Jane Austen the Woman: Some Biographical Insights

by George Holbert Tucker, John McAleer

After more than fifty years of research, the author of A Goodly A History of Jane Austen's Family presents previously unpublished biographical material that focuses on Austen not as an author but as a vibrant, well-traveled woman.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

George Holbert Tucker was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1909. He graduated from Maury High School in 1928. Forced by the depression to forgo college, he worked for a law firm, and later the WPA, before entering the Navy during World War II.

Following his discharge, he joined the staff of the Virginian Pilot newspaper, writing featured articles, local history, and obituaries. It was said that if George didn't write your obituary, you hadn't amounted to anything.

He officially retired from the paper in 1974, but after two weeks decided that "retirement is for the birds" and returned to write a weekly column. His best columns were collected in his many books.

A life-long Jane Austen fan, George wrote two books on Austen -- "A Goodly Heritage: A History of Jane Austen's Family" and "Jane Austen the Woman: Some Biographical Insights."

In 1998, Old Dominion University awarded him "the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa."

He died in Norfolk in 2005 at the age of 95.

Reviews

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sorry I read it, though it mostly re-hashes old ground.

[Bella Gormley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting content but mid writing. Felt very informal, wish it matched more of janes writing style

[Camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was certainly interesting and more detailed than the last biography of hers that I read. I liked the detail and I enjoyed the interesting organization of the chapters that chose a topic and described all of Austen's recorded dealings and connection to that topic (i.e., religion, current events, etc.) without regard for chronology. The last chapter I thought ended oddly as it didn't seem to wrap up the book at all. Instead it merely concluded the chapter. I liked that the book disputed false claims made by other Austen biographers and provided extensive evidence to that effect. It's very satisfying to resolve false tales. In all, the book felt verily scholarly, intelligent, and organized. I appreciated reading it with that expectation.

[Johnna Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little biography of Jane Austen. Instead of arranging information chronologically, the author has created chapters by topic (e.g., Jane's Loves, Jane's Travels, Jane and the Prince Regent, Jane's travels).

Thought the exchanges (conversations and letters) between Jane and the Prince regent's librarian were laugh out loud funny and worth reading the whole book. Great to read in companion with Stephanie Barron's mystery series or any of the modern fictionalizations of her life.

[Lindsey Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short book but it had quite a bit of info about Austen that I didn't know, or didn't know in much detail. My only complaint is that it was a little repetitive. It's arranged by topic instead of chronologically and each chapter seems to be written so that it could stand alone, leading to the same explanations of who certain people were or events in every chapter. It's not meant to be a full biography, just to provide some deeper details on key topics, which I enjoyed.