Customer Reviews

The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We see a different side of Jane in this captivating book. There is something new to discover on every page. I loved learning what sort of Janeite I am. A quiz will classify you. Tyler is a witty and erudite writer. She kept me turning pages to the end.

This is easily one of the most entertaining books I've read on Jane Austen (and, believe me, I've read lots!). It's a must-have for Janeites everywhere and is loaded with fascinating facts, fun tidbits and even interviews from actresses to authors to scholars who have been involved in Jane Austen work in varied forms. This is the kind of book that you would return to over and over again. This book, along with Daniel Pool's "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew," is one of the best ever written on Ms. Austen. Highly recommended!

I am a newcomer to the joys of Jane Austen (kind of embarrassing because of my age)and I read this after having read Ms. Austen's 6 completed and most widely read novels. I really enjoyed reading this book,it has a little biographical info, trivia and insight into the stories themselves. Although I didn't agree with everything the author expressed, I would turn a page and learn something about something else. And of course, as I was reading it, I kept saying to myself, oh, I need to go back and reread this book and see what this author is talking about. How cannot you not recommend a book that inspires you to reread all of Jane Austen's books! This book could also be useful in a classroom of high school students, what a fun way to introduce Jane Austen to students who think she is boring or hard to read.

The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense & Sensibility is a wonderful resource for the die-hard Austen fan as well as Austen newbies. Ms. Tyler takes each book in turn, gives a synopsis of the plot and places it in historical context and in the context of Austen's life. She then explains those details that might be abstract to those not familiar with Regency culture, such as entailed property, the importance of walking and the attitude toward marriage, making the reader comfortable with the novel. She includes illustrations, interviews, quizzes and delightful bits on the side such as "10 Surefire Ways to be Vulgar", a table of average income and "Sense and Sensibility: A Checklist". In addition, she finishes the book lists of movie versions, book spin-offs and sequels and shows Austen's role (her "legacy") in our century.

An Austen fan from way back, I found this a truly delightful book. Ms. Tyler is humorous as well as informative and her enthusiasm for Austen is apparent. This is a must-have for Austen fans, no question about it; the resources provided in The Friendly Jane Austen further the enjoyment of reading Austen's novels. It is also an excellent book for those that have just started reading Austen. With this book by your side, you can't fail to see just how wonderful Jane Austen was, and still is.

The stuff you NEVER learned in that Sophomore Lit class, and should have. This book makes (re)reading Jane Austin all the more more enjoyable. Ms Tyler is a talented writer, witty and engaging. A good read!

It is astonishing to an Austen fan (or Janeite or Gentle, Ironic or Subversive Jane, as the case may be -- more later) that anyone would find Jane's work boring, but they do. This is a book that not only entertains confirmed fans but might also persuade others of her worth. I agree with another reviewer that this would be a great addition to a high school course. It is a book that can be as easily pored over as dipped into, being composed of a large number of short blurbs, quizzes, anecdotes, interviews, lists and even a recipe. A perfect book for the bathroom.

The author is very knowledgeable and yet relates her information in a friendly and accessible way, beginning with descriptions of the various types of Austen fans, and quickly moving on to chapters about Jane's early life and juvenilia, each of the six major works, and Jane's legacy: film adaptations, fan clubs, internet presence, continuations and sequels. The book concludes with a bibliography and index.

This is a fun read and there's no way you won't learn something interesting. A must-read for fans and a great supplement for reluctant readers.

Whether you enjoy Austen for the gentle ways of the Regency era or for the sauciness of intelligent, modern heroines like Elizabeth Bennet, you'll love this book. In other words, whether you shop at Crabtree and Evelyn or the MAC counter, whether you're a professor of English or a bodice-ripper novel lover, you'll appreciate Tyler's fun, civilized and witty quote boxes, Austen quizzes, and short essays on the characters and novels of Austen. The book opens with a quiz, "What kind of Jane fan are you?" that sets the tone for the remainder of the volume. Even the lesser known works of Austen, like Sanditon and Lady Susan, get treated here. It's worth consulting for a serious essay on Austen or browsing for fun.

This book is written in a delightful way, one that is evocative of Austen's own style. The biographer clearly likes Jane Austen, something of a rarity in these days of attack biography. It is intelligent and witty, and I heartily recommend it.

My review took away one star because the format of the book, which I doubt the author had any control over, is thoroughly disjointed, with odd paragraphs popping up here and there. Beyond that, I have no hesitation in recommending it.

This book is easy, fun, and entertaining. If you just looked at the sample pages provided by Amazon, you'd think it is nothing but a collection of quotations of people's opinions of Jane Austen. Well, there are a lot of opinionated quotations, from people you've heard of and people you haven't heard of. There are also Q&A interviews with knowledgable JA fans and actors who've played JA roles. There are quizzes.

Most of the pieces are short, so it's a good book for readers with limited attention spans. The book also has a magazinelike format: the pages are bordered, and there are insets and decorative separators between chunks of text.

I was delighted to learn that two columnists I admire, Miss Manners (Judith Martin) and Edith Lank, who writes about real estate and appears in our local house-and-garden section every Sunday, are big fans. That explains why I like them.

There's quite a lot of information in this book in spite of its "light" look, and it's entertaining, but if you prefer sustained discussion and development, you'll want to choose another book.

Do you love to read books by Jane Austen? Do you watch the film adaptions and sigh every time Mr. Darcy is on the screen? Do you love Jane Austen's world? Then this is a book you must read!

It is filled with fun, trivia, facts, quizzes, interviws, pictures, history, and critical analysises about various subjects in Jane Austen's writing!

Here is an example of a critical analysis, nothing too boring: Rakes and Rattles
The author describes these terms as the two least appealing type of men who bedevil Austen's heroines. All about the characters in Jane Austen's novels such as Willoughby.

There is a quiz where you have to identify who wrote what passage of a letter and another where you have to idenitify who is being descibed by whom. There are about six quizzes with the correct answers in the back.

There is a chapter on each book plus one on Jane's early life, her popularity in the 20th century, film adaptions, and sequels.

Most books like this are dry and very scholarly criticisms. This book is light-hearted fun, filled with pictures, and little tidbits. You will not be bored reading this. It is the perfect companion for any Jane Austen novel, and a must in everyone admirer's library! If you don't read it how else will you know:
What ten things make you vulgar? Do you have sense or sensiblity? And a self evalutation quiz on how you like Jane Austen!