Jane Austen's Letters - Softcover

Austen, Jane

4.16

2,695 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 141450022X ISBN 13: 9781414500225

Publisher: Pavilion Press, 2003

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

LARGE PRINT Illustrated. Excellent compilation of Jane Austen's letters to family and friends.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Jane Austen famously labeled her literary ambit a "little bit (two inches wide) of ivory." Luckily, her personal travels and those of her family were slightly more extensive, otherwise we should be without her letters. Not only should every Janeite possess them, but also every connoisseur of correspondence. Austen's wit is ubiquitous--even though some protest it edges into waspishness. E. M. Forster, for example, described the letters between Austen and her beloved sister, Cassandra, as "the whinnying of harpies."

On September 18, 1796, she tells Cassandra, "What dreadful Hot weather we have!--It keeps one in a continual state of Inelegance.--If Miss Pearson should return with me, pray be careful not to expect too much Beauty..." The dashes and capitalization alone make one long for the days before stylistic rules had so cemented. As for the sentiments! Austen paces her monologues to perfection, making the comic and ironic most out of the smallest incidents. Still, her frustration does occasionally emerge. "I am forced to be abusive," she implodes to Cassandra, "for want of a subject, having nothing really to say." Jane Austen has more than enough to say for lovers of literature and the cultural pinprick.

About the Author:

Jane Austen is one of pre-eminent authors in English literature. Her descriptions of life in Regency England have inspired writers, artists, movie producers, and generations of admiring readers.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.