Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.7
EAN num: 9780192840745
ISBN number: 0192840746
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: December 05, 2002
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 260423
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
James Edward Austen-Leigh's Memoir of his aunt Jane Austen was published in 1870, over fifty years after her death. Together with the shorter recollections of James Edward's two sisters, Anna Lefroy and Caroline Austen, the Memoir remains the prime authority for her life and continues to inform all subsequent accounts. These are family memories, the record of Jane Austen's life shaped and limited by the loyalties, reserve, and affection of nieces and nephews recovering in old age the outlines of the young aunt they had each known. They still remembered the shape of her bonnet and the tone of her voice, and their first-hand accounts bring her vividly before us. Their declared partiality also raises fascinating issues concerning biographical truth, and the terms in which all biography functions.
This edition brings together for the very first time these three memoirs, and also includes Jane's brother Henry Austen's 'Biographical Notice' of 1818 and his less known 'Memoir' of 1833.
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Rated by buyers 
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The book has taken alot of critism because the "biography" is very partial to Jane. But, I didn't find it that way. It has tons of information on her family, homes and an amazing timeline. It also has rare illustrations. While you can see that the author loved his aunt, he plainly say's this is what i remember and these are all the sources i have. He also includes some of her little known work. Overall I loved it, but the intoduction (by the newer editor) was long and repetitive, I almost suggest skipping or skimming over it and getting to the heart of the memoir.
Rated by buyers -
As both her fans and her biographers know all too well, Jane Austen left behind very little in the way of biographical material. In addition to her six published novels, childhood writings, and some unpublished novel fragments, we have that correspondence which survived weeding by her family members after her death. For impressions of Jane in life, we are dependent to a significant degree on four brief memoirs written by family members, in some cases many years after her early death in 1817. "A Memoir of Jane Austen: And Other Family Recollections" contains short pieces written by her beloved brother Henry, her nieces Caroline Austen and Anna LeFroy, and her nephew James Austen-Leigh.
The most lengthy document is James Austen-Leigh's memoir of his aunt, written in 1870 at age 71. As biography, it is surprisingly well-written yet annoyingly opaque on its subject. Austen-Leigh was said to be under some pressure from the family to preserve the public image of his famous aunt. In the Victorian era, tell-all biographies were distinctly frowned upon. The result captures the basic facts of Jane Austen's life and does include some vivid recollected details. We are indebted to Austen-Leigh, for example, for descriptions of Jane Austen's appearence, manners, and accomplishments. However, his memoir passes rather too lightly over a number of other interesting matters.
Jane's handicapped brother George is omitted from the list of her siblings. Austen-Leigh suggests that the romances found in her novels had subsequent to no basis in her life. He does mention that she refused the proposal of a weathly young man whom she did not love, without naming the young man. He also alludes to his Aunt Cassandra's recollection of a young man Jane met at a seaside resort, whose reported interest in her was cut short by his death. Austen-Leigh provides a rather idealized view of his aunt's position in the family and her feelings about it. While there seems no doubt that Jane loved her family and dutifully fulfilled her expected spinster role as temporary nurse and child care provider, other biographers have credibly suggested that she resented her status as a poor relation.
Also of interest is Henry Austen's biographical notice attached to the publication of "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey" in 1818. It is the reverential work of a loving and grieving brother, conventional in its description of her personality. It is suitable to its event, a posthumous pubication of the author's last finished works.
"A Memoir of Jane Austen: And Other Family Recollections" will be of interest primarily to her more dedicated fans and to her future biographers. It is very highly recommended to those two groups as a vital biographical resource.
Rated by buyers -
You provided excellent service in processing our order. We received it, it seemed, very quickly for Christmas. My daughter loved the book. Thank you very much for your prompt service.
Rated by buyers -
If you enjoy Jane Austen novels, you really should read this memoir from her nephew. It is like meeting his aunt and adds a special touch to the reading of her novels.
Rated by buyers 
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I've read this book three times (all three times while the electricity was out and only a lantern or flashlight at hand) and all three times I've been totally disappointed. This book gives no insight. Nothing interesting crops up. It's boring. But I give it three stars because at least it exists. I suggest if forced to read by candlelight, you turn to the Bronte bios.
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