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 said the exact same thing in almost the exact same way. I am not accusing the author of plagiarism, but I felt the author lacked passion or even just a little enthusiasm in the subject matter.
After this lackluster chapter introducing the reader to one of the finest writers in the English language, the author begins her discussion of the Austen’s various texts.
This discussion quickly turns into unmistakeable critique of Austen’s inability to comment louder, more intently on political and social issues among others. I detected hints of intentional fallacy as well as a dislike of Austen by the author.
The text, in general, felt very rushed, not properly thought through or even edited. I wonder, if the author never really wanted to write this introduction in the first place.
Overall, and please forgive my forthright, maybe even sharp comments, I expected more from an author, who is also a respected professor of English Literature and has other published works. Frankly, don’t bother with this one.
