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Jane Austen in Context
Covering many aspects of Jane Austen's life, works and historical context, this collection of essays provides the most complete one volume introduction to her life and times. The generously illustrated collection of concise contributions is arranged alphabetically, and covers topics ranging from biography to portraits, critical responses to translations, agriculture to transport. An essay on the reception of Austen's work is also included, showing how criticism of Austen has responded to literary movements and fashions.
498 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2005
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About the author
Janet Todd
114 books69 followersJanet Todd (Jan) is a novelist, biographer, literary critic and internationally renowned scholar, known for her work on
women’s writing and feminism. Her most recent books include
the novel: Don't You Know There's A War On?;
edition and essay: Jane Austen’s Sanditon;
memoir: Radiation Diaries: Cancer, Memory
and Fragments of a Life in Words;
biography: Aphra Behn: A Secret Life;
the novel: A Man of Genius 2016.
Jane Austen and Shelley in the Garden: An Illustrated Novel, forthcoming 2021
A co-founder of the journal Women’s Writing, she has published biographies and critical work on many authors,including Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, her daughters, Mary (Shelley) and Fanny (Death And The Maidens) , and the Irish-Republican sympathiser, traveller and medical student, Lady Mount Cashell (Daughters of Ireland).
Born in Wales, Janet Todd grew up in Britain, Bermuda and Ceylon/Sri Lanka and has worked at schools and universities in Ghana, Puerto Rico, India, the US (Douglass College,
Rutgers, Florida), Scotland (Glasgow, Aberdeen) and England (Cambridge, UEA). A former President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, she is now an Honorary Fellow of
Newnham College.
women’s writing and feminism. Her most recent books include
the novel: Don't You Know There's A War On?;
edition and essay: Jane Austen’s Sanditon;
memoir: Radiation Diaries: Cancer, Memory
and Fragments of a Life in Words;
biography: Aphra Behn: A Secret Life;
the novel: A Man of Genius 2016.
Jane Austen and Shelley in the Garden: An Illustrated Novel, forthcoming 2021
A co-founder of the journal Women’s Writing, she has published biographies and critical work on many authors,including Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, her daughters, Mary (Shelley) and Fanny (Death And The Maidens) , and the Irish-Republican sympathiser, traveller and medical student, Lady Mount Cashell (Daughters of Ireland).
Born in Wales, Janet Todd grew up in Britain, Bermuda and Ceylon/Sri Lanka and has worked at schools and universities in Ghana, Puerto Rico, India, the US (Douglass College,
Rutgers, Florida), Scotland (Glasgow, Aberdeen) and England (Cambridge, UEA). A former President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, she is now an Honorary Fellow of
Newnham College.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 16, 2018
A birthday present to myself...
A really interesting and hefty tome with 40 short essays about the author, her work, its reception, and various aspects of her world that are either featured or taken for granted in the novels. I enjoyed the biography for reminding us how relatively little we actually know about her. The chapter on Education was interesting in focussing not only on formal learning but on education in its broadest sense, and discussed how very involved Austen's novels are in exploring and assisting this. And it was generally agreed that Mr Knightley is the bee's whiskers.
Well worth reading for Austen fans.
A really interesting and hefty tome with 40 short essays about the author, her work, its reception, and various aspects of her world that are either featured or taken for granted in the novels. I enjoyed the biography for reminding us how relatively little we actually know about her. The chapter on Education was interesting in focussing not only on formal learning but on education in its broadest sense, and discussed how very involved Austen's novels are in exploring and assisting this. And it was generally agreed that Mr Knightley is the bee's whiskers.
Well worth reading for Austen fans.
September 10, 2019
Probably meant to be a reference book rather than read straight through. I forgot how dense (boring) some academic writers can be. Lots of interesting info, but the annotated novels are much more engaging.
November 23, 2020
Jane Austen in Context is an incredibly thorough look at the world into which Austen was born, the world she writes about so eloquently. It includes 40 sections--dealing with her life, critical responses to her works, and the historical and cultural context in which she wrote.
As a reference for someone studying Austen, it would be quite useful. But it wasn't fun. A great deal of the information provided in this book can be readily found elsewhere, written in much more engaging ways. I'm not convinced the new information was worth trudging through all the rest. This would be a great book for a teacher or researcher to keep on the shelf, to refer to with specific questions. But for someone who would like to read something both fun and informative about Austen, her life, her works, and her times, I would recommend Leithart's biography and his Miniatures and Morals, and the book Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew.
As a reference for someone studying Austen, it would be quite useful. But it wasn't fun. A great deal of the information provided in this book can be readily found elsewhere, written in much more engaging ways. I'm not convinced the new information was worth trudging through all the rest. This would be a great book for a teacher or researcher to keep on the shelf, to refer to with specific questions. But for someone who would like to read something both fun and informative about Austen, her life, her works, and her times, I would recommend Leithart's biography and his Miniatures and Morals, and the book Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew.
November 3, 2016
It reads like a text book, so be patient.
It is very helpful. Jane Austen's work is brilliant, yet I sometimes wonder if I am missing something. Because it was written so long ago, she makes references that are no longer in context. This book helps a great deal in understanding why, say, an income of 50,000 pounds a year was such a big deal.
The book is divided into essays on each topic. I like this format. I can read a few pages about a particular topic and put it down without "losing my place."
I use the book as a reference source for my own books.
It is very helpful. Jane Austen's work is brilliant, yet I sometimes wonder if I am missing something. Because it was written so long ago, she makes references that are no longer in context. This book helps a great deal in understanding why, say, an income of 50,000 pounds a year was such a big deal.
The book is divided into essays on each topic. I like this format. I can read a few pages about a particular topic and put it down without "losing my place."
I use the book as a reference source for my own books.
November 13, 2020
The trouble with Jane Austen is how few books she finished and published. Oh, and that her sister Cassandra seems to have burned a lot of her papers after her death. So, with no more Austen, I turn to the Austen industry for sustenance, and this collection of essays was worth the read.
October 21, 2009
A collection of essays on the historical and cultural setting for Austen's life and work. It covers topics from manners to food to criticism and transportation. At their best, the essays are informative and shed new light on Austen's work. On the other hand, it seems as if some of the topics (Politics) were simply too large to cram into short essay form, so they end up being confusing. Worth reading for the good parts though.
April 26, 2009
Some of these articles are SO boring, but there are enough interesting ones that the world of Austen becomes a little more clear. She needs to be placed in context for us to understand what she was saying ... even though reading her simply for entertainment is fine too.
November 16, 2012
Overall the book was very good. Some of the texts were a bit dull especially the ones about literary criticism, but others were very interesting, namelly the third part of the book. A good way to go deeper into the world of Jane Austen.
April 15, 2010
im jumping around the different essays reading whateve catches my eye, whic tunrs out to be a lot.
March 23, 2012
Very scholarly!
May 30, 2021
It is definitely interesting to see where Jane Austen fits into our history, however, not a beach read. Definitely scholarship.
August 30, 2020
It was helpful to me. Quite an interesting read too.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews