Over the weekend, a favorite aunt gave me a bag of books that had been assembled by a librarian in her town. "I don't know what's in there," she told me, "but I hope you enjoy them."
Mind you, this is the same favorite aunt who trekked with me on the cobbled streets of Camden, despite a broken tibia, trying to tack down the fisherman who dove repeatedly from the upper top gallant mast during the filming of Captain's Courageous in 1977 (we were ultimately unsuccessful, but I did talk with the captain of the ship who assured me it was true).
And what did the bag contain? A veritable gold mine of Jane Austen books! Here they are:
Jane Austen, by Elizabeth Jenkins
Jane Austen’s Novels, the Art of Clarity, by Roger Gard
Jane Austen: Her Life, by Park Honan
The Watsons, by Jane Austen
Austen, Selected Letters, edited by R W Chapman
A Portrait of Jane Austen, by David Cecil
Persuasions 12-22
Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen, by Fay Weldon
Only the Elizabeth Jenkins book, The Watsons, and selected letters are duplicates! And here I was, bemoaning the fact that I had just finished Jane Austen Among Women and was feeling at a loss!
I am reading Letters to Alice now and finding it compelling. Not only is it a thorough examination of Jane Austen and her works, but an examination of writing fiction as well. Add to that the fact that Fay Weldon wrote the screenplay of the very best adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in my opinion (the early 1980s BBC production starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul), and well, bliss...
I am lucky, indeed, to have such an aunt. Fortunate are those who have her in their lives!
An occasional blog by Maine writer, Marjorie Gilbert.
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- mwsgilbert
- I am a wife and mother of two daughters who lives in Maine and writes historical novels. See more information at www.marjoriegilbert.net.
4 comments:
Great selection of books.I have all except the Letters to Alice.I have read it from the library, though. I have been rereading the letters in e-book form. The editors don't give the year which is a pain. I was surprised ( and then surprised that I was surprised) by the active social life the Austens enjoyed.Jane was always visiting or being visited.
Congratulations on you haul.
Isn't Letters to Alice good? I'm nearly done and a little sad, but I do know I have plenty to read next...
Which edition of the letters are you reading? The second edition by Chapman is supposed to be one of the most complete, as is the edition by Deirdre Le Faye (http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austens-Letters-Austen/dp/0192832972).
The social life the Austens had was quite busy indeed...
Thank you for your congratulations!
Thanks, Marjorie, for this most interesting list. Our library is trying to add to our collection on Austen--and so I'll pass the list on to them.
I would like to add these to the list (since your shopping for the library):
Jane Austen in Context, edited by Janet Todd (http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Context-Cambridge-Works/dp/0521826446)
Jane Austen Among Women, by Deborah Kaplan (http://www.amazon.com/Austen-Among-Professor-Deborah-Kaplan/dp/0801849705)
Jane Austen, Women, Politics and the Novel, by Claudia Johnson (http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Women-Politics-Novel/dp/0226401391/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285430944&sr=1-1)
Behind Closed Doors, at Home in Georgian England, by Amanda Vickery (http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Closed-Doors-Georgian-England/dp/0300154534/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285431011&sr=1-1)
Austen's Unbecoming Conjunctions: Subversive Laughter, Embodied History, by Jillian Heydt-Stevenson
(http://www.amazon.com/Austens-Unbecoming-Conjunctions-Subversive-Laughter/dp/0230602487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285431423&sr=1-1)
These are all excellent books on the period and Jane Austen--a must for those who love Jane Austen and her works.
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