Jane Austen is among the most widely read and beloved authors in English literature. Her novels vivdly depict the society and world in which she lived with humour and sharp social commentary. Jane's own life and emotional experiences, deeply influenced by where she lived in southern England and her travels to other parts of the country, are reflected in her works and in the importance of house and home to her characters.
With newly commissioned photographs of Chawton House in Hampshire and a wide range of contemporary illustration, Kim Wilson explores the homes which shaped this best-loved novelist, bringing to life the domestic settings of her great works.
Reading this beautifully illustrated book was a delight : not only is the text interesting and accurate, but the engravings, maps, paintings and photographs were a real pleasure to look at. That's why I bought it in the first place, to enjoy the pretty pictures and make my shelves look good, but I read it and didn't regret it. I was more or less outside of the #JaneAustenJuly2020, because it's not one of the challenges, but it's my last physical book about Jane Austen and I wanted it read and out of the way !
The book is separated in different chapters about the different places she lived in, including her travels and different locations by the sea. At the end, you will also find different internet references, a bibliography and an index.
I learned that Jane could talk to deaf people "with her fingers", something I've never seen mentioned anywhere. I worked for some time in a library where I began learning sign language, so it quite interested me. It is supposed that she learned it through her brother George, the one who apparently had a mental issue.
There are memories of her from her family, including this, which brings her to life : "I remember that when Aunt Jane came to us at Godmersham, she used to bring the manuscript of whatever novel she was writing with her, and would shut herself up with my elder sisters in one of the bedrooms to read them aloud. I and the younger ones used to hear peals of laughter through the door, and thought it very hard that we should be shut out from what was so delightful. I also remember how Aunt Jane would sit quietly working beside the fire in the library, saying nothing for a good while, and then would suddenly burst out laughing, jump up and run across the room to a table where pens and paper were lying, write something down, and then come back to the fire and go on quietly working as before."
I really recommend this book to Jane Austen lovers, but also, why not, to people who want to be introduced to who she was. I also found these videos on the net :
Lucy Worsley : Behind closed doors
(a documentary on Jane Austen and the different places she lived in)
Caroline Jane Knight : Jane and me
(Caroline is Jane Austen's fifth great-niece
and talks about Chawton, where she grew up)
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