Product Description
Jane Austen in Bath: Walking Tours of the Writer’s City is a beautifully illustrated book organized into four walking tours around the city of Bath–where she set both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion–two novels that mirrored her own experience: that of an impressionable, optimistic young girl hoping to meet the man she would marry and later, that of a mature woman disappointed in love. It was in Bath that many of Austen’s own romantic adventures and misadventures occurred, and this book artfully weaves together the story of Austen’s life there with those of her beloved characters.

This guidebook describes the places frequented by Austen and her characters. Readers can stroll along the shady, tree-lined walk where Anne Elliot met Captain Wentworth after he returned from seven years at sea, and visit the galleries that hosted the glittering balls where the impressionable young Catherine Moreland made her debut.

Bath is an exquisite, perfectly preserved Georgian town located in the stunning countryside just an hour and a half from London. It was a spa town in Austen’s day and still is. The streets, crescents, gardens, and buildings look almost exactly the same as they did then. Many of the places that she frequented are still there–visitors can still buy the traditional Sally Lunn rolls at the same bakery/caf? that Austen frequented; enter the famous Pump Rooms and Assembly Rooms where she drank the waters, gossiped, and danced; stroll the unique Georgian crescents and pleasure gardens where she enjoyed fireworks and lavish public breakfasts; and see the homes Austen and her family lived in, some of which are now open to the public.

Jane Austen in Bath is the perfect companion to discovering the vibrant and fashionable social scene of Bath during both Austen’s time and today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

fast service - excellent condition
This book was everything and more than we expected! Thank you! Super fast service and book came in excellent condition, I highly recommend buying from this seller.

Essential for lovers of Austen and/or Bath
Bath is a wonderful town to visit, and the town was very important in Austen's life and novels, especially in Northanger Abbey (Barnes & Noble Classics) and Persuasion (Penguin Classics).

Austen was 24 when her family moved from the countryside to the city, then at the very height of its glory. Reeve traces four "Walks" through the parks and beautiful buildings of Bath, and describes Austen's connection with each of the sights. The text is enhanced by period maps and illustrations, and enlivened by photographs of Austen's manuscripts.

Reeve argues that the transition was not easy for Austen, whose family suffered financial reverses and who had psychological difficulties of her own. She describes Austen's distress as follows:

"Martha accompanied Jane back to Steventon in early December, just before Jane's twenty-fifth birthday, on December 16. As their luggage was being taken upstairs by the servants Jane received a shock. Her niece, Caroline Austen, recalled her mother's version of events: 'My Aunts [Jane and Martha] had been away a little while, and were met in the Hall on their return by their mother who told them that it was all settled, and they were going to live at Bath. My Mother who was present said my Aunt Jane was greatly distressed--All things were done in a hurry by Mr Austen & of course this is not a fact to be written and printed -- but you have authority for saying that she did mind it.'"

Nigel Nicholson argued in "The Guardian" (December 13, 2003) that in fact Austen's stay in Bath was essential for her development as an author, and that she was not unhappy there. Because none of her six completed novels was even begun there, critics assume she was a country girl who hated towns; she could write fiction only in the country.

Nicholson reviews the 16 letters written by Austen during her Bath period. "The early letters record her dismay at her parents' decision to leave Steventon, where she was born, and settle in Bath." After an interval, she wrote 'I get more and more reconciled to the idea' ... 'We have lived long enough in this neighbourhood.'"

"So they made the move, selling all their furniture except their beds, and, inexplicably, George Austen's library of 500 books. After searching Bath for a suitable house, they settled on 4 Sydney Place, at the far end of Great Pulteney Street.... They could afford three servants and an annual holiday by the sea. This does not suggest a life of penury and exile. They expected to enjoy themselves, and so, in my reading of the evidence, they did."

"After her father's death in January 1805, Mrs Austen and her two daughters remained in Bath for several more months, living in straitened circumstances, and then moved to Clifton, a suburb of Bristol, and to Southampton where they remained until 1809, the year when they settled at Chawton. It was there that Jane Austen revised her earlier three novels and wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, all in the space of the eight years before she died. It has therefore been tempting to draw the conclusion that country living revived her latent genius. But never, in all her many letters written at this period, is there any hint that she felt hampered by city life or craved a return to the country."

It is great fun to read Reeve's take on these events, compare her analysis with the contrary analysis by Nicholson, and re-read the novels to make up one's own mind. The Little Bookroom has packed this pretty little book with a great deal of evidence. It's a delight to read and see Bath at least a little through Jane Austen's eyes.

It's worth mentioning that the Little Bookstore volumes are beautifully produced. One thoughtful note from this fine publisher: "When we become aware of any change in the information in our guidebooks, we will post it on each book's home page under the heading UPDATE." It's worth exploring their entire booklist if you love to travel.

Robert C. Ross 2008 ... Read more

Product Description
Step into a Life of Grace
At thirty-three, dealing with a difficult job and a creeping depression, Lori Smith embarked on a life-changing journey following the life and lore of Jane Austen through England.
With humor and spirit, Lori leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved–from Bath and Lyme, to London and the Hampshire countryside–and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair. Along the way, Lori explores the small things, both meanness and goodness in relationships, to discover what Austen herself knew: the worth of an ordinary life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

A Walk with Lori Smith
As a memoir, and for a target audience (definitely not for the non-religious), I can see the appeal of Lori Smith's book. But as a fan of Jane Austen who was looking for more, well, Jane Austen, I was wholly unsatisfied. The way this book is advertised tells me I'll see how this great trip to England to follow in Jane's footsteps helped Smith realize the worthiness of a simple life, and that it's okay to be alone. Instead I was bombarded with self-indulgent whining and a lot of religion that didn't feel universal enough to be empathized with at all. The book is a complete downer, which is not as if to say depressing books cannot be good, but it so happens that this one isn't. Smith is so down on herself, but she is self-deprecation is without humor or skillful writing and the reader feels like he's reading the diary of a middle school girl, and not a woman at all.

I could go on about the writing or the lack of plot, or the lack of interest the book inspires in the reader at all. But I wont waste your time. My biggest problem with this book is really the way it's advertised, that fans of Jane Austen can enjoy or appreciate or see any relevance at all in this memoir. Let me make this clear: Jane Austen is not really here at all, it is all Lori Smith. Random allusions are made to the books that are at best grasping at straws for relevance and at worst entirely inaccurate. Jane Austen fans, from chance readers to scholars, beware.

The biggest disappointment since the burning at Alexandria
I'm about eighty-four percent through this book on my Kindle, and while there are some locations yet to go, I'm not holding onto any hope that it will get better.

This book is the biggest disappointment since the book burning at Alexandria. It's quite possibly the worst book I've ever read, and that's INCLUDING Twilight.

... Alright, perhaps it wasn't quite that bad, but it's definitely in the running.


The book is 85% Lori Smith's life and fifteen percent Jane Austen's.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

I mean, if Smith was going to draw connections between her life and Austen's, the least she could have done was make sure there were enough to fill the book with.

You know how people go on Oprah and she gives their book a recommendation, and then the book starts appearing on bookshelves with the Oprah's Book Club sticker on it? And then how people jump on the book like rabid animals because it has Oprah's signet on it?

I feel like that's exactly what Lori Smith did with Jane Austen's name. If Lori Smith wanted to write a book about her love life, her religious faith, her depression and medical issues, she should have done just that; there's no reason to bring Jane Austen into it.

I've given this book three stars because the Kindle edition was formatted very well, with an active table of contents (one star) and clickable footnotes (another star). I've given it a third star for being well researched, though the amount of research pales in comparison to the information on Lori Smith's life.

A Breath of Fresh Air!
In A WALK WITH JANE AUSTEN, Lori Smith provides a glimpse into the pride, prejudice, sense, and sensibility of Austen's 19th century characters juxtaposed against her own experience, thoughts, and impressions as a writer and single woman living in the 21st century. Her colorful, and sometimes humorous, musings on British life--especially tearooms, chapels, rolling hills and meadows--as she encounters it makes this travelogue come alive. Smith is an author not afraid to fight the good fight of faith and write about it. I love the way she details her personal journey of coming to a deeper and richer understanding of God's grace. Her honesty is like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room. Eileen Rife, author of the BORN FOR INDIA trilogy Journey to Judah

An Uncomfortable Look into Someone's Psychosis
I admire the author for having the courage to seek out her vision of Jane Austen on her own.Ms. Smith is not unlike many Janeites who look to Jane Austen for guidance of some sort (books, movies, travel, etc.) when their own lives are in disarray.Unfortunately, I felt sorry for the author through most of the book, at one point wanting to grab her by the shoulders and say "I'm sorry, but he's just not that into you."If I had it to do over again, I'd spend my money on another book.

A Walk with Jane and Lori
Lori Smith, the author of 2002's The Single Truth, takes the reader with her on a summer's journey through Austen's England. We not only experience the places Jane did, we experience the places her characters did. And we live inside Smith's head and life in the process.

I found the different perspectives enjoyable and fascinating in the ways they intertwined. Smith, like Austen, is a single woman making her living through her writing. Because of her admirable adherence to her Christian faith, she is a woman who waits, in contrast with many of her contemporaries. No tawdry summer fling for her (which is certainly not to say she doesn't experience summer love). So, while we know Jane's romantic fate, we await word on Smith's while she treks from Steventon to Chawton, from Chatsworth to Stoneleigh.

One of my favorite aspects of Smith's book is her Notes section at the end. I watched Roger Michell's 2000 film version of Persuasion during the week I read this book, so I was able to use Smith's Notes in order to see how her walk coincided with what I had just watched on film. It was a double Austen whammy, and I loved it.

If you're a fan of memoir and/or a fan of Jane Austen, I think you would enjoy this book. Kudos to Smith for an honest, compelling journey. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Lydia Bennet is the flirtatious, wild and free-wheeling youngest daughter. Her untamed expressiveness and vulnerability make her fascinating to readers who'll love this imaginative rendering of Lydia's life after her marriage to the villainous George Wickham. Will she mature or turn bitter? Can a girl like her really find true love?

In Lydia Bennet's Story we are taken back to Jane Austen's most beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, to a Regency world seen through Lydia's eyes where pleasure and marriage are the only pursuits. But the road to matrimony is fraught with difficulties and even when she is convinced that she has met the man of her dreams, complications arise. When Lydia is reunited with the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys for a grand ball at Netherfield Park, the shocking truth about her husband may just cause the greatest scandal of all ...

"A breathtaking Regency romp!"
-Diana Birchall, author of Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma (20080711) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

One of the best!
After reading many of the Austen "fan fiction" novels out there, I have to say this was one of my favorites! This author not only provided a fun story about P&Ps "most ridiculous flirt" but I enjoyed how the character grew and changed and it actually inspired some reflection in me (as did the Austen originals). Don't miss this one!

Lydia's story
This book is organized into two parts: the first part of the book is the retelling of P&P from Lydia's point of view, the second part is the "sequel".
Both parts dragged for me.

The first part dragged because I already know the plot from P&P, so no surprises.The best strength of the book is the author's descriptions through Lydia's eyes of her time in Brighton.The reader getsto "see" Lydia's experiences in Brighton and to follow the development of her relations with Wickham.Most interesting is comparing Lydia's first kiss and her feelings for her "Captain" suitor with her kisses and feelings for Wickham.This contrast helps to explain why she does what she does.Highlighted is Lydia's complete lack of insight and thus why she is so easy to seduce, and does not recognize when she has been duped.This also gives insight into why Lydia in unrepentant when Darcy discovers her with Wickham and also her attitude when she returns to Longborn as a married woman. While interesting, this could have been a brisk short story instead of a dragging half a novel.

The second part of the book also would have made a better short story.New characters are introduced that I did not become interested in, and quickly I began skimming to see what was going to happen to the plot because the narrative did not capture me.BecauseI was skimming,I may not have given the new characters a full chance.

This book reflects very well the character of Lydia Bennett, both are shallow, annoying and overly-verbose.This book just did not draw me in and hold my attention.I skimmed most of it and wondered why I had bothered.

What a different take on Pride and Prejudice
I found this book to be enjoyable and thought-provoking! It is nice to see Lydia's side of things! I always felt bad for her, becauseher youth and immaturity led her astray. Glad to see her get a better ending!

A Worthy Sequel
Jane Austen has become quite a valuable commodity within the last decade or so, both in the literary and movie worlds, and reading about a new (or relatively new) Austen sequel has become par for the course.

I found Lydia Bennet's Story interesting and original precisely because Jane Odiwe took a secondary character from Pride and Prejudice and elaborated on her own very twisted and dramatic plot.If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice, you know that Lydia is Lizzy's youngest sister, and a very spoiled one at that.Due to her recklessness in running away with Wickham, she seriously jeopardizes the potential future marriages of her sisters and very nearly sullies her family's good name.

As she was a secondary character in Pride and Prejudice, we heard briefly about her exploits but not from her point of view; nor did we know what Wickham said to her to cause her to throw caution to the wind with a foolhardy elopement or exactly what happened with the couple during those weeks in London before their hastily arranged marriage or, outside of their return to Longbourne, of their lives as a newlywed couple.

Lydia Bennet's Story alternates between Lydia's diary and a third person accounting, showing Lydia as flirty, flighty, immature and petulent.Ms. Odiwe stays faithful to Jane Austen, both in her portrayal of Lydia as well as Wickham, who naturally reveals himself to be as spoiled and flighty as Lydia.

I enjoyed hearing a portion of Pride and Prejudice from Lydia's viewpoint, as well as having the gaps filled in for portions of the story we were not privy to in Ms. Austen's rendition.Ms. Odiwe's descriptions of the period, the dress, the language, is spot on and a true compliment to both Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.The introduction of new characters move the story along fluidly and seem as natural as Lydia ogling a new bonnet.

In a market saturated with Austen sequels (not that I'm complaining, mind you, because the more the merrier, in this Austen-obsessed reader's opinion), Lydia Bennet's Story stands out and makes an excellent reading choice.

Lydia, oh Lydia, oh have you seen Lydia....
An interesting romp through the life of a 21st century thinking young woman living in the Regency period. It allowed for the continued development of a story line for a character for whom genuine redemption seems elusive. Lydia's realization of the effects of her rash decisions and subsequent behavior seem almost forgivable once the full extent of the character of her husband, Wickham, is exposed.

While the author does an admirable job, it's not quite as colorful as I hoped but still worth the price of admission. If you're a 'Pride and Prejudice' fan, it's a worthy addition to your collection. ... Read more

Product Description
In one of her personal letters, Jane Austen wrote "Little Matters they are to be sure, but highly important." In fact, letter-writing was something of an addiction for young women of Jane Austen's time and in her social position, and Austen's letters have a freedom and familiarity that only intimate writing can convey. Wiser than her critics, who were disappointed that her correspondence dwelt on gossip and the minutiae of everyday living, Austen understood the importance of "Little Matters," of the emotional and material details of individual lives shared with friends and family through the medium of the letter. Ironic, acerbic, always entertaining, Jane Austen's letters are a fascinating record not only of her own day-to-day existence, but of the pleasures and frustrations experienced by women of her social class which are so central to her novels.

Vivien Jones's selection includes nearly two-thirds of Austen's surviving correspondence, and her lively introduction and notes set the novelist's most private writings in their wider cultural context. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nice compact edition with great supplemental material
"You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve." Jane Austen, 24 December 1798

Jane Austen's personal correspondence has stirred up controversy since her untimely death in 1817 at age 41. The next year her brother Henry Austen wrote in the `Biographical Notice of the Author' included with the publication of her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion that she "never dispatched a note or a letter unworthy of publication." Years later, a niece Caroline Austen did not agree, "there is nothing in those letters which I have seen that would be acceptable to the public." In comparison to her published works, the letters do dwell upon `little matters' of domestic life in the county, but to the patient reader we begin to understand Austen's life and experiences beyond the minutia and realize through her clever descriptions and acerbic observations how this simple parson's daughter became the author of novels that are so valued and cherished close to 200 years after their publication.

This reissue by Oxford University Press of their 2004 edition of Jane Austen Selected Letters is more than worthy of a second printing. Not only does it include two thirds of the known surviving letters and a thoughtful introduction by scholar Vivien Jones chronicling the history of the letters stewardship with the family, its supplemental material alone makes it an incredible value for the price. As with the other Oxford World's Classics of Austen's major and minor works that have been reissued this past year, it includes a brief biography, notes on the text, a select bibliography, a chronology of Jane Austen's life, and explanatory notes. Unique to this edition, and by far the highlight are the glossary of people and places and the detailed index for quick reference.

For students and Austen enthusiast seeking a compact edition in comparison to the comprehensive and hefty Jane Austen's Letters edited by Deirdre Le Faye, this reissue is a sleek and densely informative package. Usually I abhor abridged editions of anything, but in this instance we are given an excellent selection of letters and a lively introduction at less than a third of the price of its competitor. In this economy, I say better and better.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose ... Read more

Product Description
The world of Jane Austen - spanning the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th - was a world of unsurpassed elegance, beauty and refinement. This study aims to recreate its lifestyle. The book contains a directory detailing where the furnishings, fashions, china and glass of the period can be seen or bought today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Factual and Visual Guide to the World of Jane Austen
I bought this book after being pleased but not satisfied with Maggie Lane's "Jane Austen's World." This book is a much more indepth guide to the world of the Regency. It includes many pictures of the interior of Regency houses and much more on the fashion of the day, including pictures and terms that will be helpful if researching or just very curious about the costuming of the day. While "Jane Austen's World" had much much more on Jane Austen's life and family, this book takes a much more indepth look at the times of the author including entertainment, exterior and interior of the homes and the fashion. I recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about the Regency or interested in writing a story, play, etc. about the period. Visually and factually satisfying.

Jane Austen: In Style
I bought this book because I was interested in Jane Austen. The book is divided up into sections such as country life, clothing, manners, food, etc. with a lot of details about this time and how it relates to Jane's life and situations. The book is lavishly illustrated with full page color photographs, and smaller pictures of Jane, Cassandra, and articles made or used by the Austen Family. It is well written and fun to read. It makes a good starting point for getting the feel of what life was like in Georgian England. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent and useful book for austen Fans
This has the advantage of being a great browsing book for the pictures but is also an excellent reference.

This is more than just another biography of Austen (although it has a bit more background on the Austen and Leigh families than you would necessarily expect in a book of this length. It is well done. The family and their relatives are put into context well for their time and social millieu. What separates this book from many others is that it is very much about what Austen would have used for her eating, drinking, writing etc, and where she would have brought them from.

Susan Watkins has managed to dig up some excellent pictures, many of which I haven't seen before, and are well referenced through the text.

Watkins has a very easy and readable style of writing. This is really very much for the Jane Austen and Regency fan - those who enjoy reading Georgette Heyer will really get a lot out of this book as well. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (27)

A Great Read
There's something about Jane Austen's novels that causes the addicted fan to cry out for more witticisms, more lovely command of the English language, more hilarious but believable characterizations and more entertaining plot points which always lead to a satisfyingly happy ending for the novel's lovers, no matter how star-crossed they initially appear.

Aside from the literal screen adaptations of Austen's works (including those produced by the BBC and A&E),the proof of her artistic timelessness are the film adaptations which take her basic plots and characters and place all in an updated setting, such as the film "Clueless" which is based loosely on Jane Austen's novel, "Emma".

"Jane Austen in Scarsdale", by Paula Marantz Cohen, is a literary adaptation in the same modernized vein.It takes the basic story of Austen's novel "Persuasion" and sets it in the middle of a contemporary New York prep school.Austen's Anne Eliot, a near-old maid who still pines for a love she was advised against years ago, becomes Anne Ehrlich, a guidance counselor for ivy league-bound high school students and their hyperventilating parents.Her long lost love, the now-engaged-to-be-married Ben Cutler, is based on Austen's Captain Frederick Wentworth and the person who advised against their union so many years ago is Anne Ehrlich's grandmother, Winnie (Lady Russell, a close family friend in Austen's book).

Although this book is great fun for Jane Austen fans, who will be constantly checking back to the original story in their minds, the essential question is this: does "Scarsdale" stand on its own merits?My opinion would be a wildly deafening yes!Austen's truths are indeed timeless but Cohen has added a profoundly compelling story - all her own - to the basic plot points of Austen's novel. Although this may sound blasphemous to Austen fans, in my opinion, "Scarsdale" actually improves on the original story here and there.

Paula Marantz Cohen is a writer of exceptional talent who, while giving a nod to a classic, has created a masterpiece -- composed of equal parts poignancy and hilarity - that is entirely her own.

Not Bad...sort of OK.
When I first read the synopsis of Jane Austen in Scarsdale, I was expecting an exciting love story between Anne and Ben and was curious as to how the author would narrate how `old love be rekindled and past mistakes put right'.

Unfortunately, my expectation was not met. There was certainly a story to be told between Anne and Ben, but the author did not really indulge the reader with a clear storyline on how they fell in love again. The book contains chapters and chapters of Anne's guidance counseling experience with the high school seniors who are going through the college application process, and whose parents go through great lengths, and at times, ridiculous tactics of trying to get their children in! Does it offer a realistic rendering of the college admissions process or a farcical exaggeration? Well, I would answer with the latter.. For example, in several chapters, the author implies how `critical' a guidance counselor's letter of recommendation can be to a kid's college acceptance. How can that be? Most of the weight in college admissions falls into the student's GPA, essay, and extra-curricular activities. The letters of recommendation helps, but it is not a `critical' part of the application process. I feel a teacher's letter even carries a heavier weight than a guidance counselor's specifically because a teacher would have had a hands-on experience on the student's school performance.

Another disappointment is the failure of the author to give a believable account as to why Anne gave up Ben 13 years ago. Telling the reader in just a sentence or two that the grandmother made a remark to Anne about Ben not being good enough for her seems pretty lame. Anne's character at that time was 21 years old, and according to the flashback given by the story, Anne seemed to have found the love of her life! She gave all that up just because of her Grandmother's advice? I was shaking my head as I read this part of the story, feeling short-changed by the narrative.
The story is one big irony. Here is Anne counseling the students to follow their heart and try to communicate to their parents if there are conflicts in college decisions, and yet she has not been able to stand up to her father (whom the author clearly depicts as worthless figure who splurged away all of his dead wife's inheritance), her spoiled sister Allegra, and her Grandmother. Furthermore, Anne did not have the courage to approach Ben after realizing that this is her second chance at love! Ben's ex-fiancee, Kirsten, made it happen for Anne when she confided that she is leaving Ben. Only then did Anne step up to make a move. Although I probably should not call it a `move' considering all she did was visit his office and point out a phrase in one of the books they read together.

If I had picked up this book hoping to be entertained with parodies in the college admission process, I would have probably rated this story much higher. There are some entertaining bits on the frenzy over college admission with regards to the parents' being fearful of their children's future. I would have regarded the love story of Anne and Ben as an extra treat since it really developed in the background of everything else happening in Anne's guidance counseling life. It's not a bad book. It's just sort of ok.

Funny and Touching
This was a beautifully written piece of light romantic fiction - funny and poignant and a witty modern take on "Persuasion" by Jane Austen.The social commentary on the madness that descends on parents and teenagers during the college application process was wickedly accurate.The characters were appealing (except for the two we're not supposed to like, Anne's father and sister).That said, I couldn't help wondering - if Anne's and Ben's fortunes HADN'T reversed since their youth - if Anne's family hadn't lost all their money and if Ben hadn't become so successful, would Anne have resumed her romance with Ben?In other words, are we cheering on this romance largely because Ben is now acceptably bourgeois?

Persuasion 2.0 Gets 3 Stars
This is the first non-Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen remake novel that I've read, and I enjoyed it... about as much as I enjoyed Persuasion. Ranking as my least favorite of Austen's novels, this modern adaptation helped spice up the story and make the original work a bit more accessible. After reading this novel, I revisited Persuasion, but found I preferred the fun and frivolityof the remake to the original slow-moving story. This tale is a fun little romp about a Anne, a victim of love lost, who's career and family take precedence in her life -- her obvious attempt to forget about Ben Cutler, her first (and last) love. This story is a quick read and entertaining to anyone who appreciates modern adaptations of Austen novels. As a self-described Austenphile, I enjoy adaptations because, well, Jane's dead, or, as I like to believe, running a pizza joint in Albuquerque with Elvis, and, either way, this is as close as I'll get to reading new material, but also it shows that her stories, and the challenges her characters face, transcend that period in history and are truly timeless.

More about being a Guidance Counselor and less about Jane Austen's "Persuasion"
I am a fan of Jane Austen and Persuasion (Barnes & Noble Classics) is one of my top favorites stories.This book is supposed to be a modern-day retelling of Persuasion, yet it really is loosely based on the book.A lot of the names are similar to help you make the parallels between "Persuasion" and this book such as Anne Elliot vs. Anne Ehlrich and a lot of what is established in this story is faithful to the plot in Persuasion.I enjoyed reading this book, I found the main character likeable, admirable, and interesting.I enjoy seeing the parallels of this story and Perusasion, only I wish there were more!

In this book, Anne is a guidance counselor, she has one sister, and it takes place in New York.There is her father, Elihu Ehlrich who enjoys visiting clubs, is vain, and has so much debt they need to sell tha family home in Scarsdale.Winny, is Anne's grandmother (who is supposed to be the Lady Russell charcter), and she is 87 and living in the Scarsdale home.Other charcters you will recognize as Captain Benwick, Mrs. Clay, Louisa Musgrove.But others you will be searching for and never find, I was hoping to see the Croft's and more of the Musgrove family but they never appeared.

This was a quick and easy read, like I said earlier the parallels between Jane Austen's "Persuasion" are fun to see, I would have liked more of them though.For example, we read a lot about Anne being a guidance counselor, we here what she does at work, we see the students portrayed (in fact we see a lot of students) so many that I couldn't keep them straight.I would have liked to have less about her job and more about her and Ben (Wentworth).That is the real story and it should have been more focused on. Also great scenes like the discussion between Anne and Captain Harville about which sex loves longest and Captain Wentworth's letter are missing from this book. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to a Jane Austen/Persuasion fan with the warning that you probably would like it, but might be wanting more. ... Read more

Product Description
May Lamberton BeckerThis 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. Ages 12+ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating Glimpse into her life
If you like to read Jane Austen or just watch movies based on her novels, you will enjoy learning more about her family life and background. Although her family is not particularly famous, they are interesting to learn about, because they offer a peek into the many characters in her novels. Just like her characters, her family is portrayed as real, having faults, yet endearing. It is fascinating to see the comparison between the real people and characters in her novels. She really did experience in her family a fairy tale romance like Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. We also find out how many years she patiently wrote and rewrote Pride and Prejudice. Maybe that is why it is still read today. If you want to learn more about Miss Jane, this book is sure to please. ... Read more

Product Description
At the age of ten, Fanny Price leaves the poverty ofher Portsmouth home to be brought up among the family ofher wealthy uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, in the chillygrandeur of Mansfield Park. She gradually falls in lovewith her cousin Edmund, but when the dazzling andsophisticated Crawfords arrive, and amateur theatricalsunleash rivalry and sexual jealousy, Fanny has to fightto retain her independence. This new edition placesMansfield Park in its Regency context and elucidates thetheatrical background that pervades the novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Everybody likes to go their own way
Even the best authors in the world sometimes put out something that... well, isn't up to their usual standards. For Jane Austen, that book was "Mansfield Park" -- her prose is typically excellent, and she weaves a memorable story about a poor young lady in the middle of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. But put bluntly, Fanny Price lacks the depth and complexity of Austen's other heroines.

As a young girl, Fanny Price was sent from her poor family to live with her wealth relatives, the Bertrams, and was raised along with her four cousins Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia.

Despite being regarded only little better than a servant (especially by the fawning, cheap Mrs. Norris), Fanny is pretty happy -- especially since Edmund is kind and supportive of her at all times. But then the charming, fashionable Crawford sibilings arrive in the neighborhood, sparking off some love triangles (particularly between Maria and Henry Crawford, even though she's already engaged.

And the whole thing becomes even more confused when Henry becomes intrigued by Fanny's refusal to be charmed by him as the others are. But when she rejects his proposal, she ends up banished from her beloved Mansfield Park... right before a devastating scandal and a perilous illness strikes the Bertram family. Does Fanny still have a chance at love and the family she's always been with?

The biggest problem with "Mansfield Park" is Fanny Price -- even Austen's own mother didn't like her. She's a very flat, virtuously dull heroine for this story; unlike Austen's other heroines she doesn't have much personality growth or a personal flaw to overcome. And despite being the protagonist, Fanny seems more like a spectator on the outskirts of the plot until the second half (when she has a small but pivotal part to play in the story).

Fortunately she's the only real flaw in this book. Austen's stately, vivid prose is full of deliciously witty moments (Aunt Norris "consoled herself for the loss of her husband by considering that she could do very well without him"), some tastefully-handled scandal, and a delicate house-of-romantic-cards that comes crashing down to ruin people's lives (and improve others). And she inserts some pointed commentary on people who care more about society's opinions than on morality.

And the other characters in the book are pretty fascinating as well -- especially since Edmund, despite being a virtuous clergyman-in-training, is an intelligent and strong-willed man. The Bertrams are a rather dysfunctional family with a stern patriarch, a fluttery ethereal mother, a playboy heir and a couple of spoiled girls -- Maria in particular develops a crush on Henry, but doesn't bother to break off her engagement until it's too late. And the Crawfords are all flash and sparkle: a pair of charming, shallow people who are essentially hollow.

"Mansfield Park" suffers from a rather insipid heroine, but the rest of the book is vintage Austen -- lies, romance, scandal and a dance of manners and society.

A tale of three families and a society at war
In Mansfield Park, "All the world's a stage/And all the men and women merely players." The cast of characters of both the novel and the play within it is drawn from three families and their social circles: the Bertrams of Mansfield Park, the Grants/Crawfords of the parsonage, and the Prices of Portsmouth. Even as she refuses to participate in her cousins' staging of Lovers' Vows, Fanny Price is at center stage as the observer we observe in Austen's social and familial drama.

As the poor relation of the Bertrams, Fanny is a natural outsider. Lacking social or financial aspirations, she is free to see the folly of those around her and bound by what seems to have become a quaint form of honor from warning Edmund about his. For all her acquiescence to fate, however, Fanny is not weak. Just as she takes a firm stand about not appearing in the ill-fated Lovers' Vows with its ill-fated cast, she stays on her moral high road even when it requires her to assert herself to Sir Thomas, to whom she is beholden and whose own daughters dare not defy him so directly.

Marriage is central to Mansfield Park. Maria Ward "had the good luck . . . to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income." Despite the narrator's cynicism, the Bertrams have what seems to be an effective marriage; Sir Thomas is the domineering household head, while his decorative lady provides the services of her busybody widowed sister and her niece Fanny. Lady Bertram's passivity complements Sir Thomas's active nature; she is "guided in everything important by Sir Thomas, and in smaller concerns by her sister." She can do without companionship, but only if Sir Thomas reassures her.

Motivated by his money and status and her good looks, the Bertrams have established a solid marriage, but its sons and daughters are not its pride. Restrained by and resentful of Sir Thomas's patriarchal hand, his elder son and daughter rebel against and eventually flout his authority and threaten the family's good name. His younger daughter seeks escape through the closest means possible, and even his younger son is spared from his poor judgment only by fate.

Unlike Lady Bertram, her youngest sister marries for love, or at least on impulse, and suffers the consequences of ignoring what matters most--money and social standing. Self-condemned to a life of poverty and negligence, Mrs. Price cannot depend on either husband or servants to manage day-to-day life so she can indulge in her natural laziness, as Lady Bertram does. Even as her family lives in filthy squalor, Mrs. Price, could, if she were capable of noticing, take pride in Fanny's personal growth and moral fortitude, William's accomplishments and career, and Susan's promise. Like the Bertrams on their extensive estate, she is trapped in the narrow drama she has written for herself. Those who exit--Fanny, William, Susan--are able, it seems, to craft a more positive narrative for themselves.

Like a proscenium arch, the trip to Sotherton and the use of Lovers' Vows frame Fanny's view of the relationships around her. Much of the action takes place out of her sight (to her dismay), but Fanny sees enough to disturb her sense of propriety and to bring to light her own desires. Fanny, and the reader, can only guess what is happening offstage and how it may affect her.

Relationships founded solely on money (Rushworths), rebellion or love (Prices, presumably), and lust (Henry/Maria) fare poorly, as does the Crawfords' sister's second marriage (to the admiral). Austen's narrator does not give up on the institution, however. "With so much true merit and true love, and no want of fortune or friends . . . happiness . . . must appear as secure as earthly happiness can be," the omnipotent stage director steps in to say after having dispensed justice and wisdom to those characters who require one or the other, just before before the curtain falls on Mansfield Park and environs. In the end and with a heavy hand, the narrator redeems marriage, at least for the deserving (Fanny) and the enduring (the Bertrams).

Readers who prefer strong, attractive women may not appreciate Fanny, her apparently rigid morality, and her seeming weakness of will. As a perceptive outsider who understands what she observes, Fanny is a complex character. She knows and respects how Sir Thomas would feel about Lovers' Vows and participates to the extent she can so she can keep an eye on Edmund. She knows where his future unhappiness lies, yet does not deter him although it is in her power. She may be judgmental, as people are, but she asserts herself strongly only when she is herself affected, for example, when she is wanted for the play and when Henry pays his attentions. She is true to herself and allows others the same freedom, succeed or fail, with her real feelings hidden within her inner emotional life.

Set in a time of war and slave-supported prosperity that seems remote, Mansfield Park can still reach across the years. In spite of the antiquated social and moral codes that rule their lives, the out-of-touch adults, the rebellious children, and the lonely and unconventional heroine still hold interest today.

Austen's most misunderstood book demystified!
In a popularity poll of Jane Austen's six major novels, Mansfield Park may come close to the bottom, but what a distinction that is in comparison to the rest of classic literature! Even though many find fault with its hero and heroine, its love story (or more accurately the lack of one), its dark subtext of abuse, neglect and oppression, and its overly moralistic tone, it is still Jane Austen; with her beautiful language, witty social observations and intriguing plot lines. Given the overruling benefits, I can still place it in my top ten all-time favorite classic books.

Considering the difficulty that some readers have understanding Mansfield Park, the added benefit of good supplemental material is an even more important consideration in purchasing the novel. Recently I evaluated several editions of the novel currently in print which you can view here. For readers seeking a medium level of supplemental material, one solid candidate is the new reissue of Oxford World's Classics (2008) which offers a useful combination of topics to expand on the text, place it in context to when it was written, and an insightful introduction by Jane Stabler, a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Dundee, Scotland and Lord Byron scholar.

Understanding all the important nuances and inner-meanings in Mansfield Park can be akin to `visiting Pemberley', the extensive estate of the wealthy Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's more famous novel Pride and Prejudice. One is intrigued by its renown but hard pressed to take it all in on short acquaintance. The greatest benefit of the Oxford World's Classics edition to the reader who seeks clarification is Jan Stabler's thirty page introduction which is thoughtfully broken down into six sub categories by theme; The Politics of Home, Actors and Audiences, The Drama of Conscience, Stagecraft and Psychology, Possession, Restoration and Rebellion, and Disorder and Dynamism. Written at a level accessible to the novice and veteran alike, I particularly appreciate this type of thematic format when I am seeking an answer or explanation on one subject and do not have the time to wade through the entire essay at that moment. Her concluding lines seemed to sum up my recent feelings on the novel.

"The brisk restoration of order at Mansfield Park and healing of the breach between parent and child is underwritten by the same doubt that lingers around the last scene of Shakespeare's King Lear: `Is this the promis'd end? (v. iii 262). Recreating the urge to defy parental authority while teaching us to sit still, and pitting unruly energy against patient submission to the rule of law, Mansfield Park is an enthralling performance of the competitive forces which governed early nineteenth-century politics, society and art."

For me, Mansfield Park is about Jane Austen teaching this unruly child to sit still and enjoy the performance! With patience, I have come to cherish Fanny Price, the most virtuous and under-rated heroine in classic literature! Re-reading the novel and supplemental material was well worth the extra effort, expanding my appreciation of Austen's skills as a story teller and the understanding of the social workings in rural Regency England. I am never disappointed in her delivery of great quips such as

"But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them." The Narrator, Chapter 1

Also included in this edition are four appendixes; the first two on Rank and Social Status and Dancing which are included in all six of the Oxford World's Classics Jane Austen editions and have been previously reviewed, followed by; Lovers' Vows (the theatrical that the young people attempt to produce in the novel), and Austen and the Navy which helps the reader understand Jane Austen's connection to the Royal Navy through her brothers James and Francis and its influence on her writing. The extensive Explanatory Notes to the text help place the novel in context for the modern reader while offering helpful and insightful nuggets of Regency information.

Mansfield Park may have the dubious distinction of being Jane Austen's most challenging novel, but I have come to appreciate her characters and plot by better understanding of the subtext through supplemental material and further re-readings of the novel. It is now one of my favorite Austen novels. Readers who hesitate to read Mansfield Park because of the `bad rap' that it has received over the years are reminded of heroine Fanny Price's excellent observation to the unprincipled character Henry Crawford, "We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be". The Oxford World's Classics Mansfield Park is certainly a fine edition to help you discover your own better inner-guide to the novel!

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

One of my favorite books
Among Austen devotees, Pride and Prejudice is usually regarded as being her best work, but I admit that I think a little differently. While of course P&P is one of the great works of literature and certainly deserves its place in the Western canon, I am inclined to think that Mansfield Park, which in my mind is rivalled only by Persuasion, is just as deserving of that title.

There are quite a few people that seem to think that Fanny and Edmund are much too dull to make a good hero and heroine, but I would beg to differ. Fanny is to me a very real character and not as woodenly perfect as she is sometimes made out to be- she can become angry, jealous and even occasionally depressed and the fact that she does not have the freedom to vent these negative emotions doesn't mean that she doesn't have the capacity or wish to. I have also heard it said that she doesn't have the courage to stand up for herself, but I would point out that she did so at the time that it was really important, even though it would have been much easier to go along with what her relations felt was best instead.

Edmund also should be given the credit that he deserves- it is true that he spends much of the novel under the delusion of his love interest being what she really never was, but when he finally understands it, his anger at himself for not recognising it sooner and his strong desire to make amends for it was enough to make me immediately forgive him for his past mistakes.

Many of the other characters also deserve some notice as well- Fanny's brother William is one of my very favorites in any Austen novel, and her horrible aunt Mrs. Norris is arguably one of her cruelest villains. Really, I can't think of any weak links- every character is deliniated in a strinking and lifelike way, and none seem to be one-dimensional, even when they are minor and not integral to the main story.

In closing, I would point out that while a reader in the mood for something "light, bright and sparkling" might not really appreciate Mansfield Park as much, anyone in need of a good, solid and fascinating novel should not pass it up.

Savor This Jane Austin Masterpiece
Mansfield Park has it all. Of course it has Austin's dexterous English, but it also has the social commentary of class and gender which we also expect from her. It has all the feel of a retrospective, and it is remarkable in the extreme that Austin saw her own world with eyes so very like our own. If the quintessence of the creative writer's craft is the development and maintenance of tension, then this is the quintessential Austin novel, and possibly her best. We ache for Fanny when she is transported from her home as a young girl and fails to find either comfort or happiness in the manor house of her aunt and uncle. We are as edgy as the characters themselves as they mount a home theatrical production which places in relief each of their deficiencies, and foretells the guileless decency of our young protagonist. Our nerves are as knotted as hers when the scheming and fabulously wealthy Crawford stalks her, brandishing matrimony as a weapon. And even as we are turning the final dozen pages, the faulty judgment of Fanny's love interest, her cousin Edmond, instills lingering doubts as to whether a satisfying outcome is achievable. Let me provide a preview of Austin's delicious language and the underlying tension it conveys: "The evening passed with external smoothness, though almost every mind was ruffled, and the music which Sir Thomas called for from his daughters helped to conceal the want of real harmony." And here Austin portrays the controlling male mindset in dealing with their female marionettes: "In thus sending her away, Sir Thomas perhaps might not be thinking merely of her health...he might mean to recommend her as a wife by showing her persuadableness." And just how depraved is Mr. Crawford? "Curiosity and vanity were both engaged, and the temptation of immediate pleasure was too strong for a mind unused to make any sacrifice to right...he could not bear to be thrown off by the woman whose smiles had been so wholly at his command; he must exert himself to subdue so proud a display of resentment; it was anger on Fanny's account [for rebuffing him]; he must get the better of it, and make Mrs. Rushworth Maria Bertram [her maiden name] again in her treatment of himself." In Mansfield Park, we have pure evil in a position of commanding power, pitted against a powerless angel. And one by one, the angel's natural allies line up against her. There are a hundred paths to disaster, and only one to the sweetest victory. ... Read more

Product Description
Had Jane Austen lived to complete Sanditon, it would have been as treasured as her other novels. In the half-finished masterpiece, Austen fashions one of her classic heroines--Charlotte Heywood. The surviving fragment also sets the story well on its path as Charlotte begins an adventure to Sanditon where a full cast of characters becomes intertwined in various intrigues.

At first, Charlotte finds amusement enough standing at her ample Venetian window looking over the placid seafront. However, before long, Charlotte discovers that scandals abound. She becomes captivated by the romance of the seaside lifestyle. But is the town of Sanditon truly a haven and will Charlotte find happiness there?

Now, fully completed by respected author and Austen expert Juliette Shapiro, this new edition of Sanditon finishes the original story in a vivid style recognizable to any fan. Shapiro's prose and plot twists stay true to Austen's sensibilities at all times while capturing her romance, tragedy, humor and sardonic wit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Satisfying completion
I enjoyed this completion of Jane Austen's Sandition. The characters were developed and the continuation of plot is something that I think would have satisfied Jane Austen.

Fun & Enjoyable
This was the third completion to Jane Austen's Sanditon that I've read.It was not my favorite, but it's not preachy or x-rated, like some J.A. sequels can be. It kept my interest and I enjoyed it.I do recommend it.
Note: my favorite is "Sanditon - by J.A. and Another Lady"

mediocre
This book was only ok. She doesn't really have the feel for Jane's writing liek I hoped she would. It was still fun to read though. ... Read more

Product Description
This new collection of Austen's brilliant short fiction is the first annotated edition of her short writings.The texts have been compared with the manuscripts to give a number of new readings.In addition to prose fiction and prayers, this collection contains many of her poems written to amuse and console her friends, and are unavailable in any other single volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Splendid nonsense! A youthful writer in the making
"Beware of swoons, Dear Laura ...A frenzy fit is not one quarter so pernicious; it is an exercise to the Body and if not too violent, is, I dare say, conducive to Health in its consequences -- Run mad as often as you chuse; but do not faint -"Letter 14, Laura to Marianne, Love and Freindship

Jane Austen grew up in the perfect fertile environment for a writer. Her family was highly educated and passionate readers, including novels which were considered by some in the late 18th-century as unworthy. Educated predominately at home, her father had an extensive library of classics and contemporary editions at her disposal. In her early teens, she began writing comical and imaginative stories for her family and close friends as entertainments and transcribing them into three volumes that would later be known as her Juvenilia. The plots and characters of these short stories are filled with unguarded satire, comical burlesque and "splendid nonsense"; -- shrewd parodies of contemporary novels, historical figures and even her own family engaged in unprincipled deeds: lying, cheating and occasionally murder. Described by her father as "Effusions of Fancy by a very Young Lady Consisting of Tales in a Style entirely new"they represent the creative beginnings of a clever and perceptive mind whose skill at keen observation of social maneuverings and the importance of wealth, so valued in her mature works, are apparent from the early beginnings.

If you have consumed all of Austen's major and minor novels, this reissue by Oxford University Press of their 1998 edition is an enticing treasure. In Catharine and Other Writings, we are introduced not only to a writer in the making, but a collection of prayers, poems and unfinished fragments of novels written in maturity and rarely reprinted. As with the other Oxford editions of Jane Austen's works reissued in the past year, this edition contains excellent supplemental material: a short biography of Austen, notes on the text, a select bibliography, a chronology of Austen's life, textural notes, insightful explanatory notes and a superb introduction by prominent Austen scholar Margaret Anne Doody that details the inspiration from her family and her environment that influenced and formed Austen's creative mind.

"Jane Austen was not a child as a writer when she wrote these early pieces. She possessed a sophistication rarely matched in viewing and using her own medium. She not only understood the Novel, she took the Novel apart, as one might take apart a clock, to see how it works - and put it back together, but it was no longer the same clock. Her genius at an early age is as awe-inspiring as Mozart's." pp xxxv

What I found so engaging in this collection was the lightness and comical devil-may-care freeness in Austen's youthful approach. It was like a rush of endorphin to a dour mood, taking you outside of your troubles and elevating you into a magical world of a youthful imaginings and farcical fancy. I have several favorites that I will re-read when I need a laugh, especially Love and Freindship, The Beautiful Cassandra and The History of England. Not all of the works are comical. When Winchester racesis a verse written when Austen was mortally ill and dictated from her deathbed to her sister Cassandra three days before her death. It is her final work. A moralistic piece, it resurrects the ghost of St. Swinthin who curses the race goers for their sins of pleasure.

"When once we were buried you think we are gone

But behold me immortal!"

An interesting choice of subject for the last days of her life, and ironic in relation to what acclaim she has garnered since she has gone. Like St. Swinthin, Jane Austen is indeed immortal!

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

The introduction and notes are most interesting
This was the last book I chose to go with my Jane Austen "collection" and I found it very good. Some of the early writing is absolutely hilarious. The introduction has a more modern slant and the notes were very helpful to understanding even though many were obvious if you have read other books of this sort.

An Author in Training....
Compared to Jane Austen's mature and much polished novels, the stories contained in "Catharine and Other Works" are clearly those of an author in training.These stories, often known as the "Juvenalia", clearly show a promising young writer working out her technique, generally in short prose apparently intended for the entertainment of her immediate family.

"Catharine", dated to August 1792 and dedicated to Jane's sister Cassandra, is a promising indication of Austen's future greatness.It concerns a young orphaned woman being raised by a very strict and hypochrondriac aunt.Catharine is within a short period of time thrown in company with a much wealthier woman her own age and then with the woman's handsome and extremely charming brother.Catharine and the brother make a bit of splash at a ball, scandalizing the aunt and leading to the banishment of the young man, leaving behind a budding relationship ripe with dramatic possibilities."Catharine" clearly foreshadows Austen's mature style.The dialogue is quite good, and numerous plot threads are set in motion for later resolution.The heroine is clearly a forerunner to later characters such as Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, while Edward Stanley, the intended hero, bears more than passing resemblance to Henry Crawford of "Mansfield Park" and Frank Churchill of "Emma."

"Catharine and Other Works" is highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen, both for their inherent entertainment value and for the opportunity to see the author in training.

ok - i guess -
not a great read, sorta of inmature, intersting in some aspects if interested in Jane

Oh! The Joy of Jane Austen!
For those who have loved Jane Austen's more mature writings, this book is a must read.Compiled from Jane Austen's childhood notebooks, these stories are full of unmasked satire, and endless jokes, aimed to point outthe absurdity of the novels of the authores' day.In her more matureyears, Jane Austen learned to mask her satire and calm her wit.Suchknowledge undoubtably made for better writing, but there is a great deal ofenjoyment to be had from a younger pen, the open satire of a girl who waswise enough to see the folly of her times.Catharine and Other Storieswill not make wise, or generally inspire, but it is delightful comicrelief, as well as a window into the vivacious mind of Jane Austen, thegirl. ... Read more

Product Description

Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback edition of John Halperin's acclaimed and controversial biography moves beyond the usually vague account of Austen's life and away from the serene and untroubled image of Austen created by a protective family. In The Life ofJane Austen, Halperin reveals a robust, vigorous, and at times difficult woman with a large and diverse circle of family and acquaintances. He documents her troubled relationship with a hypochondriacal mother and her frank dislike of the sister-in-law who usurped her childhood home, sheds new light on the shadowy existence of a retarded older brother, and sets forth in greater detail than ever before the number and nature of Austen's relations to her suitors, the romantic passages of her life, and her attitude about childbearing.

Making fuller use of Austen's correspondence than previous biographers, Halperin shows us the costs exacted on a sensitive and critical personality by a society--and, frequently, a family--that paid too little attention to the predicament of unmarried women, especially those with inadequate financial means.

Customer Reviews (3)

THIS IS NOT A BIOGRAPHY OF JANE AUSTEN
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK if you were intent on reading a scholarly, factual, and unbaised account of Jane Austen's life.This is not a biography, but a ludicrous attempt by Mr Halperin to psychoanalyze Ms Austen by means of extracting snipets and fragments from her novels and letters in order to show her in the worst possible light.It is evident that Mr Halperin is no lover of women in general, and has a vitriolic dislike of Ms Austen in specific.I envision Mr Halperin spending a tireless eternity rummaging through Ms Austen's "garbage bins" in order to support his biased and, at times, grossly inaccurate interpretations and suppositions regarding her nature.He is determined that we should know she was not a "nice" person.Is this scholarship?I think not.More likely the spiteful gossiping of a sour old women.

We need only to read her novels to know that she possessed a biting, sometimes cruel wit, that she did not suffer fools gladly, and was somewhat embittered by her domestic circumstances - a young woman of no fortune with little prospect of making a "good" marriage.However, in the finalanalysis, do we really care if she was "Mary Sunshine" or the "Wicked Witch of the East"?Is it not her genius, and the quality of her novels that should be the matters of consequence.

Mr Halperin's unrelenting ferriting for documentation to support his charges of Ms Austen's unkind/unpleasant personality traits makes for an uninteresting and tacky read.It is unfortunate that Mr Halperin did not make better use of his sources and research.My copy just went into the Recycle Bin.

Not to be missed in studying Jane Austen
There are many biographies of Jane Austen available, but I urge readers to include this one. One of the most noteworthy features of Halperin's work is that he does not feel the need to idealize Jane Austen. He therefore enriches his book with information carefully ignored by other biographers.

Austen accomplished the very rare feat of writing books that remain both commercial and popular successes after almost two centuries.I don't see what else she needs to do to be worthy of our attention, and I am exasperated by futile arguments trying to deny her position as a woman of her class and time. I am tired of her biographers "apologizing" or trying to explain away he failure to make direct comments on contemporary politics - her books are probably all the more universal and enduring because she didn't. Rather than making feeble attempts to tie the Elliot's financial misfortunes to general economic trends (instead of their own fecklessness, which is what I believe Austen intended), Halperin quotes very effectively from Austen's letters to show that she was aware of the political and social life around her.

Halperin also portrays her as a much less pleasant person that most authors care to see. His Jane is shown in her letters to be often petty and gratuitously mean, heartlessly witty. The question, which Halperin doesn't really explore, but which might explain some of the discrepancy between the Austens' recollections is, how different was her public persona from her letters to Cassandra?Were the letters an outlet that helped enable her to be pleasant and civil? I am personally think that sincerity and frankness can be much over-rated vis a vis civility and consideration, so I wouldn't fault JA as a hypocrite, if this is true.

Halperin also presents her as decidely less fond of children, or at least young children, than other works.He is ignoring some of the writings about her that are quoted by other authors, but his point of view is well-supported by quotations from her letters.Particularly in combinations with other writers, the reader is left with a much more complex and nuanced view of Jane.

Overall, the book is well written and readable, and unlike some other biographies I could mention, does not go haring off on tangential subjects. Halperin also restrains himself from "overinterpreting" his material, attempting posthumous psychoanalysis and the like.

I am not terribly fond of mixing too much literary analysis with biography, and I disagree with some of Halperin's analysis, but I thought that his review of Mansfield Park with reference to JA's life was very fine and plausible.

I fault this, and all other JA biographies for their treatment of Cassandra Leigh Austen's (Mrs. George Austen's) "hypochondria".I have been told in every biography that she was a hypochondriac, but no-one has made a convincing case for it.The glimpses that one gets of her seem to be of a steady, cheerful, practical woman, not the most likely candidate for hypochondria, although it doesn't rule it out.I am also quite aware that in previous decades, doctors were much more likely to attribute illnesses, particularly in women, to psychosomatic causes, so I would urge modern biographers to re-examine the evidence.The most common quote is Jane's statement that she has little sympathy for a head cold unaccompanied by a fever or sore throat, but I think that may say more about the daughter than the mother.At 52, from my own experience, that of my friends and our parents, I am very aware that there are any number of bodily ills, all the more likely as we reach and pass middle-age, that are not apparent to outside observers, crippling or rapidly fatal, which none the less can cause the sufferer considerable discomfort and inconvenience while draining humor, patience, energy and enthusiasm. Just to name a few: chronic fatique syndrome, arthritis, pruritis, irritable bowel syndrome, incontinence, hemmoroids, insomnia, digestive problems, etc.Mrs. Austen would, in addition, be vulnerable to the ills that result from many closely-spaced pregnanacies, including such joys a varicose veins, joint injuries and a variety of gynecological problems.I would not ordinally faultHalperin individually, but he does carry it to new depths, finding it unreasonable, perhaps even neurotic, for the 72-year old woman to decide that she was giving up travelling in the slow, jolting, dusty conditions that prevailed at the time.

Despite this last grumble, this is one of my favorites among the seven or so biographies that I have read, and the best of the long biographies.For those wanting shorter works, I recommend Carol Shields' Jane Austen (Penguin Lives) and Valerie Grosvenor Myer's Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart: A Biography.

Enlightening view of a Austen
Halperin really did his homework and debunks myths that Austen was all smiles and sweetness.Don't get me wrong, by no means does he speak badly of the author. He just portrays her as a human being with emotions,sarcasim and wit who had a not-so-perfect life or career.

In his introhe states that the author of such books as Sense and Sensibility could nothave been all manners and niceness. Anyone who reads her books has to feelthe same. Halperin suggests there is a little bit of autobiography inAusten's works and documents his opinions with letters from Jane to hersister.

Great read! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Marianne and Elinor
This is the first Jane Austen book i have ever read. I had no choice since it was for English class. I daresay though that i enjoyed it greatly. It was very well written and very engrossing. It's about two sisters, one who is very open and the other who keeps her emotions and feelings in check.

Since it was written oh so long ago, it might be a challenge for some to understand what is being said. I caught on pretty fast. The beginning is confusing but afterwards, it makes more sense. Things such as He is very agreeable or five and twenty (25) come up a lot. My advice is too read it with no noises or distractions. I had to re-read many parts cause of the background noises. The book is hard enough as it is as many will agree with me. It's a great story with a really colorful cast.

great deal
I was so excited to find this penguin classic on amazon prime. good book, great price.

Sense & Sensibility
This was another Christmas gift for my oldest granddaughter. I was very pleased with the item and the shipping. She was delighted to receive the book. I will shop At Amazon for everything I purchase.

Penguin clothbound classics
The Penguin clothbound classics are all beautiful, but I like the Sense and Sensibility cover the very best. They make beautiful gifts and look great on the bookshelf. I looked everywhere and the price I paid on Amazon ($13.60) is by far the cheapest. They're a bargain at that price.

The transforming power of loving "Sisterhood"
I've read four Jane Austen novels in rapid succession, having been rapidly ensnared by Emma (Modern Library Classics), and avidly seeking more of this fabulous writer whose greatness I was amazed to have only just discovered. (The others were Pride And Prejudice, and Persuasion
As with all the great classics found on Amazon, many readers have already offered excellent reviews. In these cases, I have felt little need to add my own, unless I feel I have something new to offer. In the case of Sense and Sensibility, I do indeed believe the need to offer my view, to do this book what I believe is better justice! Here's why:
Many reviewers (which you may read if you browse other editions here) profess what is apparently the party line on Austen's works-- that while they "love this book and give it 5 stars", they (feel obliged to) then damn it with faint praise by adding "EVEN if it is one of her a. earliest, b. "not as poslished", c. "not as complex", or d. "not as funny, well-written,... etc. etc."
I must take issue!
1. Even if any or all of the above are so, (which I could waste many lines on disputing, to no useful purpose), why would any of these attributes of supposed inferiority be relevant to enjoying this book for itself? They themselves belie such relevance by noting their own great pleasure in reading THIS Jane Austen book. If indeed JA is a brilliant master novelist (no contest here), any and all her books is worth reading for its own sake, as each of them, and as no doubt JA herself would hope. The only reason to compare the finer distinctions among them would be to recommend which of her books one should read IF one could only read one or two. Indeed, not a one reviewer would I dare say recommend any such thing! Sense and Sensibility, as does each of the other 3 JAs I've read, has its own unique treasures to yield to the reader, and it is for these that each must be appreciated and each and all read.
2. Sense and Sensibility is a great analysis and example of the power of FILIAL love to transform a person for the better, and thereby to enable her to gain happiness. In my view, the interest in placing the two "opposing" virtues of Sense and Sensibility in each of the two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, is not simply to showcase the benefits and pitfalls the key virtue confers to the holder, but, much more illuminatingly, the value of the love between the two to cause the other to grow into a woman who can have BOTH in proper degree. Indeed, the book's ending will prove this!
3. In Sense and Sensibility, there are many themes developed extensively which are not a focus of the three others I read, aside from #2. One is demonstrated in the character and actions of Lucy, initially presented as an almost deceptively minor character. (I wont say more, but this alone is a real gem worth reading the book for.) Another is the evolution of the sisters' regard for a number of important characters in the book. Each of these is developed and explained beautifully--the regard for Willoughby, for Mrs. Jennings, for Captain Brandon, Edward. These changes are effected not only by and within each sister, but by and within several other characters...with most edifying effects for the education not only the protagonists, but for me!
4. Finally, Sense and Sensibility features key themes also showcased in the other three books, e.g., the power of real love to change one's character--one's pride and or prejudices for example (in that named book!), or the well-known to all (but beautifully illustrated examples of) wisdom, that how one reacts to love and the obstacles it creates or are created in its way, depends on character, and luck...but the love itself rarely is under one's control! And yet, of course, since each book's treatment of this theme is unique and reveals a host of unique vicissitudes it can involve, S and S and each of the others is well-worth the reward of the unique discoveries it offers the reader.
I need say no more, and direct the reader to "click" all four of the above into his/her cart! ... Read more

Product Description
It is now widely understood that Jane Austen's writing and thought were derived directly from her late eighteenth-century childhood, but astonishingly, this is the first study of the influence of the Enlightenment on Jane Austen.Drawing out the Enlightenment principles and ideas which lie behind much of Austen's writing, Peter Knox-Shaw presents a new perspective on the study of Austen's novels. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an exploration of Jane Austen's novels through the eyes of an historian. It demonstrates how the novels illuminate English history between 1792 and 1817, and how an appreciation of history can enrich our reading of the novels themselves. Building a picture of Jane Austen's life and of the world she inhabited in the period during and immediately after the Napoleonic Wars, Oliver MacDonagh analyzes her experience and her reactions, showing how she worked them into her fiction. Each chapter combines an examination of Jane Austen's ideas and conduct in a particular field with a consideration of her treatment of the same subject in one or more of her works. Topics such as her Anglicanism, her family relations, and her opinions on money are investigated in this way. Similarly, other chapters takle themes such as girlhood, education, marriage and local society. In every case her real and imagined worlds richly illuminate each other. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Almost Like Reading the Books for theFirst Time
A historian and Austen-lover's take on the Jane canon:this is a terrific book!MacDonagh has a chapter on each of the major novels, filled with insight on a particular social/historical aspect. "Emma and Social Traffic", for example, examines the relationships among the characters in order to illuminate the social framework of Highbury-like towns in the Regency...or is it vice versa? This is a book aimed at those who have read most or all of Austen's works, but for those of us in that category, Jane Austen's Real and Imagined Worlds provides a way to revisit the beloved novels in a new light, and with a most erudite and entertaining guide. ... Read more

Product Description
The revival in Jane Austen and her world continues apace, and Maria Hubert's book will delight and amuse anyone interested in the writer or the fascinating social era in which she was writing. Capturing the sheer delight of the Christmas period, it is a fascinating and captivating collection of everything from descriptions of Christmas celebrations in Georgian England, to memoirs, recipes, songs and stories. Essential reading for anyone interested in this period, or simply curious as to how Christmas was celebrated in the past, this is a wonderful piece of indulgent nostalgia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Look at Christmas in Georgian Times
Jane Austen's Christmas provides detailed insight into the Christmas celebrations of Austen's day. Passages from her books, diaries and letters from her own family, and journals and pieces from other writers arecompiled together to give the reader a historical (rather than literary)perspective of the Christmas holiday. My one disappointment with the bookwas that all the pieces by Austen herself were excerpts from her novels,all of which I'd read already; but overall, it's a good book for Austenenthusiasts wanting to know more about the traditions of her day. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Nameless and Dateless Romance...
Andrew Norman is the latest in a long line of authors to attempt to wring a few more insights from the limited surviving biographical material on Jane Austen.In 2009's "Jane Austen: An Unrequited Love", Norman provides a concise, sympathetic but unremarkable narrative of the short life of the beloved romance novelist.At the appropriate intervals in the chronology, Norman weaves in descriptions of her literary output, from the so-called Juvenalia to the unfinished novel "Sanditon".His literary criticism has been covered in more depth by other authors.

Norman does wrestle with two questions of interest to Jane Austen fans.He claims to identify the young man with whom Jane Austen reportedly shared a romantic attachment at a seaside resort in 1801 or 1802.The suspect has been discussed by other scholars, notably R.W. Chapman, and there are at least two signficant objections to his standing as Austen's "nameless and dateless" romance.To his credit, Norman acknowledges the objections; readers must be their own judge as to whether he overcomes them with his explanation.

Norman also addresses the cause of Jane Austen's death at age 41.Norman, a retired general practitioner, seems on surer ground in suggesting that she suffered from both Addison's disease and tuberculosis, the latter possibly contracted while nursing her brother Henry.The book includes an interesting selection of illustrations.The bibliography is alarmingly light given the depth of the field.

"Jane Austen: An Unrequited Love" is worth a look for the general reader interested in a serviceable biography, and perhahps for the Jane Austen fan interested in another discussion of her personal romances. ... Read more

Product Description
Bringing together Jane Austen's most beloved characters and storylines-a clever, playful, interactive, and highly entertaining approach to the wildly popular novels in which you, the reader, decide the outcome.

Name: Elizabeth Bennet.Mission: To marry both prudently and for love.How? It's entirely up to the reader.

The journey begins in Pride and Prejudice but quickly takes off on a whimsical Austen adventure of the reader's own creation. A series of choices leads the reader into the plots and romances of Austen's other works. Choosing to walk home from Netherfield Hall means falling into Sense and Sensibility and the infatuating spell of Mr.Willoughby. Accepting an invitation to Bath leads to Northanger Abbey and the beguiling Henry Tilney. And just where will Emma's Mr. Knightley fit in to the quest for a worthy husband? It's all up to the reader.

A labyrinth of love and lies, scandals and scoundrels, misfortunes and marriages, Lost in Austen will delight and challenge any Austen lover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Lost in Austen by Emma Campbell Webster
This book is FUN.I read it in a day. It's a create your own adventure, Austen style. You are Elizabeth Bennet and you're out to find love.This book gives you the option of making your own decisions, some of which lead you into other Austen stories.There are also regency era questions to test your knowledge.You can keep score or not.I really enjoyed this book.If you are an Austen fan I would recommend this to you.If you know an Austen lover, this would be a great gift.You can read this book over and over with a different outcome every time.

Shall I let you know my fate?

I got run over.........by a carriage.........driven by Caroline Bingley.Oh well!Maybe next time I will end up with Mr. Darcy.

[...].

Lost in Austen
Bought this for my college-aged granddaughter for school. She loves it! It was the perfect gift for her right now.

Silly and Fun
Great if you love Jane Austen and just want to have a little fun with her novels.I found it amusing to "take different paths" and meet or marry characters from all of her novels and even one from Austen's real life.The illustrations are really ugly, yuck.I recommend it for what it is, some enjoyable silliness.

entertaining
I recently stumbled upon Lost in Austen by Emma Campbell Webster and was instantly intrigued by it. This book isn't your typical retelling or sequel to a Jane Austen novel. Instead it is a Choose Your Own Adventure book.

That's right I said Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA).

In this book you get to play the role of Elizabeth Bennet and your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to marry prudently and also for love. Anyone who has ever read Pride and Prejudice can quickly go through this novel making all the "right" choices (aka the ones that Austen wrote) but you can also veer from that path and see one authors take on what might have been. Also, by taking the alternate path you can meet characters from some of Austen's other novels. Giving Elizabeth a larger pool of suitors to potentially choose from.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. The writing is definitely not award winning nor is it hard to accomplish the mission set out in the book. However, multiple flaws aside this CYOA novel reminded me a lot of the ones that I read as a kid and it was fun to read the Pride and Prejudice story in this vein....just to see what sort of dire circumstances would happen to Elizabeth if she married Mr Collins or accepted Mr Darcy's proposal too soon.

[...]

Cute and fun
You are Elizabeth Bennet and you get to make choices in your storyline of Pride and Prejudice.As long as you choose what happened in Pride and Prejudice (multiple choice answers) you end up with Darcy. Otherwise youend up a disgraced spinster,or murdered by Caroline Bingley, or married to Mr. Collins, or married to Henry Crawford,or married to Mr. Knightley, or married to Captain Wentworth- and many many other scenarios.

I had fun picking the wrong answer to see what would happen.

Cute but not really for the serious Janeite.

... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

The sensible and the sensitive
One of the Dashwood daughters is smart, down-to-earth and sensible. The other is wildly romantic and sensitive.

And in a Jane Austen novel, you can guess that there are going to be romantic problems aplenty for both of them -- along with the usual entailment issues, love triangles, sexy bad boys and societal scandals. "Sense and Sensibility" is a quietly clever, romantic little novel that builds up to a dramatic peak on Marianne's romantic troubles, while also quietly exploring Elinor's struggles.

When Mr. Dashwood dies, his entire estate is entailed to his weak son John and snotty daughter-in-law Fanny. His widow and her three daughters are left with little money and no home.

Over the next few weeks, the eldest daughter Elinor begins to fall for Fanny's studious, quiet brother Edward... but being the down-to-earth one, she knows she hasn't got a chance. Her impoverished family soon relocates to Devonshire, where a tiny cottage is being rented to them by one of Mrs. Dashwood's relatives -- and Marianne soon attracts the attention of two men. One is the quiet, much older Colonel Brandon, and the other is the dashing and romantic Willoughby.

But things begin to spiral out of control when Willoughby seems about to propose to Marianne... only to abruptly break off his relationship with her. And during a trip to London, both Elinor and Marianne discover devastating facts about the men they are in love with -- both of them are engaged to other women. And after disaster strikes the Dashwood family, both the sisters will discover what real love is about...

At its heart, "Sense and Sensibility" is about two girls with completely opposite personalities, and the struggle to find love when you're either too romantic or too reserved for your own good. As well as, you know, the often-explored themes in Austen's novels -- impoverished women's search for love and marriage, entailment, mild scandal, and the perils of falling for a sexy bad boy who cares more for money than for true love... assuming he even knows what true love is.

Austen's formal style takes on a somewhat more melancholy flavor in this book, with lots of powerful emotions and vivid splashes of prose ("The wind roared round the house, and the rain beat against the windows"); and she introduces a darker tone near the end. Still, there's a slight humorous tinge to her writing, especially when she's gently mocking Marianne and Mrs. Dashwood's melodrama ("They gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every reflection that could afford it").

And Marianne and Elinor make excellent dual heroines for this book -- that still love and cherish each other, even though their polar opposite personalities frequently clash. What's more, they each have to become more like the other before they can find happiness. There's also a small but solid supporting cast -- the hunting-obsessed Sir John, the charming Willoughby (who has some nasty stuff in his past), the emotional Mrs. Dashwood, and the gentle, quiet Colonel Brandon, who shows his love for Marianne in a thousand small ways.

"Sense and Sensibility" is an emotionally powerful, beautifully written tale about two very different sisters, and the rocky road to finding a lasting love. Not as striking as "Pride and Prejudice," but still a deserving classic.

Good reading but not excellent
Not as good as "Pride and Prejudice" of the same author, although some chapters are brilliant. Particularly good are those where Jane Austin applying her great satirical talent. I liked very much how she painted the character of John Dashwood: soft but very biting image of the selfish and greedy fellow. Balance of judgment and passion - dilemma as old as Seneca writing and beyond - revealed in this novel slightly in obsolete form, but essence is the same: you suffer more when submit to passions, but who can live by the rule of judgment only?

Sense and Sensibility
This book arrived very quickly and is just what I am looking for. Thank you!

not so much
i didnt like this one as much as i have like some of austens other works. there just seems to be some element of fun missing from it.

Outstanding Novel
The basic plot involves two sisters who have been more or less cheated out of an inheritance and are struggling to find husbands and happiness. Elinor is the oldest and is very intelligent and wise (Sense) and her sister Marianne is all raw emotion and passion (Sensibility). How these two interact with the world, each other, as well as family and friends makes up the bulk of the book. They struggle to understand each other even as they slowly grow more alike... meeting not quite in the middle but closer than they were. The supporting characters are very engaging and I found myself rooting for most of them, even a couple who are not entirely good. There are a few characters (e.g. Mrs. Jenkins) who are caricatures meant to parody some of the social norms of the day but even she has some depth to her and is likeable.

While I initially picked this book up due to fond memories of Pride and Prejudice (Enriched Classics), I found Sense & Sensibility to be an excellent novel in its own right. I'm not sure why, but I was worried that it might be a bit dry. I needn't have been concerned, as the wit and story both sparkle from the first few pages and it only gets better as it goes along.

I won't give the ending or any major plot points away but the story does move along well and has a fairly satisfying ending. I did think that a bit more attention could have been paid to Marianne at the end but in many respects Elinor is more the central character so it is perhaps fitting that the climax focuses more on her.

In sum, this is an excellent novel and well worth reading. ... Read more