Jane Austen

by Margaret Kennedy

Delightful and perceptive short critical study of Jane Austen and her major works. Margaret Kennedy was an accomplished novelist herself, whose work shows a deep respect for and a certain indebtedness to JA, and she brings a writer's eye to her analysis of JA's milieu, plots and characters. Written with elegance and wit.

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Margaret Kennedy was an English novelist and playwright.
She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, where she began writing, and then went up to Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 to read history. Her first publication was a history book, A Century of Revolution (1922). Margaret Kennedy was married to the barrister David Davies. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom was the novelist Julia Birley. The novelist Serena Mackesy is her grand-daughter.

Reviews

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good choice for my first biography of Jane. Nice overview & criticism.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful and perceptive short critical study of Jane Austen and her major works (no sustained attention paid to her juvenilia, minor and unfinished works). Margaret Kennedy was an accomplished novelist herself, whose work shows a deep respect for and a certain indebtedness to JA, and she brings a writer's eye to her analysis of JA's milieu, plots and characters. Written with elegance and wit - it is a pleasure for a Janeite to read and either agree or cross swords with her.

My review of this and a companion volume on the Brontës on Vulpes Libris: http://wp.me/p7orS-67k

[Susan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved Kennedy's summaries of the plots and character analyses. Such delightful reading, especially the comparisons between Austen's heroines and between her ne'er-do-wells.

I also valued the inclusion of Austen's champions and critics.

Did not enjoy some of Kennedy's suppositions into the mind and feelings of Jane Austen. Pretty much guesswork at that stage, as so many biographies do.

[Ritika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not read this for Jane Austen, but to see how Kennedy writes about her.