9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting account of such a remarkable woman, March 4, 2010
This review is from: Jane Austen (Christian Encounters Series) (Paperback)
This book was quite enlightening as well as entertaining about the life and times of Jane Austen. Reading it made me want to reread her most famous novels. It's always interesting to get a glimpse into the life of an author, especially one as timeless as Jane Austen. To see into her everyday life through information such as excerpts from personal letters gave a truer picture of who this amazing "authoress" was. The book did a thorough job of painting the background of the people and places most influential in her life, particularly her beloved family and favorite homes. Reading this book gave me a greater respect for her (her compassion, her humor, and overall virtuous nature) as well as awareness to the depth of who she was and the work that went into her novels. It was enlightening to see the pattern of writing in her life - beginning in her teens, taking a break for a decade during her personal trials, and then culminating in such success at the end of her very young life. She was a remarkable woman as well as writer.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nicely Done, April 13, 2010
This review is from: Jane Austen (Christian Encounters Series) (Paperback)
It's been a while since I reviewed a book for Thomas Nelson, but it should come as no surprise that I chose another biography from the Christian Encounters Series to read. When I saw the biography of the one and only Jane Austen was available for review, I almost had a heart attack because I was so excited. I am most definitely, in the words of one of my refugee elders, a "Number One Fan" of Jane Austen (the refugee actually refers to himself as "Number One Fan" so take that for what you think). My mom introduced me to the literary stylings of Austen when I was a young girl- not only through her books, but also through the amazing adaptation of Pride and Prejudice BBC produced several years back (and yes, that is where my love affair with Colin Firth began, as I'm sure it did for every other female who fancies herself a good match with him).
Of course, Jane Austen is no new subject material for a biographer; hundreds upon hundreds of books describing the authoress's life have hit the market. Even movies have been made concerning her so-called love affairs, however fictionalized they may be. In reality, taking on the challenge of writing a fair and honest biography of Austen must be a daunting task. Because her fame did not reach significant heights until well after her death, we find the details of her life in her surviving correspondence between family and friends. Her nephew James Edward published a biography of his Aunt Jane in the latter half of the eighteenth century, but there is quite a deal of adversity over how he characterized her.
In this particular biography Peter Liethart tries to present an accurate portrayal of the Austen; he uses a great deal of primary sources, citing letter upon letter between Austen and various other people. Leithart also discusses the difficulties in determining just who the real Jane (or "Jenny" as she was called by her family) Austen was. His biography is well-rounded, although it did seem to end rather abruptly. Still, I would recommend it to just about everyone, especially those individuals who already find themselves drawn to Austen's work. One major caveat of the biography: if you have not finished reading most of Austen's novels, you should be forewarned that Leithart tends to describe the plot and characters of her most famous works (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion), as well as the ending of each of the novels. A definite spoiler alert to be sure!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-researched, concise, ballanced - and the cover feels deliciously like watercolor paper!, March 26, 2011
This review is from: Jane Austen (Christian Encounters Series) (Paperback)
Despite my love of her novels, I never read a Jane Austen biography until I recently thumbed back the cover of an almost-squarish little book by Peter Leithart - Jane Austen (Christian Encounters Series).
Well-Researched -
Numerous excerpts of letters fill these pages and give evidence for the portrait Leithart paints of Jane for us. I imagine it might be easier when writing a biography to rely on previous biographies, but Leithart primarily sticks to original sources. And what better sources than words of Jane and those who knew her?
Concise -
Leithart is a good writer, painting a vivid picture of lively, childlike "Jenny" without getting bogged down in dull information (no offense meant, I hope, to those of you who love lengthy biographies - I tend to drown in seas of information). His words were a breath of fresh air and a pleasure to read after the last book I read. And going from a fantasy tale to a biography, that's saying a lot for me.
Balanced -
By sticking to facts and making a few reasonable deductions, Leithart strikes a wonderful balance, both in showing Jane's flaws and fine points, and in giving a reasonable idea of her Christianity:
"Early biographers often turned her into a model of Victorian Christian domestic femininity, and emphasized her Christian faith in an evangelical idiom she never used. In reaction, many more recent biographers all but ignore her faith. Both of these extremes distort Austen's life and personality."
And again:
"Biographers minimize Austen's Christianity mainly because they cannot believe that her acerbic, sometimes childishly cruel wit, her satires of the clerical imbecilities of Mr. Collins and Mr. Elton, and her playful silliness are compatible with deep Christian faith...The assumption that Christian faith is incompatible with a satirical spirit is entierly wrongheaded. Nietzsche's lie that Christianity is a killjoy religion is a demonstratable falsehood. English satire was, after all, the creation of clerics. Austen was hardly the first Christian writer to look sceptically at the clergy. Chaucer did before her, and so did a host of late medieval writers...And who can deny the combination of boisterous cheer and profound faith in Lewis and Chesterton?"
Pleasing Design -
A minor point, but my copy of the book is nearer to squareness than most. Compact, small, and the cover has the feel of textured watercolor paper. Very satisfying to hold.
One of A Series -
I may eventually check out more books in The Christian Encounters series, biographies of Christians across the ages, such as John Bunyan, Winston Churchill, and J.R.R.Tolkien. Each is written by a different author, so they may not all be as enjoyable to me as this one. But I'm especially interested in the one about St. Patrick which was written by Jonathan Rogers, author of the great Wilderking series and writer at The Rabbit Room.
Conclusion -
Quite enjoyable. If you want a well-written biography from a scholarly Christian perspective on Jane Austen, do check this out. And then tell me if I'm silly for compact almost-squareness of the book and the great feel of the cover's paper.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book for free from Thomas Nelson.
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