Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I love Jane Austen. I love her work. I am a self-proclaimed Janeite. I wrote my graduate thesis on Austen’s six major novels and a term paper on NorthangerAbbey. I have to admit, Northanger Abbey is my absolute favourite. The satire, the gothic, Austen’s humour and her ability to create a naïve character without making her annoying is quite the accomplishment. I adore Catherine’s evolution from a sheltered country girl to being thrown into the fashionable society of Bath. The characters in…
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Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon
Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon by Jane Austen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have now come to the part in my research, which requires me to read Austen’s works, finished and unfinished. I think this was my third or fourth time reading Northanger Abbey and I’m surprised and delighted how every subsequent read is just as entertaining and as fresh as the first read. I have to say, though, that having done as much research on Austen’s life and work, I’m baffled by the harsh critique some critics give poor Catherine Morland. She deserves a lot more credit than I have seen her receive throughout…
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Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries: English Literature and Its Background, 1760-1830
Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries: English Literature and Its Background, 1760-1830 by Marilyn Butler My rating: 1 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. I mostly focused on the section dealing with Jane Austen and her work, regardless, I really have no idea what this author’s point was supposed to be. I noticed slight anger in her writing, unnecessary social and even personal criticism and more than a few times I found the author judging Jane and her literary choices based on modern times and practices. Almost every time the author began a new point it was built up to encourage literary discussion, maybe…
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Jane and Her Gentlemen
Jane and Her Gentlemen: Jane Austen and the Men in Her Life and Novels by Audrey Hawkridge My rating: 3 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. This was a fun and cute sort of summary of Jane’s life and works regarding it from the males in her life and the males that made it into her works of fiction. The author used a lot of quotes from her correspondence, sometimes taking over most of the page with the author’s own contribution limited to one sentence to provide context. For someone, who has done as much research on Jane as me in the…
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Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction
Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction by Margaret Kirkham My rating: 5 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. It was a bit of an adventure trying to secure a copy of this book. I ended up getting a temporary library card from one of the universities in my hometown, then made my way up to the 8th floor of a very quiet, unfamiliar library, quickly found the book, sneezed a whole bunch from the book dust, signed it out and then rushed home. For some strange reason I felt very uncomfortable at that library and I hoped the book wouldn’t prove too far…
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The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen
The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen by Janet Todd My rating: 1 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. A rather slim volume by the looks of it, I wondered what new information I could glean from such a short introduction to Jane Austen after having completed a month and a half of research, plus a trip to Bath and Chawton in England. I must be completely honest here and ask the very straight forward question: what the heck was this supposed to be? The book begins with a chapter on Jane Austen’s life. It feels thrown together; summarized from other sources that…
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Jane Austen, the Secret Radical
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly My rating: 5 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. This wasn’t originally on my reading list, but my husband spotted it at the Waterstones bookshop in Bath and insisted on buying it. He has a good eye for great resources. This was the first book on Jane Austen and her works that (1) did not put her on some sort of pedestal; (2) did not blindly accept every detail that is known about her as fact; and (3) did not end up critiquing Jane’s writing and life choices based on present day options available…
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The Postcolonial Jane Austen
The Postcolonial Jane Austen by You-Me Park My rating: 2 of 5 stars Part of my ongoing research in preparation for my graduate thesis. It is always unfortunate and a little annoying when books turn out to be non-referencing when researching one’s topic. But regardless of my personal feelings with respect to the time I used perusing this text, I found it rather confusing and lacking any distinct focus and direction. I remember taking a postcolonial literature course back during my undergraduate years with a professor named Austen, kind of ironic, right? The prof was nice enough and very enthusiastic about the topic and I really tried my best and…
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Jane Austen at Home
Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley My rating: 2 of 5 stars This biography was suggested by my thesis supervisor as background information for my thesis topic. I had started reading it the previous summer, but had to stop due to time constraints and because the hardcover edition available from my local library was a bit too cumbersome. I ended up buying a paperback edition while visiting Bath, England in March. It was a stop and go sort of journey with this book and I am on the fence about my opinion of it. I’m completely torn and wondering how much detail and example of my split opinion I…
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A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections
A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections by J.E. Austen Leigh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Technically it wasn’t really part of my research, since it is now agreed that this is a very whitewashed, highly edited version of Jane Austen’s life, but it is nonetheless very interesting to read how the biographies and the creation of a very distinct image of Jane all began relatively shortly after her death. I appreciated Caroline Austen and Anna Austen Lefroy’s recollection of their aunt Jane; however short they were. At the risk of sounding slightly sexist, I have to caution readers when perusing the sections of this memoir that…
