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70th out of 109 books
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2 voters
Jane Austen's Letters
Jane Austen's letters afford a unique insight into the daily life of the novelist: intimate and gossipy, observant and informative--they read much like the novels themselves. They bring alive her family and friends, her surroundings and contemporary events, all with a freshness unparalleled in modern biographies. Most important, we recognize the unmistakable voice of the a...more
Hardcover, Fourth edition, 667 pages
Published
December 1st 2011
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published January 1st 1952)
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Got this for a Christmas present! Woot!
First part of my Review: The Editing. Le Faye's work is a concise, scholarly job; this book deserves the reputation it has. It is as heavily detailed and full of excellent minutiae as JA's letters. Included are all the lists you'll need to understand the reading: places mentioned in the letters, general index, list of initials used in reference, bibliography, even a biographical index of the people JA talks about. One thing struck me here: JA had such an in...more
First part of my Review: The Editing. Le Faye's work is a concise, scholarly job; this book deserves the reputation it has. It is as heavily detailed and full of excellent minutiae as JA's letters. Included are all the lists you'll need to understand the reading: places mentioned in the letters, general index, list of initials used in reference, bibliography, even a biographical index of the people JA talks about. One thing struck me here: JA had such an in...more
Intended more for scholarly readers than a casual audience, this is exactly what is says, a collection of every surviving scrap of letter Jane Austen wrote to anyone (mainly family) during her lifetime. Everytime someone writes a preface to her books, or creates a new biopic they look here for what she was really like. I did learn that the letters that were destroyed and censored by her surviving sister usually had to do with areas where she had described physical symptoms or made mildly dispara...more
Excellent. Conscious of every word she puts down, as one might expect such a great stylist to be. I can't help but hold it against Cassandra Austen that she burnt a good number of Jane Austen's letters. Written with a good deal of irony and sensitivity; the snippets -- few as they are -- regarding her art and the art of others are quite invaluable. The only thing that irked me was 1. the loss of letters, attributable to CEA, and 2. the proliferation of dashes and lack of paragraphing which made...more
Her wit and humor resonate on every page—find out just how delightful Jane would be to sit next to at a dinner party, and how much more clever her catty observations would be than your own. Exceptionally footnoted by scholar (and Austen devotee) Deidre Le Faye.
Nov 09, 2010
Amalie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
austen-bronte,
memoir-biography
This is the complete collection of the surviving letters of Jane Austen (about 150) and a must-read book by all of her fans. This will give you the chance to take a peek inside the mind of this witty genius.
Most of Jane Austen's letters in this are addressed to her sister Cassandra, but there are also letters to her brothers, friends, and towards the end, her nieces and nephews as well as publishers. For those who are interested, the very first letter has its mention of Tom Lefroy. (personally...more
Most of Jane Austen's letters in this are addressed to her sister Cassandra, but there are also letters to her brothers, friends, and towards the end, her nieces and nephews as well as publishers. For those who are interested, the very first letter has its mention of Tom Lefroy. (personally...more
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At first glance this letter collection may just seem like trivial tales of an uneventful everyday life - but under the trifling discussions of silk stockings, dinner menus and minor balls lies the heart of the most accomplished writer who ever lived.
These letters offer intimate insights in Jane Austen's way of thinking, reasoning and living. This book is the most direct impression one could ever gain of Jane Austen herself. And it is fascinating.
From the loving, gentle and comforting letters t...more
These letters offer intimate insights in Jane Austen's way of thinking, reasoning and living. This book is the most direct impression one could ever gain of Jane Austen herself. And it is fascinating.
From the loving, gentle and comforting letters t...more
Jun 15, 2012
Tracey
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bios-autobios-memoirs
I really enjoyed reading Jane's voice. As it's a scholarly work, though, it's a bit difficult to get through this book, because it's a doorstop - Jane wrote a lot of letters! Also, if you insist on checking all the notes, you're going back and forth all the time. I ended up putting a bookmark in the notes section corresponding to where I was in the letter, and not bothering to check unless it was something I really wanted to know more about.
I loved the parts where Jane was writing about the pub...more
I loved the parts where Jane was writing about the pub...more
Even if these letters weren't by Jane Austen, they'd be worth reading for the way they take you right into the lives lived by the lower country gentry in the late Georgian era. The quiet country life? It's worse even than Shetland ... a constant round of calling on neighbours and them calling on you, keeping in touch with relatives by letter, dinner parties, balls, theatres, visits of a fortnight or more with other relatives ... and in among that you had to harvest your fruit and vegetables and...more
Sometimes I don't want to know who the authors are because I only want to know them through their fiction and not the non-fiction which is their lives. But these letters help you understand that Jane was alive and well despite her lack of a fortunate marriage.
These letters show that she was simply applying herself to her life not in an effort to prove or show anything - more for something to occupy her hours.
Not a bad way to spend your time - certainly beats youtube.
These letters show that she was simply applying herself to her life not in an effort to prove or show anything - more for something to occupy her hours.
Not a bad way to spend your time - certainly beats youtube.
It was really helpful to listen the bio first. I am very happy I get to know Jane Austen a little more, not only her works were brilliant also as a being a woman, an extraordinary person. Though the letters were just pieces of information, but it really shows how she values families, her observation of society, how she process lost of families, friendship and love. Just great.
This book took quite a commitment. I think I checked it out four times, plus renewed it each time I was able to. Because I read it over such a long stretch, it's hard for me to remember my impressions of the beginning. I do remember thinking how clever Jane Austen was, which comes through in her letters as much as in her books.
And towards the end, especially as her books started being published and she started writing more letters (or at least, more of them were preserved) to her nieces and neph...more
And towards the end, especially as her books started being published and she started writing more letters (or at least, more of them were preserved) to her nieces and neph...more
I am a JA addict. I read her books and letters over and over again. This time I am struck how kind and loving she was to her nieces, especially Fanny Knight, and what a backstabbing niece Fanny was much later in life toward her dead aunt.
Jul 01, 2008
aisha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
my-jane-austen-obsession
OK, so I mostly skimmed through most of the book. Although I was quite diligent in reading the first parts [and even came across my all-time favorite Jane Austen quote], I found that without knowing exactly what was happening at the time[who, what, where, etc] it wasn't exactly scintillating reading. Plus, the enormous time gaps between letters [thanks to sister Cassandra's pyromania] made it difficult for me to stay interested. Lots of talk about trimmed caps and gowns-Jane must have been quite...more
A close reading of these letters quickly dispels any illusions of Austen as a proper, humourless, spinster aunt. Austen's letters are funny, witty, and occasionally downright cruel.
What else is there to say about Jane Austen's letters? A glimpse of a life, and nothing more. Tantalizing and endearing and faithful to the end.
It gives a great insight into Jane Austen's character and also what Cassandra Austen may have been like. Very interesting.
Jane Austen's letters are wonderful reading--pithy, scathing and hilarious observations of her world and the people in it to her sister Cassandra, and interesting advice on writing and love to her nieces Anna and Fanny. For the Austen aficinadoas, I'd definitely recommend this complete, chronological collection of the known surviving letters over some of the illustrated compilations out there.
A great read for any Austen fan! I particularly enjoyed reading her love advice and when she'd mention her characters.
I've read many of Austen's letters and loved them, and while I intend to finish this edition, there's quite a lot to get through for one big chunk of reading. Will have to read in smaller pieces.
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
Can't wait to read! A favorite lbrarian grabbed this from some book donations, just for me!
yep, I liked it. I can't remember the particulars but I do remember that, :)
A very interesting way to discover Jane Austen life's and her personality
Really enjoyed reading Jane's letters and becoming better acquainted with her.
Interesting collection of the letters of Jane Austen, from the time before she was published unitl her death. It brings her times to life, especially as Fiona Shaw portrays her so well.
An intriguing author and even more intriguing person.
Delightful.
I
Suited to either reading straight through, or dipping in and out of as the fancy takes you, Jane Austen's Letters is nicely arranged and presented and meticulously annotated. Austen's letters are frequently witty and always entertaining, with just enough of a hint of mischief to them to make me regret even more that her sister, Cassandra, burned so many of her letters after her death. As hefty a volume as this is, it really should be so much larger
So far, I have found Jane Austen's letters just as witty and interesting as her novels. Life as she sees it is fascinating: I love how she describes the people around her. Flipping to the back of the book to understand references to people and places is a little annoying, but fine for what I like to do: read one or two letters at a time, just enough to get a daily dose of her beautiful language and unique brand of humor.
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Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.
Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fr...more
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Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fr...more
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