I confess, I cheated a bit in my reading of The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things (2013). This biography by Paula Byrne explores Our Jane's life and work through eighteen familiar objects - an East Indian shawl, a card of lace, the cocked hat of an military officer's uniform, a fancy carriage (not so small), a royalty cheque.
Each chapter opens with a brief introduction of an object and uses it to launch into a life sketch of Ms. Austen, her family, her friends, her style of travel, her novels, and events of the times.
One of the most fascinating objects was The Bathing Machine. Not an object used for cleanliness but for a romp in the ocean. This object allowed a female bather to enter a walled cart with four wheels and change into her swimming costume. The cart was pushed into the water and the bather could then descend a few steps and slide into the sea - concealed from public view.
Here is where my cheating came in: I read a few chapters and then just read the introductory information about the rest of the objects. That had nothing to do with Ms. Byrne's writing but just my own level of interest and time.
So I read the chapters that I thought would interest me the most: the Vellum Notebooks which contain Ms. Austen's juvenile writings including her History of England; her Box of Letters which I thought would be correspondence but which turned out to actually be a box of letters - alphabet letters - that were used in games; and her laptop - not like mine all connected to the Internet and such, but her personal small traveling desk that held paper, ink, and pens and could be locked. This lap desk now sits in the British Library and I would love to see it someday.
There are color photos of the objects, along with black and white illustrations and sketches of other items and persons of interest, all of which are a treat. So if you are a Jane Austen fan, please give this book a try. I think you will find it a refreshing look at Our Jane's world.
I have this book in my TBR pile, but since it is a pile of books that I own, it probably won't get read for awhile. Do I want to reread Austen before I read it? I think I've missed reading some of her books so maybe I should?
ReplyDeleteJoyce in KS
Joyce, I think I would just dig in to Ms. Byrne's book. It might give you a better perspective on Austen's work and then you could begin rereading her novels. I enjoyed reading the bits here that I did.
DeleteBelle, on the subject of Austen and her times I highly recommend Carol Shield's "Jane Austen" if you wish to read a short biography of Jane, its less than 200 pages if you are not quite ready for Claire Tomalin's "Jane Austen: A Life" which is probably the best available and much more detail.
ReplyDeleteI think a short biography of Ms. Austen sounds perfectly manageable. Thanks for the suggestion, Tullik.
DeleteI just finished reading the Jane Austen biography Tullik recommended, and I second her recommendation. I thought it was very well done and interesting. Either Friday or Monday, I'm going to do a round-up of Jane Austen-related books on my blog, if you're interested. I have The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things, but I've barely cracked it open--I'll have to do some speedy reading, or, more likely as you have done, I'll choose a couple of sections that interest me most.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I will look forward to reading what you have to say about Our Jane. After that, I think I am about finished with her for the year! (Although I did just rent 'Emma' on DVD so I guess there is more to come...)
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