Customer Reviews

Jane Austen (Christian Encounters Series)

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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.

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."

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.

The Christian Encounters Series is a collection of biographies that focus on the religious aspects in the lives of historical figures. Some of these important individuals are known and for their religious beliefs and acts, while others are not. The one trait all these historical figures have in common is that they were all Christians. These biographies are packaged in a petite yet pleasing volume, around two hundred pages in length, and are complete with appendixes and endnotes. Published by Thomas Nelson, this series includes biographies on Winston Churchill, Johann Sebastian Bach, Saint Francis, Saint Nicholas, Isaac Newton, Galileo and many others.

While she is known for being a clergyman's daughter, or as Dr. Leithart aptly identifies her, a PK (a Preacher's Kid), Jane Austen is best known for is her satirical wit, her keen observations of human nature, and biting social commentary. Sometimes referred to as being "waspish" and possessing a "sharp tongue," Jane Austen doesn't always present the picture of a devout and pious Christian. However, Jane Austen was a faithful Christian who read sermons and wrote prayers. In addition, many characteristics of the Christian faith can found in her writing. In this biography, Dr. Leithart reveals the characteristics of Christianity that are most visible and predominant in Jane Austen and her writing.

"Manners and morals do not exist in separate realms of life. Manners are a moral concern, and morals take specific shape in the gestures of manners." - page 68

Manners and morals are two very important elements in Jane Austen's novels. In her novels, Jane Austen gently reprimands those who are too fanciful and flighty, ridicules those who are vain and haughty, and punishes those who are dishonest and dishonorable. Characters that are considered "good" are intelligent, modest, and enjoy past-times such as reading and music. Characters that are offending or antagonistic are often portrayed as ostentatious, imbecilic, or insincere. Instead of sermonizing and moralizing, Jane Austen illustrates proper conduct and principles to her readers. Her novels teach us valuable lessons about life, love, family, and friends.

"The Austen's Christianity was not the excitable Christianity of Bunyan or John Newton, but a cooler, more rational and more ethically focused Christianity, which expressed itself chiefly in acts of charity. First Corinthians 13 was the touchstone of the family's faith." - page 25

The Austen family displayed their Christianity through acts of love, kindness, and charity. The Austen women frequently made garments for those in need and visited those who were ailing. While she may not be considered the most charitable and giving person, Jane Austen did her share to provide for those less fortunate than herself. In her novel, Emma, she illustrates the importance of kindness and charity towards one's neighbors. Moreover, when the title character of that novel realizes that she has been "unfeeling," "remiss," and "scornful" towards her neighbor, she immediately resolves to rectify her behavior and seek forgiveness. This is a prime example of how Jane Austen demonstrates proper conduct and gently guides her readers.

This was an enlightening and well-researched biography! What I loved most about Jane Austen: Christian Encounters was that it wasn't just a scholarly study on Jane Austen and her Christian faith, but that it was an informative and detailed biography of her life. Dr. Leithart presents a very knowledgeable and concise account of all the major events and people of Jane Austen's life. Beginning with Jane Austen's birth and ending with her recent popularity this work presents a thorough and genuine depiction of Jane Austen. My only complaint is with the appendixes, which I didn't find very helpful. I think listing Jane Austen's acquaintances in categories or by relationships rather than in alphabetical order would have been more useful. Moreover, a family tree or chart would have been a nice addition, as well.

To put it simply, I took great pleasure in this interesting and captivating biography of Jane Austen and I heartily recommend it to all Austen fans! Jane Austen: Christian Encounters by Peter Leithart is a terrific first-time biography for those who want to learn more about Jane Austen's life yet a little hesitant about reading a large and lengthy work.


** If you are interested, Dr. Leithart has published a second book on Jane Austen titled, Minatures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen. With a first chapter called "Real Men Read Austen," this book is definitey on my wishlist!

Austenesque Reviews

Though I've read many of Jane Austen's novels, and several works of historical fiction based around her life, Jane Austen by Peter Leithart, part of Thomas Nelson's Christian Encounters series of short biographies is the first formal biography I've read of Austen's life.

Jane Austen was a so-so read for me. It did touch upon Austen's rather subdued, formalized Anglican faith, and the outward demonstrations of it in her good works, but the author's main thrust was rather to present his portrait of Jane, which he feels is a correction from the idealized one generally presented. In that, he succeeds. However, in some way I found his work unsatisfying. It is certainly competently written, but it aroused no great interest or passion in me, and left me feeling rather neutral.

Leithart also very rapidly introduces Jane's extensive family connections in the book's first chapter, and it is difficult to keep up with all of the names and family ties. Because of my previous familiarity with Austen's life through historical fiction, some of these ties were already established in my mind, which certainly helped, but even so, it was too much, too soon.

In conclusion, I can't particularly recommend Jane Austen, but neither can I recommend readers avoid it. In the end I don't have much of a stand to take on this brief (153 pages) biography, but if you are looking for a short introduction to one of the world's most beloved novelists, you may want to consider this title as an option.

There are several biographies in print on Jane Austen (1775-1817) revealing her life, family and her inspiration to become a writer. Two very famous books come to mind: JANE AUSTEN: A LIFE, by Claire Tomalin (1998) and oddly the same title published in the same year by David Nokes. Both books were extensively researched and are quite lengthy. This new slim volume by Austen scholar Dr. Peter Leithart runs 153 pages and fills an entirely different niche. While the lengthier and exhaustive expositions might appeal to historical researchers, biography enthusiasts and her dedicated fans, the size alone would intimidate the average reader or student seeking the "sparks notes" version so-to-speak of her life. In addition, very few biographies reflect upon the influence of her Anglican faith as a guide to the Christian morality in her life and novels. In the introduction Dr. Leithart's summarizes his motivation for writing the book and its emphasis:

"In the brief compass of this biography, I have tried to capture the varied sides of Austen's character. 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 those extremes distort Austen's life and personality. I have tried to depict accurately the depth and sincerity of her Christianity, as well as her Anglican discomfort with religious emotion, but without losing sight of the other sides of her complex character -her playfulness, her satiric gift for ridicule, her `waspishness,' her rigid morality. I have attempted to capture Jane Austen in full." (pp xvi)

The introduction is entitled Janeia, a term penned by Dr. Leihart to describe "the current obsession with everything Austen" by the media and her fervent fans. If you admit you are one of her disciples, then you are a Janeiac. One fellow reviewer described it as a disease. Leihart describes it as dementia while elaborating on Austen's pop-culture phenomena and its inaccurate memory of depicting her life and characters. "Austen has become what she never was in life, what she would have been horrified to be: a literary celebrity." With mild academic disdain we are taken on a brief tour through her rise in readership through the 19th to 21st centuries and her recent Hollywoodization through movies, books and spinoff's. In my view, this was not the best way to begin a biography for readers who may not have read about Austen's life before. That, and I am feigning my own "Austen fandom ridicule fatigue" from being poked at by zombie fans, the media and Austen nay-sayers for the past few years. I am an Austen fan and I do embrace a sense of the ridiculous, but enough already. Go pick on Bronte fans for a while, please.

Besides this eyebrow raising beginning, this is really an excellent compact biography on an important literary figure and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Leithart includes all the important moments of Austen's life and also gives us great background on her family and others in her circle who influenced her education, her social and religious views and her writing. In seven succinct chapters we learn of Austen's wholly English world, her gentry-class family background as a minister's daughter, home-school education, early manuscripts, disruptions in her writing, final publication, death, and later widespread growth in popularity. There is also a helpful appendix of family, friends, and neighbors and a second appendix of characters in her novels that are mentioned in this biography.

Even though JANE AUSTEN: CHRISTIAN ENCOUNTERS SERIES has its charms, I must point out a few foibles. Technically it is lacking in an index which I find imperative in biographies no matter how brief or long. Leithart draws from many reputable scholarly sources such as Claire Tomalin, David Cecil, Claudia Johnson, Deirdre Le Faye, Claire Harman and many family letters and recollections citing them in the notes in the back of the book by chapter. I prefer footnotes so you do not have to flip back and forth. Small quibble I know, but it adds to quicker reference and less disruptive reading. Repeatedly he refers to Jane Austen as "Jenny" but failed to cite the one reference that we know of where she is called this nick name by her father Rev. George Austen when he wrote to his sister on the event of her birth. His reasoning for the repeated use of "Jenny" was to emphasize the young child-like qualities she retained throughout her life. "Childlikeness might not strike us an apt description of a "serious" novelist like Austen, but this only highlights how pretentious we are about art and artists. Anyone who spends her life making up stories has got to have more than her fair share of whimsy, and nearly all Austen's virtues, personal and artistic, as well as nearly all of her vices, are those of a woman who, at the center of her soul, remained "Jenny Austen" all her life." This is debatable, but an interesting opinion.

Pastor, professor and Austen scholar Dr. Peter Leihart has a passion for Austen and her works that permeates throughout this biography. Readers could equate him to a modern-day C.S. Lewis or more accurately the 21st-century version of George Saintsbury who coined the term Janeite in 1894. Even though I had my concerns about how Leithart would present Christianity in Jane Austen's life and novels, in the long-run it all fit together quite seamlessly. This was not Mr. Collins sermonizing or Edmund Bertram being priggish, but a natural extension of what formed Jane Austen's character and fueled her brilliant imagination for the enjoyment of millions of readers. Kudos to publisher Thomas Nelson for resurrecting this biography after its first publisher Cumberland House Press folded in 2009 and sold its catalogue to Sourcebooks who then passed on publishing it. This was a considerable surprise given that Sourcebooks is the largest publisher of Jane Austen sequels in the world. Like oil and water, do Austen biographies and sequels not mix? I know it is business, but this is the oddest publishing putdown I have heard of in some time and all the more reason to obtain this lovely slim volume for your own edification and enjoyment. Oh, and Dr, Leihart thinks "Real men read Austen."

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

As a fan of all things Jane Austen, I was excited to receive this book in the mail. I have read everyone of Austen's books at least once (most of them I have read three or four times and I read "Pride & Prejudice" at least once a year). Therefore, I was eager to learn a little more about the author.

While it was interesting reading about the life of Jane Austen (referred to as Jenny through most of the book), there was so much information in this book that I had some difficultly absorbing it all. There were so many letters and references to relatives and friends it was tough to keep everything and everybody straight.
I did enjoy reading about a few of the people in Austen's life who influenced her characters in her books. Also, the references to her immediate family and her relationship with Tom Lefroy (character in the movie "Becoming Jane") gave some insight into the author's life.

Over all, I would recommend this book for anyone doing research into Austen's life but for a quick overview of her life, there are better options on the market.

As a member of Thomas Nelson's reader review panel at booksneeze, I received my copy of this book free of charge from the publisher.

I've been making my way through some of these "Christian Encounters Series." I feel like I should know more about Jane Austen (and perhaps even one day read one of her books) and I thoroughly enjoy author Peter Leithart's incisive writing. Leithart is great but I'm just not that interested in Austen's life. This biography would be more useful to those who've read several Austen texts and now wish to piece together a clearer picture of the author herself.

Jane Austen is a beloved author. Reading about her life brings the setting she wrote about to life. This series provides a quick read for the back story and helps provide a more holistic perspective to her novels. This would be a good homeschool book report for the reader who has enjoyed Austen's romances.

I've attempted to read a couple of brick sized Jane Austen biographies in my time and after picking them up, putting them down, I picked them back up & muddled through, despite my supposed love for said authoress. So when Amazon Vine offered this 153 page read, "Jane Austen: Christian Encounters Series," by Peter Leithart I jumped at the opportunity. Although this book is often wrought with the author's own perspectives, ie. the recent Austen explosion, and his opinions based on his own research of letters and the like -- it is a very thorough accounting of Austen's life, her background, education, family, etc. I think the very size makes it more accessible to fans, young and more mature alike. Easily 4 stars!