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Searching for Jane Austen
Searching for Jane Austen demolishes with wit and vivacity the often-held view of "Jane," a decorous maiden aunt writing her small drawing-room stories of teas and balls. Emily Auerbach presents a different Jane Austen—a brilliant writer who, despite the obstacles facing women of her time, worked seriously on improving her craft and became one of the world’s greatest novelists, a master of wit, irony, and character development.
In this beautifully illustrated and lively work, Auerbach surveys two centuries of editing, censoring, and distorting Austen’s life and writings. Auerbach samples Austen’s flamboyant, risqué adolescent works featuring heroines who get drunk, lie, steal, raise armies, and throw rivals out of windows. She demonstrates that Austen constantly tested and improved her skills by setting herself a new challenge in each of her six novels.
In addition, Auerbach considers Austen’s final irreverent writings, discusses her tragic death at the age of forty-one, and ferrets out ridiculous modern adaptations and illustrations, including ads, cartoons, book jackets, newspaper articles, plays, and films from our own time. An appendix reprints a ground-breaking article that introduced Mark Twain’s "Jane Austen," an unfinished and unforgettable essay in which Twain and Austen enter into mortal combat.
In this beautifully illustrated and lively work, Auerbach surveys two centuries of editing, censoring, and distorting Austen’s life and writings. Auerbach samples Austen’s flamboyant, risqué adolescent works featuring heroines who get drunk, lie, steal, raise armies, and throw rivals out of windows. She demonstrates that Austen constantly tested and improved her skills by setting herself a new challenge in each of her six novels.
In addition, Auerbach considers Austen’s final irreverent writings, discusses her tragic death at the age of forty-one, and ferrets out ridiculous modern adaptations and illustrations, including ads, cartoons, book jackets, newspaper articles, plays, and films from our own time. An appendix reprints a ground-breaking article that introduced Mark Twain’s "Jane Austen," an unfinished and unforgettable essay in which Twain and Austen enter into mortal combat.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 15, 2019
I added this book to my required reading list for my research while preparing to write my graduate thesis on Jane Austen and her works. I just closed the book and I am half agony, half frustrated for having read it.
The first chapter takes a great stab at Jane’s nephew’s biography on his aunt titled Memoir, attempting to dispel the image of “dear Aunt Jane”; a timid, sweet-tempered little woman, whose main calling in life was the keeping of her house.
The tone of this first chapter is that of anger with more than a hint of feminism, which is good, yet I grew exhausted reading about the constant descriptions of Jane’s false character and the author’s continuous argument that this was not the true Jane and only a fabrication of her relatives.
The author draws countless example, comparing male writers of roughly the same time period and how they were described and represented in the public eye to really emphasize the injustice that was committed on Jane.
She also makes a very important point to call Jane Austen “Austen” and not “Jane”, because Charles Dickens is referred to as “Dickens” and not “Charles” and Henry Thoreau as “Thoreau” and not “Henry” etc.
In the grand scheme is things, I thought this was a minute detail that felt blown out of proportion. Truthfully, most of the points the author makes in the first chapter feel exasperatedly over-inflated in order to create a mood in the reader that would explain the majority of this book.
Jane Austen’s misrepresentation has, for all I can see, decreased and afforded her a rightful place among the great literary authors of English literature. When Jane is mentioned, most people may not know much about her, but at least that image of a little spinster woman has mostly ceased to exist and more focus is now placed on her genius as a writer and sharp wit.
I found the book to be boringly repetitive in all its arguments. Each paragraph began with an original sentence composed by the author, followed by numerous quotes of Jane’s writings, critics or other biographers, and the paragraph usually ended with another short original sentence or a question.
Too many references to other works clouded the overall message the author tried to convey. I found her claims over-confident and not backed by appropriate research. For example, how does she know Jane was “laughing at the dialogue she read in the fiction and drama of her day because she knew it failed to capture the way human beings actually spoke to each other,” (62)?
I also wondered why the author felt it necessary to keep mentioning her students (it appears the author teaches at a university) when sharing anecdotes. Moreover, there was a certain patronizing tone to the writing that communicated the author’s attitude that the reader might be rather uninformed. On the other hand, the author had no problem listing literary devices without so much as a hint of an explanation: “…Austen presents characters speaking in contorted sentences, using polysyllabic expression, arcane literary allusions, and a superabundance of exclamations,” (62).
Overall, this book felt more like a very long, not very well cited footnote that didn’t really add anything new to the ongoing research done on Jane Austen’s writing and life, except for imposing assumptions and comparisons that seemed out of place and vague, such as the mentioning of Pinocchio when discussing Catherine Morland. I have to give this one a pass.
ElliotScribbles
The first chapter takes a great stab at Jane’s nephew’s biography on his aunt titled Memoir, attempting to dispel the image of “dear Aunt Jane”; a timid, sweet-tempered little woman, whose main calling in life was the keeping of her house.
The tone of this first chapter is that of anger with more than a hint of feminism, which is good, yet I grew exhausted reading about the constant descriptions of Jane’s false character and the author’s continuous argument that this was not the true Jane and only a fabrication of her relatives.
The author draws countless example, comparing male writers of roughly the same time period and how they were described and represented in the public eye to really emphasize the injustice that was committed on Jane.
She also makes a very important point to call Jane Austen “Austen” and not “Jane”, because Charles Dickens is referred to as “Dickens” and not “Charles” and Henry Thoreau as “Thoreau” and not “Henry” etc.
In the grand scheme is things, I thought this was a minute detail that felt blown out of proportion. Truthfully, most of the points the author makes in the first chapter feel exasperatedly over-inflated in order to create a mood in the reader that would explain the majority of this book.
Jane Austen’s misrepresentation has, for all I can see, decreased and afforded her a rightful place among the great literary authors of English literature. When Jane is mentioned, most people may not know much about her, but at least that image of a little spinster woman has mostly ceased to exist and more focus is now placed on her genius as a writer and sharp wit.
I found the book to be boringly repetitive in all its arguments. Each paragraph began with an original sentence composed by the author, followed by numerous quotes of Jane’s writings, critics or other biographers, and the paragraph usually ended with another short original sentence or a question.
Too many references to other works clouded the overall message the author tried to convey. I found her claims over-confident and not backed by appropriate research. For example, how does she know Jane was “laughing at the dialogue she read in the fiction and drama of her day because she knew it failed to capture the way human beings actually spoke to each other,” (62)?
I also wondered why the author felt it necessary to keep mentioning her students (it appears the author teaches at a university) when sharing anecdotes. Moreover, there was a certain patronizing tone to the writing that communicated the author’s attitude that the reader might be rather uninformed. On the other hand, the author had no problem listing literary devices without so much as a hint of an explanation: “…Austen presents characters speaking in contorted sentences, using polysyllabic expression, arcane literary allusions, and a superabundance of exclamations,” (62).
Overall, this book felt more like a very long, not very well cited footnote that didn’t really add anything new to the ongoing research done on Jane Austen’s writing and life, except for imposing assumptions and comparisons that seemed out of place and vague, such as the mentioning of Pinocchio when discussing Catherine Morland. I have to give this one a pass.
ElliotScribbles
October 19, 2017
Another EXCELLENT piece of literary criticism on Austen. This, along with Mullan's What Matters in Jane Austen?, are basically the standard to which I will hold all my Jane Austen non-fiction from now on.
February 26, 2017
This is a must-read for everyone who loves Jane Austen's novels. "Searching for Jane Austen" is literary criticism but also a very good, engaging and fascinating book. It is not a biography but rather an attempt to find the real person through her work. And a very successful attempt it is. We finally see Jane Austen for who she really was - not a bitter spinster but an artist, fully aware of her talent and consciously devoting her life to her art.
What especially struck me was the author's enormous respect towards Austen both as a person and a writer. Emily Auerbach is particularly persistent in dealing with the common misconception of Austen as a chick lit author - true, a venerated one, but an author of 'books for girls' nonetheless. She also points out the incredibly condesceding tone of modern popular culture which has appropriated Austen as 'our dear Jane'. As she observes, we never even think of referring to Dickens as 'Charles' or Twain as 'Mark'.
I recommend this book to everyone who loves reading Austen and about Austen. I have loved her novels for decades now and I thought I knew quite a lot about her fictional world, but still, Auerbach's book was a real eye-opener on several points for me. This book was quite expensive, but absolutely worth every penny I spent on it.
What especially struck me was the author's enormous respect towards Austen both as a person and a writer. Emily Auerbach is particularly persistent in dealing with the common misconception of Austen as a chick lit author - true, a venerated one, but an author of 'books for girls' nonetheless. She also points out the incredibly condesceding tone of modern popular culture which has appropriated Austen as 'our dear Jane'. As she observes, we never even think of referring to Dickens as 'Charles' or Twain as 'Mark'.
I recommend this book to everyone who loves reading Austen and about Austen. I have loved her novels for decades now and I thought I knew quite a lot about her fictional world, but still, Auerbach's book was a real eye-opener on several points for me. This book was quite expensive, but absolutely worth every penny I spent on it.
December 5, 2014
In the first chapter of Searching for Jane Austen, entitled 'Dear Aunt Jane: Putting Her Down and Touching Her Up', Emily Auerbach wonders:
Auerbach's examples here might not be the best; part of the reason why readers are obsessed with Austen's marital status is because she wrote about marriage so often. It might have been better to replace A Christmas Carol with another of Dickens' novels, which end with happy marriages; Nicholas Nickelby, for instance? It might go some way towards proving that even when Dickens writes about marriage, readers don't really care about his own marital status. This comes with a whole host of problems (what about Dickens' own unhappy real-life marriage?), but I don't think that detracts from the central problem; Dickens' unhappy marriage may have provided fodder for his fiction, but it is an issue mentioned in passing, a tiny contributing factor to Dickens' art. For Austen, it is her defining one.
Despite the problems with this passage, the central argument is sound. I quoted it at length because Auerbach makes a very clever point about the way Austen is treated by popular culture. She points out that Austen is one of the only writers who is referred to by first name ("or should we call them Samuel, Charles, and Herman"?). We would never dream of calling Dickens 'Charles' or 'Charlie', yet people persist in calling Austen 'Jane'. It demeans her work, makes her more personal and domestic - and consequently less respected.
Auerbach's book is a so-called 'Search' for the real Austen. I found it very easy to trust Auerbach as a writer, because she occupies a very similar position to myself; her book is focused on arguing against the 'Austen myth', presenting Austen as an intellectually stimulating writer, one who is in tune with the society of her time and critiques it with great wit and subtlety. Auerbach begins by dismantling the 'Aunt Jane' myth, charting the process of 'touching up' which her image received after her death. She points to the way that 'Dear Aunt Jane' is still with us today, obscuring the right of her books to be treated as 'serious' and 'intellectual'.
The chapters which follow are each devoted to one of her novels, as well as her juvenilia. The final chapter examines Austen's place in popular culture, highlighting the way that the modern media continues to belittle Austen, even in an age when feminist criticism is so pervasive. Auerbach also includes a short and interesting discussion of male reactions to Austen, pointing out that that the marketing of Austen books and films in the twenty-first century has given them a permanent label of 'women's books' and 'chick-lit', earning the disparagement of ordinary men everywhere (in the final essay she quotes an amusing example where a man claims Austen can have nothing to offer him, that he has never read her, and that he has never read "Evelyn Brontë" either. "[H]ave any of us?" wonders Auerbach drily). She writes that "In some ways, we have moved backwards" from the time when Walter Scott could exclaim, "What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!" and W.H. Auden wrote verses in her praise. Auerbach suggests that Hollywood has played a large part in this, noting the way that the 1940s film version of Pride and Prejudice was marketed; with the Bennet sisters exclaiming on the poster, "We Want a Husband!"
The volume ends with an essay by Auerbach entitled 'A Barkeeper Entering the Kingdom of Heaven: Did Mark Twain Really Hate Jane Austen?', where Auerbach provides some evidence that Twain, despite his supposed hatred of Jane Austen, read her repeatedly, picked up on a great deal of her humour, and even borrowed fictional elements for his own stories from her. Although the essay is interesting, for a book which is very neatly set out (beginning with the remaking of Austen's image, followed by in-depth discussions of her work, and ending with her reception in the twenty-first century), the essay feels a little out of place, even if it is in an appendix and therefore not a part of the body of the book. Furthermore, after the essay Auerbach includes a copy of Twain's unfinished essay about Austen. For a book that claims to focus on Austen's art, it seems a little wrong to finish the text with the words of one of Austen's most infamous detractors. Though Auerbach has cut Twain's comments down to size in the preceding essay, the order is still a little worrying; this appendix did not need to be included to enhance the arguments made in the book. She argues them convincingly enough already.
On the whole, however, this is a very worthwhile book. Although published by a university press and written by a professor of English, the book toes the line between scholarly and lay, and I think both academics and everyday readers could benefit from it. It sets out some excellent arguments for Austen’s right to be included in the English canon. For those who doubt that Austen was a great writer, or continue to believe that she has nothing to offer them, this book might very well prove them wrong.
Originally published at Majoring in Literature.
Why … do readers of The Ancient Mariner, A Christmas Carol, and Moby-Dick give little thought to the marital status of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Dickens, and Herman Melville (or should we call them Samuel, Charles, and Herman)? When we think of Milton's Paradise Lost, do we wonder about John's marriages (he had three)? Was there a Mrs Chaucer?
Rudyard Kipling (did he marry? do we care?) felt moved to write a verse tribute in 1926 called not "Austen's Writing" but "Jane's Marriage," beginning with the writer ascending into heaven … Finally "Jane" finds every woman's true reward: not immortality or pride in her own craft, but Mr. Right.
Auerbach's examples here might not be the best; part of the reason why readers are obsessed with Austen's marital status is because she wrote about marriage so often. It might have been better to replace A Christmas Carol with another of Dickens' novels, which end with happy marriages; Nicholas Nickelby, for instance? It might go some way towards proving that even when Dickens writes about marriage, readers don't really care about his own marital status. This comes with a whole host of problems (what about Dickens' own unhappy real-life marriage?), but I don't think that detracts from the central problem; Dickens' unhappy marriage may have provided fodder for his fiction, but it is an issue mentioned in passing, a tiny contributing factor to Dickens' art. For Austen, it is her defining one.
Despite the problems with this passage, the central argument is sound. I quoted it at length because Auerbach makes a very clever point about the way Austen is treated by popular culture. She points out that Austen is one of the only writers who is referred to by first name ("or should we call them Samuel, Charles, and Herman"?). We would never dream of calling Dickens 'Charles' or 'Charlie', yet people persist in calling Austen 'Jane'. It demeans her work, makes her more personal and domestic - and consequently less respected.
Auerbach's book is a so-called 'Search' for the real Austen. I found it very easy to trust Auerbach as a writer, because she occupies a very similar position to myself; her book is focused on arguing against the 'Austen myth', presenting Austen as an intellectually stimulating writer, one who is in tune with the society of her time and critiques it with great wit and subtlety. Auerbach begins by dismantling the 'Aunt Jane' myth, charting the process of 'touching up' which her image received after her death. She points to the way that 'Dear Aunt Jane' is still with us today, obscuring the right of her books to be treated as 'serious' and 'intellectual'.
The chapters which follow are each devoted to one of her novels, as well as her juvenilia. The final chapter examines Austen's place in popular culture, highlighting the way that the modern media continues to belittle Austen, even in an age when feminist criticism is so pervasive. Auerbach also includes a short and interesting discussion of male reactions to Austen, pointing out that that the marketing of Austen books and films in the twenty-first century has given them a permanent label of 'women's books' and 'chick-lit', earning the disparagement of ordinary men everywhere (in the final essay she quotes an amusing example where a man claims Austen can have nothing to offer him, that he has never read her, and that he has never read "Evelyn Brontë" either. "[H]ave any of us?" wonders Auerbach drily). She writes that "In some ways, we have moved backwards" from the time when Walter Scott could exclaim, "What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!" and W.H. Auden wrote verses in her praise. Auerbach suggests that Hollywood has played a large part in this, noting the way that the 1940s film version of Pride and Prejudice was marketed; with the Bennet sisters exclaiming on the poster, "We Want a Husband!"
The volume ends with an essay by Auerbach entitled 'A Barkeeper Entering the Kingdom of Heaven: Did Mark Twain Really Hate Jane Austen?', where Auerbach provides some evidence that Twain, despite his supposed hatred of Jane Austen, read her repeatedly, picked up on a great deal of her humour, and even borrowed fictional elements for his own stories from her. Although the essay is interesting, for a book which is very neatly set out (beginning with the remaking of Austen's image, followed by in-depth discussions of her work, and ending with her reception in the twenty-first century), the essay feels a little out of place, even if it is in an appendix and therefore not a part of the body of the book. Furthermore, after the essay Auerbach includes a copy of Twain's unfinished essay about Austen. For a book that claims to focus on Austen's art, it seems a little wrong to finish the text with the words of one of Austen's most infamous detractors. Though Auerbach has cut Twain's comments down to size in the preceding essay, the order is still a little worrying; this appendix did not need to be included to enhance the arguments made in the book. She argues them convincingly enough already.
On the whole, however, this is a very worthwhile book. Although published by a university press and written by a professor of English, the book toes the line between scholarly and lay, and I think both academics and everyday readers could benefit from it. It sets out some excellent arguments for Austen’s right to be included in the English canon. For those who doubt that Austen was a great writer, or continue to believe that she has nothing to offer them, this book might very well prove them wrong.
Originally published at Majoring in Literature.
May 15, 2016
I first found this book at the library. As an Austen fan it caught my eye so I picked it up off the shelf to flipping through it. The illustrations of various Austen paraphernalia and book covers were interesting. I thought, "I might check this out so I can peak through this a bit. But literary critiques are usually boring so I won't bother to actually try to read this book." Well ... I ended up eating those words. Not only did I read the whole thing, but this book transformed what I thought of Austen as a writer and a person.
I read it several years ago but only just realized I didn't have it listed here in my GoodReads. I own a copy now and was thinking again about what the book means to me so I decided to write a review her in the hopes that others will discover this book.
Auerbach does a phenomenal job playing with our cultural perceptions of Austen and not only filling in the gaps, but taking out the trash where needed. The Austen that emerges here is a surprising feminist icon. A woman burdened with 200 years of censorship perpetuated by the men trying to make her confirm to the sweet maiden aunt profile they created for her. When Austen personal letters were first published they were heavily censored. Her minor works were suppressed. The only true portrait of her was prettied up by later illustrators. The first biography written about her life by her nephew was practically a work of fiction. Likewise, even today Austen writing gets reduced to women's fiction as if that's a bad thing. A thing inherently less pure and less worthy of respect than men's fiction?
Or put more succinctly: Why is the first question people ask about Austen as a person is "Why didn't she get married?" Do we ask that question of male writers?
Here is a chance to get away from image and catch a glimpse of Austen behind the façade. And a chance to examine the true genius of her artistry.
I read it several years ago but only just realized I didn't have it listed here in my GoodReads. I own a copy now and was thinking again about what the book means to me so I decided to write a review her in the hopes that others will discover this book.
Auerbach does a phenomenal job playing with our cultural perceptions of Austen and not only filling in the gaps, but taking out the trash where needed. The Austen that emerges here is a surprising feminist icon. A woman burdened with 200 years of censorship perpetuated by the men trying to make her confirm to the sweet maiden aunt profile they created for her. When Austen personal letters were first published they were heavily censored. Her minor works were suppressed. The only true portrait of her was prettied up by later illustrators. The first biography written about her life by her nephew was practically a work of fiction. Likewise, even today Austen writing gets reduced to women's fiction as if that's a bad thing. A thing inherently less pure and less worthy of respect than men's fiction?
Or put more succinctly: Why is the first question people ask about Austen as a person is "Why didn't she get married?" Do we ask that question of male writers?
Here is a chance to get away from image and catch a glimpse of Austen behind the façade. And a chance to examine the true genius of her artistry.
February 5, 2017
I absolutely loved this examination of Austen's work. The introduction alone is worth the read -- and worth purchasing a copy of this text for your own library. Okay, the introduction and the passage on _Mansfield Park_ are worth the read: anyone who can present a compelling case for Fanny Price deserves all of the credit in the world, because, prior to this text, I felt that Fanny was the most insipid little thing in all of Austen canon; needless to say I've changed my mind.
I appreciated Auerbach's well-researched, thoughtful, and accessible examination of how the Austen persona has been distilled from that of an acerbic, witty, insightful female author who wrote about real life, people, and events to the be-frilled, fluffed, and sentimental author who wrote marriage novels. I'll admit that my initial interactions with Austen followed the latter course, but, as I began to engage with her works a little more in-depth during undergrad, I realized that the Austen presented in popular culture was not at all the Austen who actually wrote some of the most seminal texts of the traditional literary canon, and, by graduate school, I'd developed a full-fledged woman crush on Jane Austen the bad***. I'm tired of people talking about Austen as if her works were for giggling women looking for love and husbands; Austen did valuable work that really needs to be acknowledged as something original and, frankly, I think that it needs to be taken more seriously. I'm not at all suggesting that we should talk about Austen in a stuffy, pretentious way, but I think that we need to somehow bridge the gap between the Austen we find in academia and the Austen of popular culture. This text, I think, does a good job of exploring and explaining some of those discrepancies, but much of that work happens in the introduction and the last part of the text alone. This study begins by establishing some of the fundamental issues with Austen studies, and then it takes time discussing each of Austen's six novels more specifically. Because of this, the text is a little episodic, so you can stop between each section without feeling like you'll lose momentum or not understand one section without reading the one prior to it.
My only real frustration with the text (and, really, I'm not qualified to make this kind of an assertion because I've done nothing in the world of academia and Auerbach is a professor) is that it feels a little bit unorganized. There were certain passages that were so disjointed at times that I had to go back and re-read what I'd just read to see if I'd missed the connection between the ideas. Not all of the essays are quite as jumbled, but I was just a little surprised at the lack of cohesion in this text.
Overall, though, this is probably my favorite academic text I've ever read.
I appreciated Auerbach's well-researched, thoughtful, and accessible examination of how the Austen persona has been distilled from that of an acerbic, witty, insightful female author who wrote about real life, people, and events to the be-frilled, fluffed, and sentimental author who wrote marriage novels. I'll admit that my initial interactions with Austen followed the latter course, but, as I began to engage with her works a little more in-depth during undergrad, I realized that the Austen presented in popular culture was not at all the Austen who actually wrote some of the most seminal texts of the traditional literary canon, and, by graduate school, I'd developed a full-fledged woman crush on Jane Austen the bad***. I'm tired of people talking about Austen as if her works were for giggling women looking for love and husbands; Austen did valuable work that really needs to be acknowledged as something original and, frankly, I think that it needs to be taken more seriously. I'm not at all suggesting that we should talk about Austen in a stuffy, pretentious way, but I think that we need to somehow bridge the gap between the Austen we find in academia and the Austen of popular culture. This text, I think, does a good job of exploring and explaining some of those discrepancies, but much of that work happens in the introduction and the last part of the text alone. This study begins by establishing some of the fundamental issues with Austen studies, and then it takes time discussing each of Austen's six novels more specifically. Because of this, the text is a little episodic, so you can stop between each section without feeling like you'll lose momentum or not understand one section without reading the one prior to it.
My only real frustration with the text (and, really, I'm not qualified to make this kind of an assertion because I've done nothing in the world of academia and Auerbach is a professor) is that it feels a little bit unorganized. There were certain passages that were so disjointed at times that I had to go back and re-read what I'd just read to see if I'd missed the connection between the ideas. Not all of the essays are quite as jumbled, but I was just a little surprised at the lack of cohesion in this text.
Overall, though, this is probably my favorite academic text I've ever read.
July 7, 2023
I am SO conflicted about this. I REALLY enjoyed the first quarter, the author's discussion and analysis of Austen's representation through the ages and how media has continued to filter her into acceptable lenses. My mind was honestly blown at a couple points.
HOWEVER, once we got into the discussion of Austen's individual books, I got lost! It was no longer about finding Austen but analyzing each work haphazardly. They felt like college analysis papers (not a bad thing!) with no thesis. There was a lot of assumed interpretation of Austen (which is something the author criticized in the beginning chapters...?) I know these books, I know their themes, I don't need to be walked through each one and I assume the audience IS people familiar with her work? The author needed an advisor to keep her on track with her original thesis.
The first book she opens with analyzing is Northanger Abbey, which the author notes is Austen's least-liked book. I though that was Mansfield Park? Persuasion? Why open with the book you assume nobody likes. I adore Northanger Abbey and the author's derogatory attitude through its analysis was off-putting, unfortunately.
HOWEVER, once we got into the discussion of Austen's individual books, I got lost! It was no longer about finding Austen but analyzing each work haphazardly. They felt like college analysis papers (not a bad thing!) with no thesis. There was a lot of assumed interpretation of Austen (which is something the author criticized in the beginning chapters...?) I know these books, I know their themes, I don't need to be walked through each one and I assume the audience IS people familiar with her work? The author needed an advisor to keep her on track with her original thesis.
The first book she opens with analyzing is Northanger Abbey, which the author notes is Austen's least-liked book. I though that was Mansfield Park? Persuasion? Why open with the book you assume nobody likes. I adore Northanger Abbey and the author's derogatory attitude through its analysis was off-putting, unfortunately.
February 24, 2021
Jane Austen died in 1817 at the age of 41. To say she is one of the world’s most beloved authors would be an understatement.
While alive, Jane published four novels - Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma, with another two published after her death -Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
In her lifetime, all her novels were published anonymously, first attributed to “By a Lady” and later as the author of the previous books. It wasn’t until Persuasion and Northanger Abbey that her identity became known.
Emily Auerbach’s fascinating book unlocks Jane’s personality by dissecting the above mentioned six novels plus what is referred to as Ms. Austen’s “juvenilia” – works she produced while she was very young containing early short works in a variety of genres - stories, dramatic sketches, verses, etc.
A must read for every "Janeite"!
While alive, Jane published four novels - Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma, with another two published after her death -Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
In her lifetime, all her novels were published anonymously, first attributed to “By a Lady” and later as the author of the previous books. It wasn’t until Persuasion and Northanger Abbey that her identity became known.
Emily Auerbach’s fascinating book unlocks Jane’s personality by dissecting the above mentioned six novels plus what is referred to as Ms. Austen’s “juvenilia” – works she produced while she was very young containing early short works in a variety of genres - stories, dramatic sketches, verses, etc.
A must read for every "Janeite"!
books-i-did-not-finish
January 6, 2011I haven't even read most of this monography - just browsed the introduction and the last chapter, "Behold Me Immortal: Finding Jane Austen Today" in search for something I could use for my upcoming presentation on Jane Austen's reception today - but what I have read seems highly defensive of the author's image of Jane Austen which, on p. 4, she sums up like this: "I have felt myself growing closer and closer to the real Jane Austen [...:]." Emily Auerback seems to write, then, in the vein of the traditional gap between the different Jane Austen "readerships": She's my Jane Austen, she cannot be yours too. She insists others read Jane Austen wrongly, writing, on p. 276, "Oh, if Jane Austen could but respond!" to a play which apparently belittles her - the defensiveness calling forth Jane Austen "herself" to rescue her from those who make her into something she is not, in the author's opinion.
Personally, that kind of intolerance seeping through isn't exactly my cup of tea. The author's feminist indignation at, for instance, that biographers et al often call Jane Austen "Jane" or that academics dwell on the fact she wasn't married, even though quite understandable at times, doesn't become the objective of the book, undermining my ability to take it seriously. If I were to rate this, it might gather 2 stars - but then again, maybe I'd find redeeming qualities if I were to read more. Alas, I shall not have the time for it.
Personally, that kind of intolerance seeping through isn't exactly my cup of tea. The author's feminist indignation at, for instance, that biographers et al often call Jane Austen "Jane" or that academics dwell on the fact she wasn't married, even though quite understandable at times, doesn't become the objective of the book, undermining my ability to take it seriously. If I were to rate this, it might gather 2 stars - but then again, maybe I'd find redeeming qualities if I were to read more. Alas, I shall not have the time for it.
August 4, 2012
It is only natural that I would love this book, since it is all about Jane Austen and her writing. I enjoyed the author's exploration of Jane Austen's character and how it is portrayed in her writing. Emily Auerbach went through Austen's letters, the Juvenilia, and each of Austen's novels, including the unfinished Sanditon. Now I want to re-read all of Austen's works, since this book reminded me just how wonderful they are!
February 8, 2008
This book made me realize how many layers a 21st century person misses when reading Jane Austen. I can't wait to read her novels for the so manieth time, with a new understanding. A must read for every one who enjoys Jane Austen.
July 24, 2008
An excellent critical review of Jane Austen's writing and other views of her work--accessible and fascinating, particularly when discussing language and Austen's image as promoted by other critics, including Mark Twain.
April 22, 2009
For anyone who loves Jane Austen, this book is a must-read. Auerbach does a brilliant job examining Austen's books and the way readers have dealt with Austen's books over the years. Thouroughly readable, very well-researched--search for her no longer, Austen is revealed in this book.
May 4, 2012
This is the best book on Austen and her work that I've ever read (and in itself proves that this subject has plenty of room for more thought and analysis). Intriguing and utterly enthralling. It really gives Austen her due as an intelligent, witty, innovative humanist. Three cheers for Auerbach!
September 26, 2007
Excellent! Cheeky and fun rather than stodgey criticism. Auerbach is witty and funny but also very intelligent in her arguements regarding Jane Austen's work and our perspectives on her.
November 16, 2008
One of the better biographies of Austen. I'd rate it just below Tomalin's.
July 16, 2009
Intelligent, thought-provoking, and well-written. I'll definitely come back to this book as I read more of Jane Austen's novels.
August 4, 2011
This book finally analyses and describes the witty and sarcastic woman who I imagine wrote those 7 outstanding novels.
August 4, 2011
One of the better biographies about Jane Austen I have read recently. Great insight into what inspired this popular and unfortunately largely misrepresented author. In a word, superb!
January 27, 2013
This is a very good study of Austen. It is scholarly and insightful, but it is also clearly written and accessible to most readers.
September 11, 2013
Eye-opening. This book made me have feminist discussions with my mother. Largely one-sided. My mother tends to tune me out when I go into lecture mode.
April 29, 2018
Too dry and repetitive for me, couldn't finish it.
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February 19, 2008Working on this one
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