It has been said that Jane Austen the woman and Jane Austen the author are all of a piece, and nowhere is this more evident to the lovers of her novels than in the pages of her letters. This new celebration of these letters is illustrated with portraits, facsimile letters, topographical engravings and fashion plates, and aims to bring to life the world Jane Austen inhabited. Although the book follows a broadly chronological scheme, the letters are arranged round visual themes considered particularly suitable for illustration, such as the Hampshire countryside, social life in Bath and London, domestic pursuits, paying visits and travelling by carriage. The author, who was born in Jane Austen's Hampshire village, lectures on English Literature for the Open University and the Oxford University Department of External Studies. Her special interest is 19th-century children's literature and she has compiled an anthology, "Childhood".
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Though the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she began a novel called "The First Impressions" an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father's retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote Persuasion and revised Northanger Abby, Her last work, Sandition, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of Northanger Abby and Persuasion in 1818.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely introduction to Jane Austen and her times - vibrant, colourful,
This review is from: My Dear Cassandra (The Illustrated Letters) (Paperback)
It is a shame that this book is not more readily available as it is lovely, these are the illustrated letters of Jane Autsen and it is a wonderful introduction, not just to her wit and style, but to the colourful times she lived in and to her family and background
I was impressed with Hughes-Hallet text which helped put the letters into context, but I was mostly really thrilled about the the pictures chosen and the overall layout. The book is in landscape format with the text in the middle of the page and illustrations on the outside of the pages. They are therefore both part of the text but illustrations in their own right and fit seamlessly in with the whole. There are colourful choices of illustrations both from the period and selected from the family. So it is nice to thumb through just for the pictures, which are well captioned too and give a sense of the period at a glance Each chapter is well defined with an overall chapter heading such as "A New and Settled Home" with a subtitle Chawton 1809-1813 - it really helps to define the period and the possible mind-set for Austen herself The letters are printed in full with explanations and chapter summaries as well. A great idea as Cassandra destroyed many if not most of Austen's letters on Jane's on her death - leaving a small selection to go on for later scholars and fans. This format allows a nice expansion of the small resource available to show Austen's times rather than attempting simply to analyse her thinking. Overall I found this book to be a great read, and a good book for a browse through as well. It is less scholarly than Claire Tomalins collected letters of Austen, but a fantastic collection to have on a different level. I will definitely be lookin gout for more of Hughes-Hallet's works and would highly recommend it to others as well.
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