A sympathetic biography by one author on another. The facts of Jane Austen's life can be picked up in any number of other biographies, but the strength of this short book is in Carol Shields' appraisal of Austen's influences and writing processes. Her research is tempered with empathy for her subject, making for an absorbing read. ( )

I've read a lot of great biographies on Jane Austen, but this one was truly excellent. First off, I would not recommend this for someone who knows very little about Jane Austen or her books, as a lot of basics are assumed in order to get on to things that better interest the knowledgeable "Janeite". I think that's why I enjoyed it so much---it was a refreshing take on the details behind that "Jane Austen Fact Sheet" that a lot of biographies seem to be drawing from.

I love Shields' metaphor of "glances" on page 3-4. She discusses how Austen never really goes into detail about some of the things that were so newsworthy in her day: the Napoleonic wars, changes in societal structure and the Church, advances in science and medicine. She describes Austen's dealings with them as "glances"---an implied commentary.

Another thing the biographer brought to my attention, in respect to the writer in me---and in Austen---was that Jane Austen never had that quiet place that I seem not to be able to write without. "The encouragement of her imagination did not arise from conditions offered her by others." I am always looking for that place of solitude---the "Perfect Place to Write." Yet, Jane Austen just wrote wherever she was and however she could---no matter what was going on around her. I can't expect others to pave the way for me. If I really want to finish that story that I'm working on, I need to make it happen.

After reading this short bio, I'm more encouraged to track down some of her published correspondence. Maybe I'll have the chance to find some on my trip to England next month. ( )

Well, I was definitely interested in the subject matter. This was actually the first biography of Jane Austen that I've read. And it was interesting and easy to read. But I wish there would've been more depth to it and I think it was altogether too short, the actual biography being less than 200 pages. But I would say this was an ok starting point for me. Looking forward to reading more :) ( )

I read this book as part of the Dead Writers Society's Genre Fiction Challenge for June 2016 and the Literary Birthday Challenge for 2016. At this point I am wishing I chose the other book for the genre challenge.

I don't know what to say here besides this entire book read as someone who seemed to think that Jane Austen was not that attractive, was bitter and angry that she was a spinster, and who apparently was jealous that her sister Catherine was away from her.

Shields really doesn't give you any insight into Jane Austen. She has a bunch of theories that are based on the books she wrote. For example, she says that Austen must have only loved bookish men because all of Jane Austen's heroes read books. Hell I remember reading Mansfield Park and I don't recall Edmund reading. I do remember how sanctimonious he was to Fanny though.

I really wish that Shields had stuck with a straight autobiography. Instead this whole book read like a very badly put together Buzzfeed article mixed with some references to Wikipedia.

I also really didn't like that the timelines were all over the place. Shields at times expects the reader to already know who people are at times and I got confused when she would retell certain people's biography again and again in the story (e.g. Austen's cousin Eliza is mentioned a lot in this book).

The writing is not much to write home about and I thought the flow was terrible. If the book had told a straightforward tale from Austen's birth to death that would have been something. Instead we jump around way too much.

I really don't know what else to say except that I found this book to be a complete waste of time and I only kept reading because I started to find it hilarious that if Shields saw that the color blue is mentioned in a story that must mean that Austen liked it. ( )

Insightful, although at times it seems that Shields tried to find Jane Austen in the contents of her fiction, and makes some powerful assumptions based on Austen's writing. One of these assumptions, that Austen may have been atheist based on the omission of any reference to faith in her books, is absurd. Disbelief would not have occurred to a clergyman's daughter in that era - or even later times - especially without outside influence, of which there was little in Austen's world. Despite other minor quibbles, mostly regarding a lack of focus, repetition, and financial details, this is a nice little book, useful for reference, that I will keep. Now I will follow up with a recent acquisition A Memoir of Jane Austen by her Nephew by James Edward Austen-Leigh as a comparison while Shields' work is still fresh in my mind, although without giving examples, Shields claims he "got a lot wrong". ( )