"The Prime of Miss Jane Austen": Mild-Mannered Jane Austen Was No Pushover
Summary
Biographers have surmised that Cassandra burned many letters after Jane’s death in order to preserve an image of Jane as a mild-mannered home-body of no particular distinction, consistent with society’s expectations of women during England’s Regency period.“There are already excellent biographies of Jane Austen, of course,” said Ms. Jorgensen, “but, two hundred years after her death, there are no other novels of her life that capture her feistiness, her struggles against society, her romances, and her caustic wit.Written in the language and style of Austen’s own novels (for the enjoyment of Janeites everywhere), this book uncovers what made Austen tick, and shows which people in her own life were the models for some of her famous characters, like Mr. Darcy, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine DeBourgh, and the cloying Mr. Collins.Biographers have surmised that Cassandra burned many letters after Jane’s death in order to preserve an image of Jane as a mild-mannered home-body of no particular distinction, consistent with society’s expectations of women during England’s Regency period.“There are already excellent biographies of Jane Austen, of course,” said Ms. Jorgensen, “but, two hundred years after her death, there are no other novels of her life that capture her feistiness, her struggles against society, her romances, and her caustic wit.This novel shows how she came into her own as a woman and as an author in her formative 20’s.”About the AuthorLisa L. Jorgensen is publisher and editor of The Lake Chapala Reporter, an investigative online journal serving Mexico’s large expatriate community.