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Jane Austen: A Life Revealed

3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 · rating details · 163 ratings · 78 reviews

Jane Austen’s popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen.

Catherine Reef changes that with thi...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published June 6th 2011 by Clarion Books (first published April 18th 2011)

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May 20, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, young-adult, read-2011, 2011-publication

Some readers take on Jane Austen out of necessity for school. Others linger over her words for pleasure.

This short biography, meant for young adults, is a well-researched history lesson full of anecdotes on the various life events that shaped Jane's novels. It's also peppered with interesting facts, photographs, and historical information, including the story of how Jane initially had to self-publish her books since no one would take a chance on her, and my personal favorite, a little tidbit on...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Keilah R rated it 4 of 5 stars

By Catherine Reef
Biography
Finished 4-16-13
155 pages

This book is a biography about the life of the author Jane Austen. It walks you through the life of Jane, from childhood to death. Though many letters written by Jane were burned, the author does a good job giving us many details about the rest of Jane's life, including where she lived, knowledge of her family, and the many tragic events that occurred during her lifetime. Not only does this novel tell of the sad life of Jane Austen, but it also...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Lissa Chandler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

This is a young adult biography (though it did feel elementary). It skimmed over facts quickly and included a whole bunch of background information (mostly short history lessons where the author felt it was necessary). The author clearly admires Austen and, by default, the reader can't help but feel a little rush of excitement for Austen's work as well. So! I think this is a great introductory to Austen's life.

BUT. I do have some bones.

First, I felt like everything written in this book could hav...more This is a young adult biography (though it did feel elementary). It skimmed over facts quickly and included a whole bunch of background information (mostly short history lessons where the author felt it was necessary). The author clearly admires Austen and, by default, the reader can't help but feel a little rush of excitement for Austen's work as well. So! I think this is a great introductory to Austen's life.

BUT. I do have some bones.

First, I felt like everything written in this book could have been written after a few quick afternoons of reading articles about Austen's life. Maybe that's because I took a class on Austen and was familiar with everything this book covered, but Reef doesn't really uncover any new information. If anything, she admires Austen so much that her bias is a little annoying. Take this passage: "Jane clearly was the most gifted woman in the family and her 'accomplishments' may have aroused her sister-in-law's jealousy." When Reef makes this statement, she's talking about Jane Austen long before her novels were published. For all we know, when Austen was twenty-one, her family may have shaken their heads at her cute writing antics- I'm sure they loved what she wrote, but at the same time, women weren't breadwinners and, if anything, women accustomed to nineteenth century London society would probably scoff at working women before admiring them... unless, of course, you were interested in being a working woman yourself.

Honestly, that was my biggest problem with this biography. No one knows what Jane Austen was really like, so the hero worship about how Austen was the best of anything she ever did got a little old in this book. Actually, that's just my biggest problem with Austen overall. This biographer talks about her as if she never could have done anything wrong, yet continually alludes to the fact that she had a quick tongue and loved sharp gossip. Personally, I think Austen had to have been somewhat of a brat, if not for any other reason than because of the fact that her family destroyed all of her letters so that no one could get ahold of them. If she really was as nice and pretty as some biographers want to portray, then I think her legacy would have been better kept. But! That is a whole other tangent.

Also, Reef summarizes each of Austen's books which can be potentially hazardous, especially a good chunk of the biography was dedicated to this. When readers know what's going to happen at the end of the story, they're much less likely to actually sit down and read, especially when novels are in nineteenth century English. For example, I've known the ending to Jane Eyre since I was thirteen or fourteen and, whenever anyone talked about how awesome it was, I'd talk about how it was creepy, even though I'd never read the book. I finally read it this past summer and, even though I was hesitant to read it because I knew major plot points, I ended up adoring the novel. If I hadn't known the ending, though, I probably would have read it earlier and would have loved it that much more.

Anyway, it probably sounds like I hated this book, but I liked it! I think that it's a great introductory to Austen, particularly if the reader is twelve or thirteen years old. For high schoolers, I would definitely recommend another biographer, but for the interested middle schooler, I think this biography is a good place for them to start.(less)

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Aug 10, 2011 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ncbla, writing

I am a fan of Jane's Austen's books and the writer herself. If you want to know anything about the particular period of history in which her books are set or to understand the social mores and the rigid class system that existed during those times, then reading her books, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Northanger Abbey, will provide a glimpse into that world as well as affording readers an understanding of why folks behaved the way they did. Writing a biography about someone w...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Brandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, ya, non-fiction

Reef presents a detailed overview of the life of Jane Austen. She gives us a good introduction to her siblings, nieces and nephews, and of her progression as an author. The author utilizes a very conversational tone that would be welcomed by teens that want to read about this influential author. I especially loved hearing about the evolution of her writing and all the in-depth discussion of her novels and the critiques from family and peers in her time period. I also loved the author's inclusion...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Margaret Sullivan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally posted on AustenBlog.

One of the throwdown topics amongst Janeites–along with which film adaptation of a particular novel is best–is which biography of Jane Austen is best. For casual fans who just want to read one biography, it’s hard for us to recommend just one. Like adaptations of Emma, each has its drawbacks and merits, and one sometimes thinks combining several might make one very good biography. Our go-to if-you-can-read-just-one biography is Elizabeth Jenkins’ much-reprinted 19...more

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May 28, 2011 Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen

With teen novels such as Prom and Prejudice, Scones and Sensibility, and I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend, it would seem that Jane Austen has recently become more popular in the Young Adult genre. The authors of these aforementioned novels often state that their intention for writing these types of novels is to hopefully inspire many young readers to crack open the spine of their first Jane Austen novel and discover the brilliance of her writing for themselves. (Yes! I dearly hope this happens!)...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Bree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, galley-grab

breesabookworm.com

This book is written by Catherine Reef and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This is a review from an ARC copy that the publisher was kind enough to give.

Basically, I love Jane Austen, so I'm always happy to read a book about her life in particular. As it seems, there is so much to learn about her, but there is so much still left unknown.

This is not the first biography of Austen that I have read, but I enjoyed it all the same. Basically it's written as a story chronicling...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Melissa Roach rated it 5 of 5 stars

Description:
Jane Austen's popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen.

Catherine Reef changes that with this highly readable account. She takes an intimate peek at Austen's life and innermost feelings, interweaving her...more Description:
Jane Austen's popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen.

Catherine Reef changes that with this highly readable account. She takes an intimate peek at Austen's life and innermost feelings, interweaving her narrative with well-crafted digests of each of Austen's published novels. The end result is a book that is almost as much fun to read as Jane's own work—and truly a life revealed. Includes bibliography and index.

My thoughts:
I am sorry to say that I have never read or seen any of the films depicting Jane Austen's novels. I am a big sucker for romance and romantic comedies, so I am sure that I would love to watch the movies and read all of her well-known novels (like "Pride & Prejudice", "Emma", or "Sense & Sensibility"). In this book by Catherine Reef does a great job of narrating the life of one of the most famous authors of the late 1700's. She does an amazing job of flowing the words together, and really captivated me as a reader. This is by far one of the best biographies I have ever read! I learned so much about Jane Austen's life, her family and what life was like for her growing up in England.

I would definitely recommend this book to any Jane Austen fan or for someone who would loves to read about history in the making...

Read more about the book here: http://www.hmhbooks.com/catalog/title...

Available on Amazon (4/18/11): http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Rev...

Thank You so much Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read this book! I cannot wait to read more books from you in the future!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Net Galley review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." (less)

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Mar 01, 2011 Dan Curnutt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Whether or not you are a Jane Austen fan you will find this short history of the life of Jane Austen very informative. Reef does a good job of researching Janes life and her family. The first half of the book reads like a history lesson with lots of facts, names, dates and accounts of Janes upbringing and early writings.

You will be given a short but very accurate account of Janes life. You will walk away with a better understanding of how her books very much reflect the lives of those she lived...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Trisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Short and Sweet of It
Jane Austen is a biography written for younger readers, and while it works for its intended audience, it may come across as superficial and disjointed to older readers.

A Bit of a Ramble
Reef covers Jane's life quickly and efficiently in this work, focusing primarily on her interpersonal relationships with family and friends. The problem is that Jane had a large family and a lot of friends - or rather, acquaintances - so things feel a bit rushed in this biography. In just...more The Short and Sweet of It
Jane Austen is a biography written for younger readers, and while it works for its intended audience, it may come across as superficial and disjointed to older readers.

A Bit of a Ramble
Reef covers Jane's life quickly and efficiently in this work, focusing primarily on her interpersonal relationships with family and friends. The problem is that Jane had a large family and a lot of friends - or rather, acquaintances - so things feel a bit rushed in this biography. In just a few pages, readers can bounce back and forth between an event in Jane's life, an event in a family member's life, a short history lesson, etc. While each chapter title suggests a particular focus, things get a bit meshed up, and I must admit to momentary confusion from time to time on who was who (especially since the same name can cover multiple real people and then also a character from her books).

I think my struggles were primarily due to the intended audience, which is not me. I would hazard a guess that this book is for the junior high set, and I can see how a more superficial reconstruction of Jane's life is perfectly appropriate for that age range.Younger readers may also need the random paragraphs explaining history, politics, disease, etc. Readers get the overview of her life, and a few insightful comments on it, for me though, I wanted depth, a more critical analysis.

A part that really stuck out to me, something I hope the younger readers latch on to, is this: 'Jane Austen opened new territory...by writing about ordinary people and things that happen every day. There will continue to be an audience for stories about adventures in far-off places or strange doings in frightening castles, but Austen proved that drama can be found in the kinds of interactions that take place all around us. "Nothing very much happens in her books, and yet, when you come to the bottom of a page, you eagerly turn it to learn what will happen next. Nothing very much does and again you eagerly turn the page," observed the twentieth-century novelist and playwright W. Somerset Maugham.' That paragraph really sums up how I've felt about Austen.

I did have one other problem with the book which is not so easily explained away: Austen's novels are summarized in this biography. Each work is told in short with great detail and complete plot spoilers. This bugged me to no end, and while I read the summaries for the Austen novels I've already read, I skipped over the summaries for Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey. Anyone who has not yet read Austen - which I am guessing covers most of the intended audience - will never be able to read one of her works without knowing what is going to happen, a travesty of reading in my opinion. I barely read the back covers before going into a book because I am so scared of knowing too much beforehand.

This book is great for younger readers as an overview of Austen's life and okay for older readers as a quick read. One thing it did was inspire me to search out a more detailed examination of Austen's life - and that is saying something since I am very much not a biography person.(less)

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Jun 15, 2011 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-12-19, nonfiction, biography, historical

Well done for a YA biography. Not dry, informative, and was a fast read. I liked learning more about her family (more than I have learned from any other source). I enjoyed the quotes from her letters and am even more resolved to read the book that contains many of her letters. I also was happy that the author pointed out that it's hard to get a full picture of what Austen was like, since much about her was destroyed and then other reminscings were from her loved ones.

I've lately been casually s...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Courtney rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-for-adults-challenge

Reef began the book with the notion that Jane Austen was a mystery. She was described in conflicting terms by family members and friends. Her own words had been lost through destruction from these same family members and friends as if Austen had asked for her correspondences to be destroyed after her death (as implied by Reef). Reef even said Austen was described by family in a way that would be favorable-- like how you would describe someone in your family to outsiders.

In other words, we can't...more Reef began the book with the notion that Jane Austen was a mystery. She was described in conflicting terms by family members and friends. Her own words had been lost through destruction from these same family members and friends as if Austen had asked for her correspondences to be destroyed after her death (as implied by Reef). Reef even said Austen was described by family in a way that would be favorable-- like how you would describe someone in your family to outsiders.

In other words, we can't ever discover the true Jane Austen. So why is the book called "A life revealed"? I suppose the subtitle could describe the countless other lives revealed in the book. From the Austen family's seven children to the royal family of the time. The biographical information about JANE AUSTEN was sparse and speculative.

Reef's book read like a lesson from an English class. The summaries of Austen's works were broad and confusing (if you had not read the books). It seemed as if Reef was picturing a teen working on a report when she wrote this. It would be the ideal book for the student who had read one of Austen's books and decided to write a paper. Although I could have done without the summaries, I enjoyed the reviews of her books from people in her era as well as later thoughts (like those of Mark Twain).

I think the most important part of the book was discovering Jane's relationship with her sister, Cassandra, and her other family members. In a time without chat rooms and bars (where women were permitted), women had to rely on their familial relationships. It is refreshing to find a woman who loved her family and was loved by them as is evident in their attempt to protect her good name.

As for a biography on Jane Austen's life, I'm afraid this book failed. It did not go into great detail about Jane's life, but instead passed judgement on what little correspondence is left to dissect. It made a case that Austen was not all that she was supposed to be in the eyes of her family and close friends. Yet, it did not supply any proof to refute their claims. Although there were interesting facts about the time Austen lived, I felt it detracted rather than added to her story.

I would recommend this book for a report, stressing the importance of finding other material as well. The bibliography included in the book would be a good starting point for more research. I would not recommend the book for a leisure reading or for those genuinely interested in Miss Austen's life.

(less)

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Jun 29, 2011 melissa1lbr rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, collection, e-book, non-fiction, review-copy, young-adult

Things I Liked:
Yeah, I know that description was pretty crappy. I'm not much good at non-fiction descriptions. I enjoyed reading this biography. Despite my being such a huge fan of Austen, I've read very few biographies about her. I know quite a bit of the "facts" about her life, simply from online reading and such, but I wasn't as certain about other aspects of her life. This was a good introduction to what we know and what we don't know about Austen. I particularly appreciated that Reef clearl...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Rae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, netgalley

I just re-read this review and I think it is pretty obvious that I have no idea how I feel about this book. I am all over the place. I both liked this book and felt like it didn't do what it was supposed to do, tell me more about Jane Austen.

Jane Austen: A Life Revealed is a short, fast, easy to read biography for young adults. It is packed full of information about Janes' family and her novels. However I feel like I still don't know much about Jane. This book is well researched and well written...more

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May 06, 2011 Becky R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although short and simple in its information, this little book seems like a nice source for basic background on one of our most famous authors, Jane Austen. Since many of her letters were destroyed after her death, she didn't seem to keep a journal, and died much too soon to really write a self-penned autobiography, we're left with secondhand accounts, biographies, and recollections. Reef gives some nice background history about the period to add to her novels. For instance, we learn that Austen...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Jackie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, netgalley

I am reading this because I feel left out. I do not love love love Jane Austen. I'm not going to lie - I get bored trying to figure out what everyone is saying. It's quite highbrow for me. :) So I'm going to read about her life and see if it helps me "get" her. I want to love her writing like everyone else...

Well, I am still not in love with Jane Austen. I still can't say that I want to run out and read her books. But I really liked this biography! I really enjoyed learning about her and all tha...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Melissa Rochelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, nonfiction, young-adult, read-2011

ARC received as e-book NetGalley.com

The book: I enjoyed Reef's writing. She made it a little more conversational then simply writing known facts about Austen. I also appreciated her discussion of the times of Jane Austen. However, when Austen's books are discussed, Reef ruined the books. I understand the audience for this work is younger readers, but by giving it all away she makes reading the books unnecessary. And if a reader is already an Austen fan then those many paragraphs are wasted. I wo...more

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Nov 27, 2010 Kelli (I'd So Rather Be Reading) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am no fan of non-fiction, especially biographies, but I love all things Jane Austen and decided to give this book a try. I'm glad I did! I knew I wanted to learn more about Austen when I found myself watching the "making of" documentary on my Pride and Prejudice DVD.

This book moved quickly and gave interesting background information about Austen: her family members and family relationships, her different houses and cities of residence, and some insight into her love life. Austen never married...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Paige Kinnaird rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: A student who is reading a Jane Austen novel

Shelves: first-read

I have always been fascinated with women writers of days gone by. Their lives and the circumstances of their upbringing is such a part of their lives, reflected in their characters and their words.

This book brought forth the relationships of Jane Austen's life and how she was viewed by those who read her books when they were first published. The book, however, became tedious when the author would provided pages upon pages of summary of each of Jane's novels. This information slowed down the rea...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Sarah Bringhurst Familia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a pretty fun quick read, although the title was a bit of an exaggeration. Apparently, we just don't know that much about Austen's personal life, largely because most of her letters were destroyed by family members after her death. Much of what is "revealed" in this book is the author's idea of Austen's personality. She's taken the evidence and run with it a bit, but her conclusions are what I would imagine, judging from Austen's heroines. And in fact, the psychologically autobiographica...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biograpy-memoir, netgalley

As a fan of Jane Austen's novels, I found this biography very interesting and enjoyable. I liked that it included quotes from her novels, images from that time period, and a family tree (though I wish it was in the front of the book instead of the back...Austen had a very confusing family!) I also liked that author discussed Austen's popularity today (movies, books, museums, etc.), though I wish there was a specific mention of the BBC movie version of Pride and Prejudice (that is the best versio...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Latricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: tween-ages-12-14

I really liked this biography. It was interesting and drew me into Jane Austen's life. I am NOT a fan of Austen and even in this bio when I got to the section which summarized her books, they made me fall asleep. That being said, I loved finding out all the background on both Jane and her family. While I was reading it, it reminded me of all teh behind the scenes special features on movies and reality tv that are popular. People don't only want to know the public side of what's happening for bet...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, nook

I actually finished this one a couple of weeks ago. I just didn't really know what to say about it.

I am a Jane Austen fan. Every book and every movie.

BUT ...
there was too much rehashing of her books. For Jane Austen fans it was redundant--we've read the books and don't need to hear it all again. Jane told them best. For readers new to Jane Austen ... why give away the storyline in such a fashion? Entire plots were summarized.

The parts about Jane's life were well written. Nothing super new but th...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Mark Flowers rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's not Reef's fault that she has a fairly boring story to tell - Austen led a fairly boring life. It is odd though, that she uses up somewhere near a third of her book (if not more) with summaries of the six main novels that make up Austen's literary output. For those who have read the novels, the summaries are superfluous; for those who haven't somewhat confusing, and conveying none of the sparkle of Austen's prose (not to mention the major spoilers revealed). If Reef supplmented this with cr...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Jill Merrill rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 04, 2011 Splash Of Our Worlds *Yiota* rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've admit when i got the book i didn't read carefully the summary with a result of me thinks that got Jane Austen's story into a novel than a biography book. When i learned about it, i was pretty sure i did a big mistake. Funny is that i really liked it.

Reef's writing is simple and basically (for that kind of books which i'm not fan) is not tiresome. It was so easy to read it and i finished in some hours. And not only that, but i managed to indeed learn some things about Jane Austen! The face...more I've admit when i got the book i didn't read carefully the summary with a result of me thinks that got Jane Austen's story into a novel than a biography book. When i learned about it, i was pretty sure i did a big mistake. Funny is that i really liked it.

Reef's writing is simple and basically (for that kind of books which i'm not fan) is not tiresome. It was so easy to read it and i finished in some hours. And not only that, but i managed to indeed learn some things about Jane Austen! The face that i didn't fall asleep in the middle of it, it's only because Reef writes so easily and make you interested to go on with it. Why school books are not like that? :P

As for what i learned...the only things i knew about Austen where from the movie "Becoming Jane" which i had my doubts of how true was it. I was surprised to learn, that the movie had real basis. The basic story with the guy (i said i remember some things...names are not my good thing), happened and end "badly". Another fact that really surprised me, is how her family felt like to keep her life secret and destroyed most evidence about how she lived. It was funny, that there are more things known about the rest of her family than her! They burned letters and even the drawings of her that exist, people say that not exactly how Austen looked. All this mystery makes it interesting, eh?
And for the people who try to get a book out, you can't even imagine how difficult was for her to publish her novels. How many times she changed her titles or storyline. For the readers, the books in her time needed over a year to get printed O.O We need to stop whining, i believe.

I could go on with things i learned, or how awesome is the start of the book (the last "half"scene Austen wrote before she died ) - my favorite part of the whole thing.
I think that Reef did a great job with it. She knows how to write and keep a young person reading about something that we find so boring and uninteresting. I wish, there were more books like it.(less)

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Jul 13, 2011 Pam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, ya, children-s

I couldn't resist this book when the booksellers book talked it. A biography about Jane, even though there really isn't anything new to discuss, discover, or even consider about her life. It is a great introduction to early 19th century society and the fascinating tid bits of Jane frustrate you that her family destroyed so many of her letters and papers. The cover sums up what we know about her - a vague outline with most of the details missing. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone doing an auth...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, austen-inspired, young-adult-novel, georgian-era

Little is known of the life Jane Austen (1775-1817), but amazingly there are some hefty, scholarly biographies in print. Two of my favorites were both published in 1997 and confusingly share the same title. Jane Austen: A Life, by Claire Tomalin and David Nokes are both detailed and far-reaching in scope, elaborating on Austen’s life, her family and historical context. That is great for the ardent enthusiasts or budding scholars but might scare the heck out of a young reader or someone who is ju...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Doris E rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having seen a variety of movies based predominantly on Jane Austen's publications but also on her life - this book by Catherine Reef was an absolute must have and must read!
Published by Scholastic and therefore aimed at young readers, but there is no reason for an adult not to enjoy these types of novelisations. In fact, I read them often and generally find them straight-forward, easy to read and understand, and very educational. And 'Jane Austen - A Life Revealed' definitely does not disappoint...more

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About Catherine Reef

Catherine Reef is the author of more than 35 nonfiction books for young people. Her books for Clarion include the highly acclaimed JOHN STEINBECK and SIGMUND FREUD, which was the recipient of the 2002 Sydney Taylor Award, presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries. She lives in College Park, Maryland.

More about Catherine Reef...

Books by Catherine Reef

The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne

Alone in the World: Orphans and Orphanages in America

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“Pride and Prejudice opens with one of the most famous sentences ever written: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." With these words, Jane Austen announced to her readers that they were about to meet such a man and the people eager to marry him off. What was more, they were going to have fun. The dark cynicism of Sense and Sensibility was largely gone, blown away by a clean, fresh wind.” — 2 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8969754-jane-austen?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1292215530l/8969754.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8969754-jane-austen?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Jane Austen: A Life Revealed by Catherine Reef[/url]

Jane Austen: A Life Revealed

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