Jane Austen Obstinate Heart Author:Valerie Grosvenor Myer There has been a veritable explosion of interest in the works of Jane Austen during the lasttwo years. With five films based on Austen novels recently released via film andtelevision, her books are finding a new audience among both readers and booksellers.Thus Valerie Grosvenor Myer's recent biography, Jane Austen: Obstinate Heartproves most tim... more »ely.In fact, Jane Austen is best read in conjunction with itssubject's novels, for so much of Jane's life went into her six books, although her heroinesgenerally fared better than their creator.Born the seventh of eight children into thegenteel but impoverished home of a clergyman, Jane Austen quickly learned what itmeant to be a woman without money--a situation most of her female protagonists shared,yet often overcame through marriage. Austen, however, refused to marry without love,and thus never married. Jane Austen does a fine job of relaying the details of its subject's life--herrelationship with her family and friends, the indignities of her unfortunate financialcircumstances, and her pleasure in the success of those novels she lived to see published.But more than that, Myer delves into the mores and manners of Austen's times--theimportance placed on marriage, respectability, and financial security, all central to theauthor's novels. Most engaging is Myer's exploration of Jane Austen's prickly, imperfectpersonality, revealed through letters, diaries, and the recollections of her family. InJane Austen the reader discovers a fully-drawn woman, complete with flaws,strengths, and a burning talent that lives on today, 200 years after her death.« less
ISBN-13: 9781559703871 ISBN-10: 1559703873 Publication Date: 4/28/1997 Pages:288 Edition:1st North American e Rating: