Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels

by Deirdre Le Faye

Overview

With a wealth of details about Jane Austen's life and times, this volume brings to life the world of her novels. Austen scholar Deirdre Le Faye first gives an overview of the period, from foreign affairs to social ranks, from fashion to sanitation. She goes on to consider each novel individually.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711222786
Publisher:	Lincoln, Frances Limited
Publication date:	08/28/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.81(w) x 8.31(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Deirdre Le Faye is an expert on Jane Austen, and the author of several books, including the definitive biography Jane Austen: A Family Record for the British Library, and a completely new edition of Jane Austen's letters. She lives in Portishead, North Somerset.

Editorial Reviews

When Jane Austen's novels were published, some readers dismissed them as "too natural to be interesting." Yet their very true-to-lifeness helped earn Austen (1775-1817) her place in the literary canon. Nearly 200 years later, many praise what Austen scholar (and obvious fan) Le Faye calls her ability to create the "sensation that we are visiting genuine places and joining in the lives of genuine people." Le Faye (Jane Austen: A Family Record) argues that modern readers need a thorough explanation of Austen's milieu-Georgian and Regency Britain-in order to fully understand and enjoy her fiction. She provides just that by weaving together carefully researched biographical information, meticulously detailed descriptions of everything from social hierarchy to cosmetics and sanitation, as well as summaries of and contemporary reactions to Austen's novels. Color illustrations and maps provide further illumination, particularly the portraits suggesting what beloved characters such as Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet might have looked like. Although the volume comprises distinct sections of biography, history and criticism, the three are intermingled throughout. This generally succeeds at making the book more engaging, but sometimes Le Faye fails to clarify whether she's discussing Austen's siblings, Englishmen of no relation or fictional characters, which may frustrate readers who aren't that familiar with Austen's work. Despite this, and the fact that some points are almost painfully obvious-of course contraception and refrigeration have improved since 1817-this book is a worthy addition to the Austen fan's library. 100 illustrations, 80 in full color. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly