What do you think?
Rate this book
Reading Writers and their Work
Reading Jane Austen
Whether you're new to Austen's work or know it backwards and forwards already, this book provides a clear, full and highly engaging account of how Austen's fiction works and why it matters. Exploring new pathways into the study of Jane Austen's writing, novelist and academic Jenny Davidson looks at Austen's work through a writer's lens, addressing formal questions about narration, novel writing, and fictional composition as well as themes including social and women's history, morals and manners. Introducing new readers to the breadth and depth of Jane Austen's writing, and offering new insights to those more familiar with Austen's work, Jenny Davidson celebrates the art and skill of one of the most popular and influential writers in the history of English literature.
- GenresNonfiction
172 pages, Hardcover
Published January 12, 2018
5 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Davidson
16 books35 followersJenny Davidson is a professor at Columbia University and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is the author of the novel HEREDITY (2003); two YA novels, THE EXPLOSIONIST (2008) and INVISIBLE THINGS (2010); and several academic books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 31, 2018
3.5-3.75
November 6, 2017
**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this work from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review
Let me begin by saying that I am not an Austen novice, nor am I unfamiliar with literary criticism. I majored in English in college, with a concentration in Literature, and while I did not study Austen's works in depth, I closely studied works written around the same time period and I have read all of her novels for pleasure multiple times. This book might be a decent starting place for in depth study of Austen, particularly as a secondary text for an introductory class on Austen, but I found very little new information to inform a reread of any of her works.
The majority of the text was tedious and dull, and I hope that the final print version is edited better than the electronic version provided by the publisher via Netgalley. It is clear that the author has a deep appreciation for Austen and has spent a great deal of time in study of Austen's life and work. I will also note that it has been 20 years since I spent time in serious study, reading lengthy critical essays. This book may be better in small chunks - reading a chapter at a time over a lengthy course of study - rather than trying to sift through all the information at once. Perhaps, this is a failing of the reader, not the writer, hence the 2-star, rather than 1-star rating.
One final criticism that I feel needs to be noted, and which keeps this from being a 3-star rating, is that this text is written in a fashion that goes against much of what I was taught in college. While the author lays out her thesis clearly in the beginning, she continues throughout the work to beat the reader over the head with statements such as "the effect will be discussed in greater depth in the next chapter". She also attempts to define and provide examples of free indirect style, and then proceeds to both contradict herself and provide an excuse for possibly being wrong "the detection of free indirect style is an art, in other words, not a science, and it will be up to the individual reader to decide whether it is a useful way of describing the language of consciousness in this particular passage" (loc 1948). Yes, some elements of literature and criticism are subjective, but if an author is going to state an opinion, they need to own it.
Let me begin by saying that I am not an Austen novice, nor am I unfamiliar with literary criticism. I majored in English in college, with a concentration in Literature, and while I did not study Austen's works in depth, I closely studied works written around the same time period and I have read all of her novels for pleasure multiple times. This book might be a decent starting place for in depth study of Austen, particularly as a secondary text for an introductory class on Austen, but I found very little new information to inform a reread of any of her works.
The majority of the text was tedious and dull, and I hope that the final print version is edited better than the electronic version provided by the publisher via Netgalley. It is clear that the author has a deep appreciation for Austen and has spent a great deal of time in study of Austen's life and work. I will also note that it has been 20 years since I spent time in serious study, reading lengthy critical essays. This book may be better in small chunks - reading a chapter at a time over a lengthy course of study - rather than trying to sift through all the information at once. Perhaps, this is a failing of the reader, not the writer, hence the 2-star, rather than 1-star rating.
One final criticism that I feel needs to be noted, and which keeps this from being a 3-star rating, is that this text is written in a fashion that goes against much of what I was taught in college. While the author lays out her thesis clearly in the beginning, she continues throughout the work to beat the reader over the head with statements such as "the effect will be discussed in greater depth in the next chapter". She also attempts to define and provide examples of free indirect style, and then proceeds to both contradict herself and provide an excuse for possibly being wrong "the detection of free indirect style is an art, in other words, not a science, and it will be up to the individual reader to decide whether it is a useful way of describing the language of consciousness in this particular passage" (loc 1948). Yes, some elements of literature and criticism are subjective, but if an author is going to state an opinion, they need to own it.
July 10, 2023
This is by one of my college professors. Overall, it was a joy to read! Some of Davidson's arguments are quite obvious, but many are insightful. I think this book is particularly accessible to those who are new to/intimidated by reading literary criticism.
September 18, 2020
Excellent insights, well written, accessible. The chapter on Voice is one of the best readings of Austen's style I've seen. I don't get the negative blowback this book has gotten on this site.
December 19, 2017
I love Jane Austen, I adore her. She was my introduction into English Literature, in many ways thereby setting me on the path I am on now. So I have a lot of emotions and experiences tied to Jane Austen and her books. When I started studying English Literature I found myself almost subconsciously avoiding writing about her though, partially because my academic interests lay elsewhere, but also because I was a little bit scared. Reading Jane Austen has helped me understand why, in part. Thanks to Cambridge University Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As an avid Janeite, there were a lot of things which Davidson discussed that I had thought of or considered before, but she casts them in a new light and unites them into a number of solid themes that allow you to see these books in a new light. Davidson shows connections between the different texts, ways in which Austen's style developed and improved, even how her personal life and letters illuminate the importance of certain aspects in her novels. The book is split into seven different chapters, each of which has its own theme which is discussed across Austen's work. Whether it's the importance of letter writing in Chapter 1, the importance to Austen of manners and morals in Chapters 3 and 4, or the way she highlighted the role of women in society in Chapter 7, Reading Jane Austen ranges widely, but always does so relevantly. Davidson illuminated some aspects of the book for me and, perhaps most crucially of all, she made me want to reread Jane Austen's books with a new eye.
Jenny Davidson's writing is what makes Reading Jane Austen fun. I know from experience that academic texts, or any non-fiction book that digs into a topic, are often very interesting, but not always fun. And sometimes they're not even interesting, which makes for the worst reading experience ever. Reading Jane Austen, in comparison, is a delight. Davidson writes with an easy and a friendliness that, to me, felt like I was sitting in a seminar at university, having a conversation with her. She quotes Austen at length, allowing her prose to illuminate Davidson's arguments. Some of the chapters, especially those looking at narration for example, can be heavy on academic lingo which might be off putting to those not used to it. However, she doesn't overuse it and explains it well when she does. The Further Reading section at the back is also fascinating for anyone interested in Jane Austen and I will be browsing through it soon for future reading.
I enjoyed Reading Jane Austen a lot more than I expected, considering it's non-fiction. However, Davidson takes her reader on a lovely stroll through some of the most important themes in Jane Austen's fiction, all the while providing them with new tools to analyse and appreciate Austen's books. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about Austen's fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...
As an avid Janeite, there were a lot of things which Davidson discussed that I had thought of or considered before, but she casts them in a new light and unites them into a number of solid themes that allow you to see these books in a new light. Davidson shows connections between the different texts, ways in which Austen's style developed and improved, even how her personal life and letters illuminate the importance of certain aspects in her novels. The book is split into seven different chapters, each of which has its own theme which is discussed across Austen's work. Whether it's the importance of letter writing in Chapter 1, the importance to Austen of manners and morals in Chapters 3 and 4, or the way she highlighted the role of women in society in Chapter 7, Reading Jane Austen ranges widely, but always does so relevantly. Davidson illuminated some aspects of the book for me and, perhaps most crucially of all, she made me want to reread Jane Austen's books with a new eye.
Jenny Davidson's writing is what makes Reading Jane Austen fun. I know from experience that academic texts, or any non-fiction book that digs into a topic, are often very interesting, but not always fun. And sometimes they're not even interesting, which makes for the worst reading experience ever. Reading Jane Austen, in comparison, is a delight. Davidson writes with an easy and a friendliness that, to me, felt like I was sitting in a seminar at university, having a conversation with her. She quotes Austen at length, allowing her prose to illuminate Davidson's arguments. Some of the chapters, especially those looking at narration for example, can be heavy on academic lingo which might be off putting to those not used to it. However, she doesn't overuse it and explains it well when she does. The Further Reading section at the back is also fascinating for anyone interested in Jane Austen and I will be browsing through it soon for future reading.
I enjoyed Reading Jane Austen a lot more than I expected, considering it's non-fiction. However, Davidson takes her reader on a lovely stroll through some of the most important themes in Jane Austen's fiction, all the while providing them with new tools to analyse and appreciate Austen's books. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about Austen's fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...
January 22, 2018
I don't know if this book wants to be a textbook or literary review, but I do know that the author loves to wax soliloquy about now (this century) and then (Austen time). I wasn't looking for a report on all things Austen so I found this too staid and stuffy to connect with. I did find the author's notes about how to study Austen for tips on novel writing and human behavior interesting, but the information seemed murky given her penchant for loquaciousness. If you have a report due on the famous author then Reading Jane Austen would be a nice place to start, otherwise, it's rather tedious. I still love all things Austen, but I intend to do myself a favor and re-read one of her works rather than a tome about how I should read Austen.
December 1, 2017
This took me a long time to finish. I do admire Jane Austen, and I admit not being a scholar of her work, and I feel that perhaps I would have enjoyed it better if I had studied more academic works on how she wrote. I would rather re-read her actual work. Not really for me.
*eARC Netgalley*
*eARC Netgalley*
May 28, 2020
The subject matter and author’s insights were interesting, but this book needed heavy editing - in particular, headings (necessitating better organization) and some shorter sentences would have easily made this much better.
January 28, 2024
Fair introduction for an Austen newbie, does spoil some things (I don't mind spoilers), some chapters/essays were a little tedious and overly intellectual, but overall I found it helpful and informative
July 20, 2025
It's always nice to read other people's thoughts about Jane Austen and her work. I didn't find this world-changing, but Davidson has some interesting points, especially in the way she compares Austen's novels to one another. I might read another by this author.
September 13, 2018
The author has a good understanding of Austen's work and her narrative style, and comments on all novels as well as the juvenilia and letters.
Read
August 30, 2019823.7 A933Xd 2017
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews