Joan Klingel Ray

Disclaimer: I received a copy of an ebook from the publisher, SimplyCharly, in exchange for an honest review.

As an Austen fan and an academic, I realize that Austen has an academic base, as well as a fan following that surpasses most other fandoms of beloved books and series (for example, we don't love Harry Potter because of J.K. Rowling). In positing Austen as the Beyonce of literature, Joan Klingel Ray sets out to describe her culture, life, novels, and reception in order to figure out some of the mystery behind the woman.

This is a fun read with interesting tidbits I had not picked up before. For example, I've carried a grudge against Mark Twain because of his unflattering Austen quote. Hearing that he was just trying to start some trouble with W.D. Howells makes a lot more sense. The writing process is also covered, and shows how Austen started, revised, stopped, and started up again. Ray's biographical detail is commendable.

My major complaint is that the sections covering analysis on the books are heavy on summary. I suspect the target audience is non-academic fans or newbie scholars/undergrads, and that makes sense. As someone who did her MA thesis on Austen, I wonder if there are scholarly camps and Austen-scholar cliques, because some new and highly acclaimed Austen scholarship (Devoney Looser and Helena Kelly spring to mind) did not receive acknowledgment, whereas Persuasions (the JASNA journal) and people like Deirdre Le Faye (rightfully) do. I am curious as to these choices, but am happy to recognize this book's inclusion as part of our continued study in one of the greatest authors of all time.… (más)

"...Seriously, this book is a treasure and a truly wonderful resource - it doesn't matter if you are a long-time Janeite or if you are newly interested in the novels after having seen film adaptations, or if you just want to find out more because you were assigned one of Austen's novels for a class. I promise you will get something out of this book. As an aside, I do much of my reading outside of my home - in between classes, in waiting rooms while running errands, etc - and I have never gotten more comments from people about a book I was reading than when I was reading 'Jane Austen for Dummies'. People in the halls on campus, people in my classes, professors, my dermatologist...there is just something about Jane, I guess, that really does speak to everyone. ..."

For full review, please visit me at Here Be Bookwyrms on blogger:

http://herebebookwyrms.blogspot.com/2011/11/jane-austen-for-dummies.html… (más)