Jane Austen For Dummies Read Free Page A

see that they are often wrong’” (MP 1:5). The same could be said of Austen as she looks at her society. She comments on women’s rights and wrongs, men’s prerogatives, home life, manners, and morals and religion. Then she lets the reader draw conclusions.
    Part IV: Enjoying Austen and Her Influence Today
    While Chapter 1 deals with Austen’s long-lasting appeal, this part offers some modest tutoring on reading Austen beyond readers liking her. You get information and evaluations of how and why her work has been adapted by other media (stage, screen, and television), and some suggestions about whom and how she influenced in terms of literature — both the serious stuff and the popular literature.
    Part V: The Part of Tens
    Every
For Dummies
book contains a Part of Tens. Here, you find some easy-to-reference information and my personal opinions about Austen’s ten most memorable characters, the ten best Austenisms and what they mean, the ten best Austen places to visit and how to get there from London (or if you’re at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, how to get to other nearby places from her house so you don’t waste time and money going back to London and starting all over again!), and the ten best books (besides this one!) to read about Jane Austen and related topics.
    Appendix
    One last thing: If you want to check a date or historical event, the appendix provides a chronology of major events both in and around Austen’s life.
    Icons Used in This Book
    This book uses different icons to point out different kinds of information:

    This icon indicates memorable things regarding Austen, her work, and her times.

    This icon alerts you to interesting, but not necessary, information. How technical can I get in a book about a novelist? And I’m not into fashionable literary jargon!

    When you see this icon, you’re alerted to fascinating and surprising information about Jane Austen.
    Where to Go from Here
    The only chronological chapter in this book is Chapter 3, which is about Austen’s life. So you can move around in the book where you want. For example, if you want to find out more about the dancing that occurs in Jane Austen’s novels, head to Chapter 5.
    But if you want to place Austen’s novels in the context of her times, start with Chapter 2 and move forward from there. And if you want to know why we’re even publishing
Jane Austen For Dummies,
start with Chapter 1.

Part I
Getting to Know Jane Austen, Lady and Novelist

    In this part . . .
    A n Austen blog claims that Austen is everywhere, and that’s true. Austen’s writings are studied and analyzed by scholars, yet also loved by ordinary folks — this part explores why. Chapter 1 speculates about why Austen’s work, nearly 200 years old, continues to enchant and challenge readers. Granted, readers enjoy her novels for their charming heroines and good stories. But Austen also had certain expectations of her readers, readers who, like her, were a part of English society. Chapter 2 reveals the expectations of Austen as well as her contemporary readers by giving you a glimpse of what life was like in her world at her time. Chapter 3 gives you biographical info on Austen and her wonderfully witty and intelligent family who encouraged her writing from childhood on. And Chapter 4 discusses the writers she read who influenced her writing, as well as some of the persons she met who inspired her — after all, writers of fiction need to be somewhat voyeuristic!

Chapter 1
Introducing Jane Austen
In This Chapter
    Understanding why Jane Austen is so popular
    Examining Austen’s critical reception
    Appreciating the many ways Austen is celebrated
    I t’s challenging to introduce someone who in a way “needs no introduction.” Jane Austen isn’t just the female writer from days gone by who writes love stories. Yet ironically (and Austen loved being ironic) she’s the queen