Organized by novels, giving a lot of interesting historical context to the books, plots, suggested import. Sometimes the overreach is a bit much, but all in all very interesting. It stands to reason that there is indeed deport contexts to the novels which have made them endure so tenaciously.

This was very interesting. The author does a wonderful job of explaining the forgotten circumstances at the time of Austen's writing and then placing her words into that context. Learning of that additional context completely changes the themes of her stories for me. Altering them from 'well-written love stories' into 'very thoughtful examinations of politics, religion, tradition, the vulnerable of society, etc. (with well-written love stories as the vehicles to present them)'. Knowing the second, unspoken half of a quote Jane included, that all her readers at the time would have known (and couldn't have helped to think of when referenced) makes a big difference in the true message she was communicating (without risking her life challenging the authorities straight out). Similarly, naming fictional characters after actual prominent figures of her day couldn't have helped but bring their associations along with them. Or knowing the plots of popular (for that time) books that characters reference, bring with them additional considerations. Seemingly small details like the names of books/places/people/laws/etc. weren't at all randomly dropped in to add a little color, they were very carefully chosen to further the points she was crafting. Over and over the context in which she was writing makes an incredible difference in the message she was actually communicating. It makes it all the more extraordinary that her stories, even without all that contextual knowledge her early readers would have come in with, have remained so beloved! I think she was even more clever and brave and talented than I had been giving her credit for. Excellent. ( )

This book is provocative and engaging all at once. Helena Kelly asks us to rethink our hazy, tinted picture of Jane Austen and really plumb the depths to understand what she's trying to say. This has got to be one of the best literary critical works on Austen I've ever read. Highly recommend.

ETA: the pearl-clutching reviews I'm seeing are hilarious. Kelly is very upfront about how some folks are going to find her readings of Austen upsetting. THAT'S THE POINT. We've turned Austen into a sweet Victorian auntie who wrote cute love stories and I believe, like Kelly, that this was never her intent. ( )

I read this because of the well written, extensive, interesting article:
http://lithub.com/the-many-ways-in-which-we-are-wrong-about-jane-austen/

The book ends with a conclusion that I had already came to:
“Forget the Jane Austen you think you know. Forget the biographies; forget the pretty adaptations. Ignore the banknote. Read Jane’s novels. They’re there to speak for her: love stories, yes, though not always happy ones, but also the production of an extraordinary mind, in an extraordinary age.”
“Read them again.” (The last page of text in the book: Page 293)

That pretty well sums up the conclusion that I came to some pages or chapters ago. I am tired of reading “about” Jane Austen. It is time to get back to reading what she wrote herself. Nevertheless, I did learn some things from this book.

Great Britain was in a lengthy war with France. The war colored British society so much that it had become a totalitarian society. It was dangerous to speak out against the corruption in government, or the clergy. This book says that by looking more closely, we can see bits of social commentary that are easily missed by readers 200 years after the book was current. This book gives a societal perspective to each of the books, and also how they fit into the lifetime of the author. The order of treatment here is the order they were originally written.

Contents
1: The Authoress
2:“The Anxieties of Common Life” - Northanger Abbey
3: “The Age of Brass - Sense and Sensibility
4: “All Our Old Prejudices - Pride and Prejudice
5: “The Chain and the Cross” - Mansfield Park (Slavery)
6: “Gruel” - Emma (The plight of the poor as the upper class divided up the land)
7: “Decline and Fall” - Persuasion
8: "The End" (The end of Jane Austen's life, and some comments on her burial)

“This kind of text [about her death] is always suspect; lies cluster to death like flies.” (Page 280)

“At first glance Jane Austen and dinosaurs make for strange bedfellows, rather like the “mash-ups” (Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies; Mansfield Park and Mummies) that were popular a few years ago.” (Chapter 8, page 240) ( )