Review by Aia A. Hussein The epigraph to chapter 3 of Juliette Wells’ new book Everybody’s Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination is taken from Michael Chabon’s “The Amateur Family” in Manhood for Amateurs (2010) and is one of the most interesting, almost poetic, descriptions of amateurs that I have ever read (it is quite... Continue Reading →
A Jane Austen Education, by William Deresiewicz – A Review
Guest review by Br. Paul Byrd, OP I hate William Deresiewicz for writing this book—but only because I would have loved to have written it myself. A Jane Austen Education resonates so closely with my own approach to studying the Austen canon—living and learning from Austen’s works, as if from a collection of sacred texts... Continue Reading →
The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Erin Blakemore – A Review
Behind every unforgettable heroine stands her remarkable creator. Debut author Erin Blakemore explores this theme in The Heroine’s Bookshelf, twelve essays devoted to her favorite literary heroines and the unique correlation between their writer’s life and the character she created. From Jane Austen’s spirited impertinence of Elizabeth Bennet, to the effervescent optimism of Lucy Maude... Continue Reading →
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen, edited by Susannah Carson – A Review
When the new Austen literary tome A Truth Universally Acknowledged edited by Susannah Carson started off with a foreword by Harold Bloom the famous American writer, literary critic and current Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University, I was more than a bit anxious fearing the book would be over my head. Firstly, I... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury, by Rebecca Dickson – A Review
Has Jane Austen risen to a major pop-culture presence? Author Rebecca Dickson confidently thinks so, and her thoughtfully researched and beautifully illustrated new edition Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury is quite a persuasive testament. Any doubting Thomas' will be hard pressed to argue against the evidence skillfully presented in this volume. Not only are the... Continue Reading →
Two Guys Read Jane Austen, by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill – A Review
"Jane's got more adoring female fans than Brad Pitt, and my guess is they're more intelligent too!" Terrence Hill Given the choice of reading Pride and Prejudice or watching a football game, which do you think the average all American male would choose? If this is a no brainer, you have recognized the male/female divide... Continue Reading →