back to Sydney after she reconnects with her husband and the decision is made that Ruth and her husband should live apart together. Ruth decides to return to her studies and at the age of eighty-eight graduated from The University of Sydney with a PhD based on a study of the empathy in the works of Jane Austen.

Miss Austen

Cassandra Austen (Cassy) was the elder sister of the eighteenth century author, Jane Austen and therefore officially had the title Miss Austen. The two sisters never married and shared a close relationship living in a variety of locations in England after the death of their father. After Jane died in 1817 it is known that Cassy located and destroyed much of the correspondence written by and to Jane, especially any letters that may be misinterpreted and possibly damage Jane's reputation.

In Miss Austen by Gill Hornby the author provides a fictional account of how and why Cassy may have done this. The focus of the story is very much on Cassy though it does show the relationship between the two sisters and other family members and friends. The novel also provides a social history of village life in the first half of the eighteenth century as it focusses on the challenges of unmarried women, especially older women. Themes from some of Jane Austen's novels can also be noted as the story unfolds. Miss Austen would be enjoyed by readers who enjoy reading the novels of Jane Austen and works about the life of the novelist.

In the front of the book is a useful list of members of the Austen family and their extended family, most of whom appear in this novel.

The Jane Austen Society

In her book, Why Women Read Fiction, Helen Taylor includes a chapter about two books - Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre - that constantly appear as favourute books when women are quizzed about their reading. In the chapter she discusses the legacy of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, the enduring appeal of their work, reinterpretations and sequels of the novels, adaptions in other media plus the drawing power of locations associated with the authors.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner is one of the many novels that involve a connection to the work of English author, Jane Austen, as a key focus of the plot. This novel begins before the Second World War but mainly concentrates on the years immediately after the war.

The village of Chawton is the location for the book and the story concerns a group of residents who band together to try and protect the cottage which was once the home of the author. Love of the novels of Jane Austen is the link that brings together the initial eight members of the Jane Austen Society.  As the story develops we learn of the private problems and challenges individually faced by the characters but the friendships developed as they pursue their goal help them to readjust to life after the war.

There are frequent discussions about Jane Austen's novels including drawing parallels as to how the characters in the books might react to situations faced by the characters in the story. Discussions about favourite books and characters made me want to reread the Jane Austen novels. This book provides an enjoyable reading experience for the many people who enjoy reading the novels of Jane Austen.

This is a work of fiction and notes at the end of the book provide information about the actual establishment of the Jane Austen Society.

Jane Austen Society of the United Kingdom

There are Jane Austen Societies throughout the world including The Jane Austen Society of Australia and The Jane Austen Society of Melbourne.

Jane in love

Jane Austen is well known and loved for six novels written in the early nineteenth century - Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park.

Over the years many re-imaginings of these books have been created especially in film and on television (a new version of Emma is currently in Australian cinemas), but also as new interpretations or extensions of the stories in works by a variety of authors such as Death comes to Pemberley by P D James.  Seth Graeme-Smith even produced a book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (also made into a film). The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler is a novel based around the lives of of six people who regularly meet to discuss the works of Jane Austen.

There is also a wealth of non-fiction based on Jane Austen's life and work. A few examples that I have read include A Dance with Jane Austen by Susanah Fullerton, A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 reasons why we cannot stop reading Jane Austen edited by Susannah Carson and Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence.

The Age (Spectrum) 15 February 2020 page 22 reviewed four new novels influenced by the writing of Jane Austen or aspects of her life - The Clergyman's Wife by Molly Greenly (Charlotte Lucas- life after marrying Mr Collins); The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow (Mary from Pride and Prejudice); Miss Austen by Gill Hornby (Cassandra Austen) and Jane in Love by Rachel Givney. There is also a new book on Regency clothing - Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion by Hilary Davidson.

In Jane in Love, the author supposes what might happen if, in 1803, a 28 year old Jane (who looks as if she will be a spinster all her life and is consequently strongly encouraged by family members to find a partner to marry) actually visits a dubious marriage counsellor to find true love. When she finds herself transported to moderen day Bath Jane is amazed by her new surroundings and the technology of the 21st century. She forms friendships with Sofia Wentworth, an actress involved in the making of a film version of Persuasion, and her brother Fred. In this modern Bath, Jane is surprised to learn that she has written six novels which are read and studied and that there are museums created to record her life and work. However as Jane acclimatises to this modern world she discovers that reference to her works and former life is disappearing resulting in the need to decide whether to stay in the 21st century with her new friends or return home to salvage her literary career.

This entertaining book by Rachel Givney will be enjoyed by many readers of Jane Austen's fiction and the world she has created.

Review: Jane in Love- on choosing the heart or the pen Better Reading 11 February 2020

The Jane Austen Book Club

Recently I completed the FutureLearn course - Jane Austen: Myth, Reality and Global Celebrity. In the discussion a book that was often mentioned in the discussion list was The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.

The plot involves a group of six people in California who decide to meet once a month to discuss one of Jane Austen's novels. The participants are a mixed group who we gradually meet and learn of their back stories. Bernadette is the oldest member of the group at 67, Jocelyn and Sylvia had met at a camp when they were 11, Allegra is Sylvia's daughter, Prudie is a 28 year old French teacher while the token male of the group is Grigg, aged about 40 who met Jocelyn at a hotel when she was attending a dog show and he was attending a science fiction convention.

Each month the meeting is held at the home of a book club member and although we learn of the opinions of individual members about about Jane Austen's writing, the plots of the books and the characters, much of this book is spent exploring the lives of the individual readers. Consequently, as the months go by, we learn of the complicated relationships of and between some of the book club members.

At the end of the book there is a brief summary of the plot of the six Jane Austen novels discussed at each meeting,  a collection of comments made by Jane Austen's family and friends about Mansfield Park and Emma, plus a list of chronological comments about Jane Austen's books made by critics and other writers.

A Dance with Jane Austen

This book is a gem. Susannah Fullerton has written A dance with Jane Austen; how a novelist and her characters went to the Ball.

Anyone who has read a Jane Austen novel will know how the characters enjoyed dancing. Apparently this enjoyment was shared by the Jane Austen and in this book Susannah Fullerton uses excerpts from Jane Austen's correspondence as well as examples from her books to explore customs relating to dance in Regency England.

Topics include chapters on learning to dance, choosing appropriate clothes for the occasion, means of transport to and from balls, Assembly balls, private balls, the etiquette of the ballroom, dancing and music, supper, conversation and courtship and men in the ballroom. There is also a section on how dance is used in Jane Austen films.

This well illustrated book is a useful companion to the works of Jane Austen and for those wanting to know more about the Regency period.

Becoming Jane Austen

 

On a visit to Bath last August we visited the Jane Austen Centre where we learned about Jane's life in Bath from 1801 to 1806. Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence explores how events in Jane Austen's life affected the writing of her novels. 

Exploring diaries and correspondence the book provides great detail about Jane's life providing readers with a greater understanding of this nineteenth century author and her well loved books.

Death comes to Pemberley

PD James has written an account of a murder investigation and subsequent trial set in the realms of Jane Austen's Pemberley, the home of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

It is the evening before Lady Anne's Ball when an eratically driven coach carrying an hysterical Lydia Wickham arrives at Pemberley. Lydia is convinced that her husband has been murdered. Thus the tranquility at Pemberley is interrupted. Darcy, Colonel Fizwilliam and the young lawyer, Alverston, go into the woods to investigate Lydia's claims to find Wickham alive but bending over the body of Captain Denny.

PD James obviously enjoys the opportunity to set a crime story in the world created by Jane Austen and tries to remain faithful to the characters that Jane Austean created.

A truth universally acknowledged: 33 reasons why we cannot stop reading Jane Austen

Jane Austen would have to be one of my favourite authors. This collection of articles written by authors providing critiques on the importance of the work of Jane Austen in English literature is edited by Susannah Carson. Contributing authors include E M Forster, W Somerset Maugham, Kingsley Amis, J B Priestley, C S Lewis, Martin Amis, A S Byatt, Fay Weldon and Virginia Wolfe. Jane Austen only wrote six novels but her characters and her art of describing everyday life continues to fascinate readers. Jane Austen's novels are books that devotees do not read only once but read and enjoy many times. I think it is time that I revisited the novels and became immersed in the world of Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey again.