[2JN]≡ Download Gratis Selected Letters Oxford World Classics Jane Austen Vivien Jones Books

Selected Letters Oxford World Classics Jane Austen Vivien Jones Books

Download As PDF : Selected Letters Oxford World Classics Jane Austen Vivien Jones Books

Selected Letters Oxford World Classics Jane Austen Vivien Jones Books

"You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve." Jane Austen, 24 December 1798

Jane Austen's personal correspondence has stirred up controversy since her untimely death in 1817 at age 41. The next year her brother Henry Austen wrote in the `Biographical Notice of the Author' included with the publication of her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion that she "never dispatched a note or a letter unworthy of publication." Years later, a niece Caroline Austen did not agree, "there is nothing in those letters which I have seen that would be acceptable to the public." In comparison to her published works, the letters do dwell upon `little matters' of domestic life in the county, but to the patient reader we begin to understand Austen's life and experiences beyond the minutia and realize through her clever descriptions and acerbic observations how this simple parson's daughter became the author of novels that are so valued and cherished close to 200 years after their publication.

This reissue by Oxford University Press of their 2004 edition of Jane Austen Selected Letters is more than worthy of a second printing. Not only does it include two thirds of the known surviving letters and a thoughtful introduction by scholar Vivien Jones chronicling the history of the letters stewardship with the family, its supplemental material alone makes it an incredible value for the price. As with the other Oxford World's Classics of Austen's major and minor works that have been reissued this past year, it includes a brief biography, notes on the text, a select bibliography, a chronology of Jane Austen's life, and explanatory notes. Unique to this edition, and by far the highlight are the glossary of people and places and the detailed index for quick reference.

For students and Austen enthusiast seeking a compact edition in comparison to the comprehensive and hefty Jane Austen's Letters edited by Deirdre Le Faye, this reissue is a sleek and densely informative package. Usually I abhor abridged editions of anything, but in this instance we are given an excellent selection of letters and a lively introduction at less than a third of the price of its competitor. In this economy, I say better and better.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose


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Selected Letters Oxford World Classics Jane Austen Vivien Jones Books Reviews

A collection of the badly written and dreary letters of Jane Austen, heavily criticised by intelligent critics when the majority of them were first published as being totally unworthy of the author. Critics of the time even compared the letters to the boring ramblings of Miss Bates in "Emma".

The letters have absolutely nothing to do with the true author of the novels who, as I show in my book "Jane Austen - a New Revelation" was Jane Austen's cousin and sister in law, Eliza de Feuillide. Eliza was unable to publish under her own name as she was the illegitimate daughter of Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India.

To facilitate this disguise, in the nineteenth century the Austen family destroyed all of Eliza's letters and all but 200 of the 3000 letters of Jane Austen. The letters in this book are the ones that were not censored. However, a few matters got missed during this censorship. In particular, a letter of Jane Austen of 29 January 1813 shows that all of the novels had been written by this date, a few months before Eliza's death. It even gives the prices that are to be charged for each of the novels. This shows that the official dates showing "Emma" and "Persuasion" as having been written after this date were falsified by the Austen family in the nineteenth century.

Readers wanting to see letters by the true author should read instead the book by Deirdre le Faye entitled "Jane Austen's Outlandish Cousin" which is a biography of Eliza de Feuillide. In it are included all of the surviving letters of Eliza which show the same beautiful style, elegance and wit as the novels. These letters only survived because the Austen family could not destroy them in the nineteenth century as they were out of their reach, having been written to a distant step cousin.
This being my first experience with reading a series of actual letters, I found that I had to keep reminding myself to stop waiting for a plot, or character building, or any of the usual things one finds in a novel. Also, the book contains only selected letters, leaving a sense of large gaps of time. These things made it difficult for me to get really involved in the reading of this book; however, the editor gives very helpful tidbits at the beginning of each section where and with whom Jane was staying, and to whom various references were made. Extensive footnotes also help with the latter. If the best mark of a book is that it makes the reader want more, then by all means this collection has done it's work I definitely plan on learning more about Jane Austen's life and times.
"You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve." Jane Austen, 24 December 1798

Jane Austen's personal correspondence has stirred up controversy since her untimely death in 1817 at age 41. The next year her brother Henry Austen wrote in the `Biographical Notice of the Author' included with the publication of her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion that she "never dispatched a note or a letter unworthy of publication." Years later, a niece Caroline Austen did not agree, "there is nothing in those letters which I have seen that would be acceptable to the public." In comparison to her published works, the letters do dwell upon `little matters' of domestic life in the county, but to the patient reader we begin to understand Austen's life and experiences beyond the minutia and realize through her clever descriptions and acerbic observations how this simple parson's daughter became the author of novels that are so valued and cherished close to 200 years after their publication.

This reissue by Oxford University Press of their 2004 edition of Jane Austen Selected Letters is more than worthy of a second printing. Not only does it include two thirds of the known surviving letters and a thoughtful introduction by scholar Vivien Jones chronicling the history of the letters stewardship with the family, its supplemental material alone makes it an incredible value for the price. As with the other Oxford World's Classics of Austen's major and minor works that have been reissued this past year, it includes a brief biography, notes on the text, a select bibliography, a chronology of Jane Austen's life, and explanatory notes. Unique to this edition, and by far the highlight are the glossary of people and places and the detailed index for quick reference.

For students and Austen enthusiast seeking a compact edition in comparison to the comprehensive and hefty Jane Austen's Letters edited by Deirdre Le Faye, this reissue is a sleek and densely informative package. Usually I abhor abridged editions of anything, but in this instance we are given an excellent selection of letters and a lively introduction at less than a third of the price of its competitor. In this economy, I say better and better.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose