I guess that shows that the movies were well made. Felt this didn't really say much about Jane Austen? Jane Austen’s fiction: an accurate portrayal of life in Georgian England? After their move to Barton Cottage, how many servants are the Dashwood ladies able … Like so many of the small and large events of her life, the move to Bathm was out of Jane… Great details on Jane’s extended family, who were quite a collection of characters. Even though it took so long to read (standard time for me), I enjoyed reading it. How can you be boring when you write of Jane Austen? Jane Austen's immediate family was large and close-knit. If this were a movie, what would it be rated and why? [return][return]As I d previously read Carol Shields s biography of Austen I already knew the outline of her life, that she was considered rather unrefined by her relatives and of her love for Tom Lefroy who eventually married an heiress. Tomalin’s biography of Jane Austen is a throughly researched book, and one to be admired. (!?) As I read, I could not help but admire the task Tomalin took on, not only did she put that effort in to collate all that info, but than in this book she reconstructs it into a possible hypothesis that was Jane Austen’s life. Also, it was usually evident by the end of the book how each of those individuals affected Jane's life to some degree and the future of her family after her death. She tells Jane’s story of her life with much love, and attention to detail. She is not unusual in this respect. Refresh and try again. It seemed like he was trying to write a serious biography but historial fiction kept getting in the way. Her sharpness and refusal to suffer fools, makes you fearful of intruding, misinterpreting, crassly misreading the evidence. Jane Austen's life was relatively short but it nonetheless produced a lasting legacy including six major published works. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. We get to see more of the acid-tongued and even at times depressive Jane, the one whose letters her sister burnt after her death. From where did Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennet spring? Make what you will of that. I would have to say that it depends on what you’re looking for in a biography. Although there aren't any great insights into Ms. Austen's novels, it's easy to see how many of the things in her books were drawn from her real life. the short take: okay, so i found this book really clunky. This bio was a 5 star read. What will you do when it's your turn to pick your book club's next read? Shields examines the limited biographical material on Austen from the perspective of a successful fellow writer. Although I've never read a biography on Jane Austen before, I have done many research projects on her and I am a huge fan. I enjoyed this engaging biography, which often read like an Austen book and was loaded with withering quips from Austen's letters. "she wondered" , "she thought". Who needs modern self-help gurus when a 19th-century novelist had it all worked out? It is written from a woman's point of view. Start by marking “Jane Austen: A Life” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I was perfectly pleased by this biography, although I freely concede it was overflowing with information. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. We’d love your help. Which of these estates is William Larkins the manager of? The story might have ended there, with Jane Austen becoming Jane Bigg-Wither and her extraordinary life becoming an ordinary one of marriage and motherhood. To see what your friends thought of this book. I found this book really interesting, I loved learning more about Jane's life and finding out how her experiences impact her novels. The indisputable facts of Jane Austen’s life are few and simple. Jane Austen was not remote from the events of her day, with brothers in the navy, and England at war with France. [return][return]Reading this book has enhanced my reading of her fiction, setting them in the context of her world. the information was interesting and painted quite the picture of life during austen's time but it really took a lot of tangents. Tomalin must delve archives as a detective, stretch and scrutinize the old paper, and compensate for gaps in the lone life with a narrative of the familial-social surround in which the maturing writer is presumed--and occasionally observed--to lurk and flash. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Rebecca Smith is author of The Jane Austen Writers’ Club: Inspiration and Advice from the World’s Best-Loved Novelist (Bloomsbury, 2016) as well as three novels: The Bluebird Café; Happy Birthday and All That, and A Bit of Earth (all Bloomsbury) and Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas, which has been published around the world. “From what we know of this or that it may be supposed that Jane thought this or that.” Tomalin’s speculations seem just and her account of the surround is interesting, Olenska-like Cousin Eliza echoing with particular poignance. Jane could be caustic in her private letters. David Nokes attempts to get away (and succeeds) from the saccharine Jane of her family's memoirs. Jane's sister, Cassandra, destroyed many of her letters after Jane's death. The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin lilithcat: Tomalin is one of the finest biographers writing today, with a real knack for explaining the societal context in which her subject lived.Readers of The Invisible Woman will find the same excellent work in Jane Austen: A Life, and vice versa. An excellent biography of Jane Austen, taken mostly from letters to and by her family and friends, especially her sister, Cassandra. In Memory of JANE AUSTEN, youngest daughter of the late Revd GEORGE AUSTEN, formerly Rector of Steventon in this County. Austen was the rector of the Anglican parish from 1765 until 1801. Modern authors leave a wealth of information about themselves behind them. More than 100 pages in and Jane is a background character in her own biography. Interesting and well written. I guess that shows that the movies were well made. Jane Austen liked Bath well enough to use it as a setting for her books, but she did not want to live there. Start by marking “Jane Austen: A Life” as Want to Read: Error rating book. We know Dicken's destroyed many of his letters and other personal papers, and his family were equally thorough in destroying any potentially compromising letters after his death. Any biographer therefore hasn't exactly got a lot to work with when trying to piece together a picture of who Jane Austen really was. Clare Tomalin talked about her biography, "Jane Austen: A Life". Those are conjectures and assumptions, but it was very informative and not a difficult read. What makes this a pleasure to read is also Tomalin’s enjoyment and. letters written by Jane Austen were destroyed, first by her sister Cassandra and then later by her niece Fanny Austen. Coming away from this, I feel I don't know a great deal much more about Jane Austen than I already did, which is a shame. I was drawn in from the first chapter, and by 1/3 of the way through, I was so into the book that I even took it with me as I stood in line to vote in November 2004 (a process that year that had me standing in li. What is the name of Georgiana Darcy's companion? i do feel as though i learned about austen...but i want to know more. This book was okay but troublesome to me. Amazingly easy to read and intriguing for a biography. I wanted to love this because of my adoration of Austen’s novels, but the truth is I found this dull and tedious. Somehow, Tomalin has managed that, her scholarly efforts notwithstanding. Felt this didn't really say much about Jane Austen? It draws heavily on Jane's letters to her sister Cassandra, as well as everyone's letters to everyone else, and since they wrote letters to one another daily, we end up knowing a lot about their daily lives. Maybe it isn't all so sure a thing, but I will leave it to others to show me where and if he erred. Great read. I had a good time with him and thank him for a very human portrait of a real flesh and blood Jane Austen. It was quite good. Written with the "voice" of Jane Austen's own cadence, almost as if one was reading a Jane Austen novel, Tomalin's painstaking research brought Jane to life in a way that no other biography of Jane has for me. I finished this last weekend and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Jane Austen and her life. In writing her new biography of Jane Austen, Claire Tomalin faced a … Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published This was one of the best literary biographies I've read in a long, long time. I listened to this biography, driving across the country. Austen's novels, settings, and characters are all so much more meaningful to me now that I've read where and how she gleaned the life experience that helped shape her brilliant brilliant perspectives on human nature, love, and social politics. It is well written and does not assume you know about Austen. However, 160 letters remain and there is a biographical note of just a few pages written by her brother, Henry after her death. [return][return] She has a way of sending biographers away feeling that as Lord David Cecil put it, she remains as no doubt she would have wished - not an intimate but an acquaintance. Still, like almost all English families of any means in the 18th century, her family had ties to the slave trade, according to “Jane Austen: A Life,” a book by Claire Tomalin. He explained that her life was not by any means a life of event. A surfeit of detail meant to be context, but with nary a family tree or map to ground it as context. When I heard that The New Yorker had called this a page-turner, I was skeptical. Refresh and try again. 341pp. As I read, I could not help but admire the task Tomalin took on, not only did she put that effort in to collate all that info, but than in this book she reconstructs it into a possible hypothesis that was Jane Austen’s life. Generally regarded as one of the best biographies, it focuses heavily on Jane’s family, connections, and time period. November 19th 1998 Incredible. It is constructed as a story, weaving facts together in a way that removes any anxiety that may be caused by a biography replete with dates and statistics and numbers which render the reading act rather psychedelic. He attended King's College School, Wimbledon, London. This biography of Jane Austen does a very thorough job of seizing on every letter, every mention, every tiny detail that can be gleaned about the famous author; unfortunately, that isn't much. This was an incredible, engrossing, fascinating look at Jane Austen’s life, family, neighbors, works, and world. Jane Austen, English writer who first gave the novel its distinctly modern character through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life. $27.50 (cloth). I always enjoy Tomalin. Walter Isaacson, it’s safe to say, is not afraid of tackling the really big topics. Great details on J. Here, firmly rooted in her own social setting for the first time, is the real Jane Austen--the shy woman willing to challenge convention, the woman of no pretensions who nevertheless called herself "formidable," a woman who could be frivolous and yet suffer from black depressions, who showed unfailing loyalty and, in the conduct of her own life, unfailing bravery. Jane's brothers and nephews and nieces didn't preserve her letters as faithfully as they should have. I felt like a friend who'd received the sad news - I found myself crying, even though I knew how it would end. Jane Austen lived her entire life as part of a family located socially and economically on the lower fringes of the English gentry. A scholar of 18th-century English literature, David Nokes, FRSL, was Professor of English Literature at King's College London. How then did this woman create characters full of wit, vivacity and spirit. Brava to the biographer--no doubt this was a challenging account to put together, especially in light of so many of Jane Austen's letters being destroyed. She departed this Life on the 18th of July 1817, aged 41, after a long illness supported with the patience and the hopes of a Christian. I want some of what that reviewer was on. Jane Austen (1775-1817), English author wrote numerous influential works contributing to the Western literary canon including Pride and Prejudice (1813) which starts; “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. But this is a necessary Limb, given its due position. Most of her letters to her sister Cassandra were destroyed by Cassandra and a niece destroyed those she had written to one of her brothers. I got this book from the library several years ago, and I've been looking for it in stores ever since. From reading this, though, the other books that I've read with Jane Austen as the character in the book, the stories fit her personality that comes out in this book. Miss Lee was a governess to which set of children? it's not so much austen's life as it is her family's life (though of course jane features more). She was born in the small Hampshire village of Steventon on December 16, 1775, the seventh of a clergyman’s eight children. In contrast we don't even have a proper picture of Jane Austen, and many of her letters were destroyed, either by Austen herself or by her family after her death. I was drawn in from the first chapter, and by 1/3 of the way through, I was so into the book that I even took it with me as I stood in line to vote in November 2004 (a process that year that had me standing in line for almost 2 hours). I would read it again. She had a powerful way of using stories to explain love, friendship, personal growth, and happiness. Maybe it isn't all so sure a thing, but I will leave it to others to show me where and if he erred. I'm sure my fellow voters-to-be wondered about the weird lady, chuckling to herself as she read some book - I was reading some sarcastically witty comments written by Jane herself to her sister about a neighbor. Anyone who loves Jane Austen will find it a must. Well, this is what you won't do: panic. I use it as a reference book now. Jane Austen's life resembles her novels — at first glance they seem to be composed of a series of quiet, unexceptional events. It sounded more of a gossipy read than a biography. Oh, this is just the most marvellous biography. To see what your friends thought of this book. Tomalin is not the greatest of story tellers, and when you're writing "A Life" of someone, for goodness sake, make sure you have a few interesting stories to tell. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Her family wrote down some biographical information after her death, but by their account Austen was a quiet, rather prim middle aged woman, a maiden aunt who lived to be useful to her family, who's live as they claimed "Of events her life was singlerly barren". the information was interesting and painted quite the picture of life during austen's time but it really took a lot of tangents. She is not unusual in this respect. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves Jane Austen's works or anyone who appreciates excellent biographies. One of the most thorough biographies on Jane Austen. Born Claire Delavenay in London, she was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. I had read this about 4 months ago, and it so impressed me that it took 4 months to comment on it. She treats Jane Austen's life like a mystery. In contrast we don't even have a proper picture of Jane Austen, and many of her letters were destroyed, either by Austen herself or by her family after her death. What was it like for her to have to wait so long to see her novels published (let alone the ones that weren't published until after she died)? A bit too full of detail, but I certainly understand Austen better now than I did before. I liked this biography because it covered so much of the known details of her life. (pages 112 - 113)[return][return]But mainly she sticks to the facts, gleaned from the documentary material and concludes that Jane Austen[return][return] & is as elusive as a cloud in the night sky. Tomalin is a relatively objective biographer although every now and then she voices opinions based on her impressions, such as this one concerning Jane s lack of vanity and efforts to be concerned with fashion and dress design:[return][return] In her letters she may comment on the fact that ladies are wearing fruit on their hats, and that it seems more natural to have flowers growing out of the head, and be precise about the colour she requires for dress material; but the impression we get is that, had she lived two hundred years later, she would have rejoiced in the freedom of an old pair of trousers, with a tweed skirt for church, and one decent dress kept for evening. The result is that there are few original writings left from one of the best-loved authors of all time, and little is known of her day to day life. What makes this a pleasure to read is also Tomalin’s enjoyment and thrill to write this book. Welcome back. Her novels defined the era’s novel of manners, but they also became timeless classics that remained critical and … The result is that there are few original writings left from one of the best-loved authors of all time, and little is known of he. Link/Page Citation Claire Tomalin, New York: Knopf, 1997. Like author. Jane's brothers and nephews and nieces didn't preserve her letters as faithfully as they should have. Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in novels including 'Sense and Sensibility,' 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma.' In the same vien, he argues that she was not depressed while in Bath but simply too busy, too distracted by city life, too sick of writing, as she tells Cassandra, to write. He mocks those that cliam Austen fainted on learning she would move to Bath and claims instead she was excited for the adventure. letters written by Jane Austen were destroyed, first by her sister Cassandra and then later by her niece Fanny Austen. Here, firmly rooted in her own social setting for the first time, is the real Jane Austen--the shy woman willing to challenge convention, the woman of no pretensions who nevertheless called herself "formidable," a woman who could be frivolous and yet suffer from black depressions, who showed unfailing loyalty and, in the conduct of her own life, unfailing bravery. It never tries to ascribe modern sentiment to Austen's motivations.I came away with a portrait of a witty, life-loving, much beloved woman, who had her share of joys and disappointments in life.I will read it again, after my friends have finished with it. Written with the "voice" of Jane Austen's own cadence, almost as if one was reading a Jane Austen novel, Tomalin's painstaking research brought Jane to life in a way that no other biography of Jane has for me. Welcome back. i am going to get a copy of, letters written by Jane Austen were destroyed, first by her sister Cassandra and then later by her niece Fanny Austen. What to read when you've finished Jane Austen. She impacted British Literature well after her life on earth, eventually she would become the most famous British novelist. Famed Biographer Walter Isaacson on Gene Editing, Science, and Good Books.