Book Descriptions
for Jane Austen by Catherine Reef
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Catherine Reef’s lively biography of nineteenth-century novelist Jane Austen is a perfect accompaniment to Austen’s novels. Reef draws on Austen’s letters and other primary and secondary sources to create a portrait that also incorporates discussion of characters and scenes from Austen’s fictional works. In doing so, Reef showcases how Austen’s books offered sly, perceptive commentary on society and gender even as society and her own gender dictated many elements of her life as an unmarried woman. Source notes and an extensive bibliography round out a volume illustrated with occasional black-and-white reproductions of letters, photographs, and illustrations of early nineteenth-century British life. Teens who have already discovered the wit and wisdom of Austen’s writing will appreciate this insightful look at her life and her fictional worlds. (Age 13 and older)
CCBC Choices 2012. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2012. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
“An excellent ‘starter biography,’ clearly written, peppered with period images, movie stills and great tidbits of historical facts . . . engaging.”—Austenprose
Jane Austen’s popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen.
Catherine Reef changes that with this highly readable account. She takes an intimate peek at Austen’s life and innermost feelings, interweaving her narrative with well-crafted digests of each of Austen’s published novels. The end result is a book that is almost as much fun to read as Jane’s own work—and truly a life revealed. Includes bibliography and index.
“Along with extensive details of Austen’s family . . . Reef deftly sets the biographical facts onto a larger cultural and historical canvas that will give readers a much deeper understanding of Austen’s novels, and well-chosen images, from period paintings and photos to contemporary film stills, add even more context.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Perhaps this work will lead readers to Jane Austen and imaginatively apply the facts of the author’s life to the novels—or vice-versa.”—Kirkus Reviews
Jane Austen’s popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen.
Catherine Reef changes that with this highly readable account. She takes an intimate peek at Austen’s life and innermost feelings, interweaving her narrative with well-crafted digests of each of Austen’s published novels. The end result is a book that is almost as much fun to read as Jane’s own work—and truly a life revealed. Includes bibliography and index.
“Along with extensive details of Austen’s family . . . Reef deftly sets the biographical facts onto a larger cultural and historical canvas that will give readers a much deeper understanding of Austen’s novels, and well-chosen images, from period paintings and photos to contemporary film stills, add even more context.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Perhaps this work will lead readers to Jane Austen and imaginatively apply the facts of the author’s life to the novels—or vice-versa.”—Kirkus Reviews
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
