Jane Austen at Home, by Lucy Worsley

Who knew this blog would take me up to 50 reviews! Yet here we are, and what better way to celebrate my 50th post than with a review of a biography of my ultimate hero. Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley.

I am truly shocked that it took me so long to read a biography about Jane Austen. But now I have! There are many Jane Austen biographies out there, so I did some research to see which one piqued my interest and got good reviews, and I landed on Lucy Worsley's for a couple reasons:

1. Jane Austen at Home, as implied in the title. emphasizes Austen's private, personal, daily life.

2. Reviews started that Worsley does an excellent job of placing Jane within her own context.

3. Rather than dramatize her life, Worsley focuses on what we know of Jane rather than what we don't.

   
   

I can happily state that, after reading this lovely book, my expectations were met and exceeded.

Worsley writes this biography with an emphasis on what we know of Jane, from her own words. Exploring Jane's letters, primarily to her sister, Cassandra, Worsley expertly extrapolates how Jane both lived and saw the world. However, she never takes an assumptive stance, but takes multiple points to acknowledge that we can only know so much because Jane was a very private person. Worsley is quick to remind her readers that assumptions and speculation do not mean truth.

While I love the movie Becoming Jane, it unfortunately paints Jane as lonely, having lost the love of her life. In reality, we can never truly know if this is true. More than likely, as Worsley observes, Jane was happy in singleness. However, a single woman was at a distinct disadvantage in the society of the time. Worsley walks this line with ease, noting Jane's contented independence on one hand, and the adversity of "spinsterhood" on the other.

In addition to rifling through Jane's surviving letters, Worsley delves into historical records, letters from family and friends that mention Jane, as well as the cultural context in which she lived. This provides an in-depth picture of the kind of life Jane would have lived, the everyday objects she would have likely had in her home, where she would have traveled to, who she would have known, when she would have made time to write. This helps to fill in the gaps of Jane's letters; helps the reader understand not just Jane, but the world and people around her. By deepening my understanding of Jane's world, it helped me know her better.

Rather than set out to answer questions like, "did Jane Austen ever fall in love?" or "was Jane Austen ever married/engaged?" Worsley chooses to answer those questions with the same grounded historicity as if she was answering, "when did Jane Austen publish Pride and Prejudice?"

Worsley does address the subject of suitors, male friends, and proposals, so if these are the questions you desperately want answered, have no fear! However, Worsley does not over-emphasize this side of Austen's life, neither does she dramatize it. Jane Austen as a person has so much depth, without a husband, potentially without ever having been in love. Jane Austen is not less because she never married, and she would be ashamed if we ever thought that about her.

Jane Austen at Home is a perfectly well-rounded biography, about an incredible woman, who also happened to be very private. By reading Worsley's biography, you will discover more than just whether Jane Austen ever had suitors: you will weep over the deep and enduring friendship between her and her sister, Cassandra; you will empathize with her fraught relationship with her mother; you will ache for how such an independent woman was forced to be so dependent on male relatives; and you will learn what it was like to live when she lived and that will deepen both your understanding and admiration for this truly wonderful woman.