Jane Austen

It's been a while since I reviewed a book for Thomas Nelson, but it should come as no surprise that I chose another biography from the Christian Encounters Series to read. When I saw the biography of the one and only Jane Austen was available for review, I almost had a heart attack because I was so excited. I am most definitely, in the words of one of my refugee elders, a "Number One Fan" of Jane Austen (the refugee actually refers to himself as "Number One Fan" so take that for what you think). My mom introduced me to the literary stylings of Austen when I was a young girl- not only through her books, but also through the amazing adaptation of Pride and Prejudice BBC produced several years back (and yes, that is where my love affair with Colin Firth began, as I'm sure it did for every other female who fancies herself a good match with him).

Of course, Jane Austen is no new subject material for a biographer; hundreds upon hundreds of books describing the authoress's life have hit the market. Even movies have been made concerning her so-called love affairs, however fictionalized they may be. In reality, taking on the challenge of writing a fair and honest biography of Austen must be a daunting task. Because her fame did not reach significant heights until well after her death, we find the details of her life in her surviving correspondence between family and friends. Her nephew James Edward published a biography of his Aunt Jane in the latter half of the eighteenth century, but there is quite a deal of adversity over how he characterized her.

In this particular biography Peter Liethart tries to present an accurate portrayal of the Austen; he uses a great deal of primary sources, citing letter upon letter between Austen and various other people. Leithart also discusses the difficulties in determining just who the real Jane (or "Jenny" as she was called by her family) Austen was. His biography is well-rounded, although it did seem to end rather abruptly. Still, I would recommend it to just about everyone, especially those individuals who already find themselves drawn to Austen's work. One major caveat of the biography: if you have not finished reading most of Austen's novels, you should be forewarned that Leithart tends to describe the plot and characters of her most famous works (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion), as well as the ending of each of the novels. A definite spoiler alert to be sure!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book 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.”