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Jane Austen For Dummies
Explains Austen's methods, motivations, and morals
The fun and easy way(r) to understand and enjoy Jane Austen
Want to know more about Jane Austen? This friendly guide gives the scoop on her life, works, and lasting impact on our culture. It chronicles the events of her brief life, examines each of her novels, and looks at why her stories - of women and marriage, class and...more
The fun and easy way(r) to understand and enjoy Jane Austen
Want to know more about Jane Austen? This friendly guide gives the scoop on her life, works, and lasting impact on our culture. It chronicles the events of her brief life, examines each of her novels, and looks at why her stories - of women and marriage, class and...more
Paperback, 362 pages
Published
July 31st 2006
by For Dummies
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Laurel
rated it
Ok, who wants to be called a dummy, or heaven forbid, admit that you are a dummy? Show of hands please. Well, not me, and certainly not any of those accomplished, well educated, and urbane literati who call themselves Janeites! Right? So, Jane Austen for Dummies? Let’s be kind folks. Would Jane approve?
As a bookseller, I have seen the amazing rise in popularity of the Dummies book series over the last decade that has fueled Wiley Publishing into a mighty empire. There are now Dummies...more
As a bookseller, I have seen the amazing rise in popularity of the Dummies book series over the last decade that has fueled Wiley Publishing into a mighty empire. There are now Dummies...more
This book gives a good overview of the life and times of Jane Austen in a crisp, clear, and engaging manner. It is well-organized and easy to read with illustrations and pictures where relevant, and includes a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from dancing, courtship and marriage in Regency times to authors who influenced and who were influenced by Austen.
There are very relevant examples from Austen's works under each topic, which makes it entertaining and understandable. The book...more
There are very relevant examples from Austen's works under each topic, which makes it entertaining and understandable. The book...more
I'm sort of a trivia junkie, and this book is just full of info about Jane Austen - her life, her society, her books, and England when she was alive. I absolutely loved it, but there was no way to retain everything in it, so I could probably read it again and still feel like I was learning new things! If you are a Jane Austen fan I highly recommend this book!
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If you dice this book up by sentence, I think you would find this book to be pretty equally divisible into four logical buckets. Bucket one is the interesting trivia and history. Bucket two is the repetition of bucket one. Bucket three includes the not-so-interesting bits, like the author's favorite Jane Austin cookbook. And bucket four is what I'd call structure, such as "For more on impromptu balls, see Chapter 5." The analysis was pretty interesting, and I haven't ready any Austen. ...more
I am a librarian and I lead a monthly Coffee Club for seniors, as well as two book discussion groups, one at the library and one at the senior center. Our book for September was Sense and Sensibility. To get ready, I spent the month of August immersed in Jane Austen's world. I listened to Pride and Prejudice on tape while I was reading Sense and Sensibility. I was also reading Jane Austen for Dummies, watching Jane Austen movies, and preparing a powerpoint called "The Life and Times of ...more
Ms. Klingel Ray was, at the time of this book's publication, the head of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), so although yes, it is a "Dummies" book, it is actually very well written and quite informative! Not only do you learn about Jane and her works, but you learn about Regency society, the literature that Jane would have read, film and stage adaptations of Austen's works, and tips for Jane Austen related travel.
"...Seriously, this book is a treasure and a truly wonderful resource - it doesn't matter if you are a long-time Janeite or if you are newly interested in the novels after having seen film adaptations, or if you just want to find out more because you were assigned one of Austen's novels for a class. I promise you will get something out of this book. As an aside, I do much of my reading outside of my home - in between classes, in waiting rooms while running errands, etc - and I have never go...more
If you own just one book on Jane Austen and her novels, this is the one to get. Full of insights, details, and a listing of spinoff books and films, this will satisfy anyone wanting to know more about this Classic English writer, and does so without pain or intimidation. Very much recommended!
To see the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_43860089...
To see the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_43860089...
I've looked the other way from this book for quite some time, but now that I've sat down with it I found it immensely interesting. Ray has a good sense of humor and knows her Austen, so the combination is entertaining and enlightening. Much of it is a surface level look, but it can be a great reference. Her sections on daily life during Austen's time sheds some new light for me on parts of Austen's work. Well worth the time.
This book is wonderful for anyone who loves Jane Austen. Great historical context, lists, comparisons of characters between novels, themes. Great to read over and over again.
--more than I even wanted to know! Dr. Ray does provide some interesting tidbits to share with my students--and some I won't share but enjoy knowing for myself. :)
Jack of all trades, master of none. This book delves into just about every aspect of Jane Austen, but none of it too deeply. It is a very easy to read book and is geared for the audience that wants to know more, but doesn't want to read a dissertation.
In all cases in draws in excerpts from the books, for example, when talking about the various vehicles commonly used in that period, the author mentions which characters drove what.
I will also mention that if as the book sa...more
In all cases in draws in excerpts from the books, for example, when talking about the various vehicles commonly used in that period, the author mentions which characters drove what.
I will also mention that if as the book sa...more
This book is a great source of info on Austen for both those new to her writing and the well-versed Janeite. I would have given it five stars, but I had a couple of problems.
1.) Who proofread this book? Quite a few obvious errors (Eleanor and Elinor, same character, same page)--I was disappointed that the quality was not up to par.
2.) Exclamation points everywhere. I am puzzled as to why anyone with a BA in English, a PhD in British Lit and a professorship in English (...more
1.) Who proofread this book? Quite a few obvious errors (Eleanor and Elinor, same character, same page)--I was disappointed that the quality was not up to par.
2.) Exclamation points everywhere. I am puzzled as to why anyone with a BA in English, a PhD in British Lit and a professorship in English (...more
Read this as research for work and really enjoyed it. Had great background on why Austen's characters do, think, and speak as they do!
A must read for any Jane Austen fan! I met Joan at a JASNA festival and found her interesting and entertaining!
despise the title, but the favorable reviews convinced me to add it!
Very informative and a great read for social history buffs such as myself and for those who just want some background information on life in Jane Austen's time.
I enjoyed this book it is very informative. I loved reading how things were in Janes’ day.
gooood
This is a great bathroom reader!
A very enjoyable read, although the book could've used another bout of editing--there are spelling and on occasion factual errors throughout.
great stuff of JA lovers..lots of interesting tidbits about the books, her life and society, modern sequels, movie adaptations, websites etc. I'm gonna get me a copy! :-)
A really good resource for Austenite-info.
I really enjoyed this information -- lifestyles and courting and etc. during Jane Austen's life, literary influences (and the literary influence that she had), and such.
I really enjoyed this information -- lifestyles and courting and etc. during Jane Austen's life, literary influences (and the literary influence that she had), and such.
Hate the title; loved the book, written by the president of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This is so packed with everything you might want to know about Jane, her novels and her times.
Helped clear up some questions I have had while trying to read most all of Jane Austen's works. Admit: more of a reference read than a start on page 1 and read to the end type of book.
I don't normally support the "Dummies" titles, but I needed info for an "Austen" party and did find some fun, interesting and helpful things in this book!
---Jena
---Jena
A must-read for Jane Austen fans.
I have never read any of this series, but I thought this particular one might be worth a glance.
Heather
rated it
Recommends it for:
Jane Austen and Regency buffs everywhere
Recommended to Heather by:
Everything Austen Challenge
Awesome reference book on Jane Austen and her times and books! I learned so much! Great reference book!
I'm adding this simply to prove my ultimate nerdiness. Actually learned a lot about Regency life.
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