Becoming Jane: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen

by Anne Newgarden

A collection of the classic author's most famous quotes features selections that have remained relevant since the late 1700s, in a volume that is organized under such headings as "Men," "Balls," and "Marriage." Original.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Classics, Romance, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Anne Newgarden was born and raised in Staten Island, New York City’s “forgotten borough,” where her fascination with the metaphysical began, and has been grateful for many years to call Greenwich Village her home. She attended Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School, and majored in English at the University of Virginia.

Anne has worked as a writer and editor in the field of children’s educational and entertainment media; a copy editor/proofreader in magazine and book publishing; a personal assistant to a celebrated folk musician; a project coordinator in an experimental NYC public school classroom; and a concession-stand manager at an Off-Broadway theater, among other interesting jobs.

Her published works include Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book and Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up Book , both with artist Chuck Fischer (Bulfinch); and Becoming Jane: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen (Miramax) . . . with Jane Austen. Anne loves strong coffee, independent movie theaters, sandpipers, small children, and expanding her consciousness, not exclusively or necessarily in that order, and has always been happiest by the water. She writes and plays, whenever she can, at the Jersey Shore.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this collection to be quite good. I had never read anything from Jane Austen before (believe it or not!) and this book of quotes from letters she'd written to her sister, Cassandra, and also quotes from different parts of her novels such as from Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park have piqued my curiosity and I would like to begin reading some Jane Austen soon!!

I give this book ***** (5 stars!) and would recommend it to anyone that either has read Jane Austen before, or would maybe be interested in doing so.

This book is also in movie form and I've been told the movie was very good, so now I am more interested in renting it!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book was kind of misleading. The front cover says "Now a major motion picture" which implies the movie is based on the book. On the back it says "Inspired by the major motion picture". I thought it would be more biographical but it was mostly just quotes and many of the quotes were reused throughout the book, in different sections. Not terribly well done in my opinion

[Kersten · Rating 2 out of 5]

A small book full of quotes from Jane Austen books and her letters. Cute and put together well, maybe a good coffee table book.

[Atlantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of quotes by Jane Austen from her books and letters. The author shares personnel insights and engages the reader with her efforts to make Ms. Austen a relatable person. However, if you have read a great deal of Austen then this could be considered a bit dull. The author obviously finds Ms. Austen a fascinating person as well as writer and her intent is merely to share that as well as encourage further reading.

[Julia Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked it better if there was more information on Jane Austen such as childhood friends, childhood interests, what challenged her, whether she had other talents other than writing, whether she had any pets or even a bit more about her studies if she had any.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A god compilation of Austen’s quotes and letters along with short biographies of her life.

[Christa Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting glimpse into Austen's writing but I would have enjoyed it more if I had read more of her novels previously.

[Prita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebagai fans beratnya Jane Austen, gue selalu penasaran dengan kehidupan pribadinya. Waktu pertama baca novel2nya dia, gue pikir dia adalah wanita yg punya kisah yang happy end karena novel2 yg dia buat terkesan sangat wise dan real, despite the difference of lifetime etc. Setelah baca biografinya ini, in the end gue jadi berpikir bahwa setiap kisah yg dia angkat dalam novelnya mungkin adalah hal yang ia harap terjadi pada dirinya. Karena Jane Austen adalah seorang spinster yang tidak punya kisah cinta yang indah. Lahir dari impoverish family, kehidupannya penuh masalah. Sekalinya tunangan, ia harus kawin lari dan bahkan membatalkan pernikahannya karena ia tahu tunangannya akan bermasalah kalau mereka menikah.

I can't imagine how it feels when you meet your unrequited love after all those years, kemudian dia muncul dihadapan lo dengan anaknya. Sedangkan dia sendiri tidak menikah, mungkin Mr. Darcy adalah khayalan Jane Austen karena pada kenyataannya, dia harus merelakan semua itu karena uang. Dan Mr. Darcy is a wealthy gentleman, yg tidak harus bergantung pada orang lain. Adieu~

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing better than this wonderful collection of Jane Austen quotes is reading her novels! I really enjoyed reading this book, which organizes Austen's quotes into 15 short and readable chapters concerning family, juvenilia, beauty and fashion, vanity and other vices, other people, friendship, the sexes, courtship, love, marriage, money, letters and letter writing, books and reading, her own writing, and becoming Jane. The cover art is from the recent film, Becoming Jane, that focuses on the romantic aspect of Jane Austen's life and how that influenced her writing. I really enjoyed the film! This book is a wonderful first step into Jane Austen's writing that will hopefully leave you wanting to read more!

[Alysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the movie just in book form. This is a collection of quotes from Jane Austen on many subjects taken from all of her writings. I learned a lot about Jane Austen and her time in this book. I liked that there were more than just quotes from her published books. There were quotes from her personal letters as well as her earlier unpublished works. They were fun to read and shed a light on Jane's personality that I had not understood before. I highly recommend it for any Jane Austen fan.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of quotes. I love Jane Austen and I love reading quotes from all of her books and her letters written to family. This is a great book to pick up and read a bit, and then can read a little bit more later. The author does a good job of introducing Jane and her circumstances at the beginning of each chapter.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was the same book that the movie was based on, a movie that I quite enjoyed. I was mistaken. This book is a book of quotes from Jane Austin taken from her 7 novels. It's great because it's catigorized into sections. Quotes on love, Quotes on reading, Quotes on marriage, and so on. I enjoyed it, and will use the quotes.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a lot of quotes from her books in it, and also from letters she wrote (mostly to her sister). I love her wit, and it made me want to read all of her books (I've only read Pride and Prejudice) even more than I've wanted to before. I'd recommend it if you are an avid Jane Austen fan, and even if you aren't.

[Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aunque adoro a jane Austen, un libro un poco decepcionante porque mas de la mitad son citas de otros libros, la historia de Austen es interesante pero en el libro no es del todo clara, te deja queriendo saber mas.

[Laura Rieth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watched the movie first. It is a neat book, although I did not read it all at once. That probably helped with the quotes and the style it was written in. I enjoyed the quotes from her writings and letters. Probably would have enjoyed it differently if I had not seen the movie.

[Judine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this is a short and easily accessible collection from all of Jane Austen's works. While the essays that lead off each section are well written, they strike me as something anyone who knows Austen well could have written - nothing out of the common way, so to speak.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great compilation of quotes and short sections from Jane Austen's books. The entries are organized by topic. I thoroughly enjoyed this! It's a great book for people who only have time to read in little bits and snatches.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was very superficial. It sounded incredibly annoying to me having Jane Austen to talk with in your head all the time, and the conversations they had were very inane. I kept reading it just out of curiosity about what happened romantically to the main character. But I wouldn't recommend it.

[Shanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

193 pgs
It's a collection of some of Jane Austen's most famous and quotable quotes - both from her novels and some personal letters that she wrote - and some description on how life was at the time she was living / writing. I highly enjoyed it simply because Austen is a favorite. :)

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for what it is, a book that gathers quotes and passages written by Jane Austen on various topics. It also has an introduction to each topic that gives a little information on Jane Austen's life and feelings about the topic.

[Kelsie Stennett]

I watched the movie this weekend and decided I wanted to read the book and compare I love the movie I just hated the ending I was wanting them to get married and live a happy life but that was nice he named his daughter Jane.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book with introductions and quotations on various subjects including friendship, courtship, marriage, letter writing, books and reading. - Many memorable quotations to return to again and again from her novels and letters.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun quotes, not just from her books, but from her letters and early writings as well. Short, interesting bio information before each topic of quotes - fun to read!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love her writing, her connections with emotions are universal across time

[Stephi K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am on a crusade to read and view all things Jane, so of course I loved reading her quotes; only it was not a continuous read. Great for a reference book.

[Pili · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just a small collection of great Jane Austen quotes, from her letters and books. It's a fun read.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just quotes from Jane Austen with some context given as to Regency England. Not that thrilling.

[Myranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book and movie did have some parts that are a little beyond what I would like to see in a Jane Austen book, but all in all, it was very good.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I actually saw the movie and LOVED it!!!

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun companion book to the Austen originals.