Presenting Miss Jane Austen

by May Lamberton Becker, Edward Price (Illustrator)

This outstanding biography of a well-beloved novelist catches the spirit of Jane Austen herself. May Lamberton Becker enjoyably introduces us to the 18th and early 19th century world Miss Austen lived in—her family, her friends, her varied settings and her many keen interests—as we are given insight to the personal background of all the Austen novels. Enlivening her narrative with many quotations from Jane Austen’s own correspondence, Miss Becker puts her own enthusiastic appreciation of one of the world’s most delightful writers at our disposal.

England, 1775-1817.
RL8.7
Of read-aloud interest ages 11-up

Genres: Biography, Jane Austen, Nonfiction, Literature

179 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

May Lamberton Becker (August 26, 1873 - April 27, 1958) was an American literary critic and author.

For more than forty years She wrote a weekly 'Readers Guide', first with the New York Evening Post, then with the Saturday Review of Literature and finally in the weekly book section of the New York Herald Tribune, of which she later became literary editor.

She was well known as a lecturer on literature and drama. She wrote a number of introductions for the Rainbow Classics series of children's books.
Becker was also known as an anthologist, who was responsible for the Golden Tales series (Golden Tales of Our America (1929), Golden Tales of the Old South (1930), Golden Tales of New England (1931), Golden Tales of the Prairie States (1932), Golden Tales of the Far West (1935), Golden Tales of Canada (1938), Golden Tales of the Southwest (1938)), as well as several unrelated collections (Under Twenty (1932), A Treasure Box of Stories for Children (1937), Growing Up With America (1941), The Home Book of Christmas (1941), Youth Replies, I Can: Stories of Resistance (1945), The Home Book of Laughter (1948)). She wrote two biographies for young people, Introducing Charles Dickens (1941) and Presenting Miss Jane Austen (1952), and several books of advice regarding reading (A Reader's Guide Book (1924), Adventures in Reading (1927), Books as Windows (1929), Reading Menus for Young People (1935), First Adventures in Reading (1936, published in England 1937 as Choosing Books for Children), and compiled The Rainbow Mother Goose (1937) and The Rainbow Book of Bible Stories (1948). Five Cats from Siam (1935) and Foreign Cookery (1950) were her other titles.

Reviews

[Rebecca Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the life of Jane Austen. Introducing the process of her writing and family life.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This classic, quirky biographer for young readers is a period piece that unashamedly promotes the idea of great books and The Literary Canon. May Lamberton Becker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Lamb...) has a definite voice and a definite world view, and, luckily, Jane Austen aligned neatly with both. The book is interesting in both its content and its freedom in embroidering historical fact with personal opinion: Becker twice remarks that since Austen children never heard nor spoke bad grammar or slang, it was natural that Austen was such a great writer, for example. Interestingly enough, when I dug into who exactly MLB was, I found that the glowing blurb on the back of my vintage 1952 (Goodreads says "first published" in 2006--ha!) was written by Beatrice Warde, who happened to be Becker's daughter. Curiouser and curiouser! Still, the book is interesting, if only as an historical example of the inherited cultural canon and its promotion. I wonder if it has been brought up to date at all in its "new" edition.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good. I was particularly motivated to get this book around the time the movie Becoming Jane was about to come out. Not because I like the movie, in fact I haven't seen,didn't care for any of the previews, and basically refuse to watch it. The movie, in my opinion, is more fictional than all of Jane Austen's novels put together. Presenting Miss Jane Austen clears up any suspicion of her potential/accused lover/love affair. Gives the background for some of her stories, and her characters. And though it might dismiss certain "romantic" myths about Miss Austen brings her to light in a much more human and friendly way.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned through this book, that Jane Austen's life was not exactly like the movie, Becoming Jane. I liked the movie though for it's entertainment value. This book was mostly boring to read. I skipped a lot but it was interesting enough to gain knowledge about her true life story and what was happening in the world (French Revolution) and in her family (some bankrupcy) and her life (different marriage proposals) during each of the books that she wrote and how these events affected her stories.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful book tells the story of the family and life of the Author Jane Austen. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors so I was curious about her life. I really enjoyed the book and would like to read it again and take notes so I can keep track of the characters. I love her large family and the fact that she was really a good person.

[Meredith Henning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Violet's reading page :
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...

[Junemarie Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good considering the focus of young adult biographies in the era when it was written. Readable and makes extensive use of Austen family writings and documents.

[Helen]

It's not really fair to give this book a rating, as I didn't finish it. It was just a bit too cutesy for me, assuming the (child) reader is coming from the perspective of simply loving Jane Austen -- which I really don't. I like her OK, but I'm not besotted by her, which the author seems to assume will be the case.

The author's way of sidestepping or hinting at things, without giving details one wants to know (such as " 'poor little George,' the second son who never came home from the cottage where he was put out to nurse . . . ") I just found annoying and patronizing.

I just didn't like the writing style, and didn't want quotes from Austen's short play written when she was 15, making fun of the prevalence of fainting heroines (and heroes) in popular literature of the time.

I got to the end of Chapter 8 and decided I just wasn't interested enough to continue. I bought the book based on good reviews, and probably would have enjoyed it more were I a more passionate Jane Austen fan.

[Siobhain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this just delightful. Ms. Becker does a lovely job of introducing us to Jane, her family, especially her sister Cassandra, her writing, the publishing of her books, and much more. I already loved her from reading her books and this book only makes me love her more. It is written for upper middle school age students, but as an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though probably at an easier reading level, I didn't feel like it spoke down to the reader. Ms. Becker thoroughly researched the book which she also explains. I highly recommend this to any lover of Jane Austen and her books.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I dissect the body of Miss Becker's biographical work, I have two explanatory points to discuss. Firstly, the reason that I have tagged this book as a "Jane Austen Sequel" is merely because I like to be able to find all my Janeite material in the same place. Secondly, the only reason that this book did not get the entire five stars is that, however informative and well-written is was, it wasn't dazzling or stellar in any sense of the words. As a matter of opinion, I believe that the only Jane Austen biography that could be described by those terms would be the one written by her descendant, Mr. Richard Austen-Leigh. Let me reiterate, that is a matter of personal opinion.

In all honesty, I cannot find much fault in this biography. It was a quick, easy, light read, full of interesting facts that I had not heretofore known about my favorite author, which is always a pleasant surprise to come across. Scenarios were put together seamlessly and presumptions were both believable and entertaining. On the whole, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who might want to know more about Jane.

As I said, I cannot find *much* fault. My only issue with this book is that for some reason is just did not feel like a serious work. I don't know why I should feel that way, because it obviously is. It isn't in any way a burlesque or a satire or a mockery. I don't know why I should feel so, but it was almost as though a child had written it for someone that they admired. Of course, this is not meant to be any personal attack on Ms. Becker. She is a splendid writer who knows her Austen, and I am sure that she loves and admires Jane just as much as any of us do. Perhaps it was because she writes predominately children's fiction that I feel as though there is too much fluff in the pages and not enough sincerity.

Again, this review is merely a personal opinion. As I said, I enjoyed reading the book. I recommend it to anyone who wants a quick manifest of Jane's world and life. Read it with delight.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly quick read, this biography of Jane Austen is beautifully illustrated in black and white with pictures of, among other things, the places in which she lived. Much of what I read in this book I already knew, from other books and Austen's letters. I was surprised by how easy it was to read this and how much it felt like reading about someone that one already knows. There is much to be gained from a book such as this. I have to say that I don't really have much to say about it. I don't believe that it presented any new information, though all of it was interesting and the situation might have been different in the early 1950s when the book was published. There was no speculation about Jane's illness or anything else and hardly a hard word for anyone. I believe the appropriate description I'm looking for is insipid, though enjoyable.

[Charity U · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy-to-read but enjoyable biography of Jane Austen. Having read several JA biographies, I noticed that this one really downplayed Tom Lefroy, basically saying that she never really loved a man...I don't know if she loved him or not, but she was definitely more enamored with him (I think) than the book says.

[Ssawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter gave me an original 1952 edition of the this book, which she found in a used book store. It's a delightful read. While it is a biography, the author's fan bias comes through in a very positive way. I feel a kinship with Ms. Becker as a fellow Janite!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun juvenile biography about Jane Austen.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The boys and I read the first 7 chapters and had no idea who or what was going on so we quit reading.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good biography of Jane Austen for younger readers.

[Hailey Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, sometimes a little hard to follow. I enjoyed it.