Description: All the documented facts concerning the novelist are collected in this detailed account of Jane Austen's life, background and literary career. Her role within an affectionate and talented family group is described in the Austens' own words, showing how Jane was valued as daughter, sister, aunt and friend. The book demonstrates how Jane transformed the details of her peaceful life in the Hampshire countryside, along with the wartime careers of her brothers, into six novels that are among the most popular in the English language.
Brief description: Deirdre Le Faye has been actively researching the life and times of Jane Austen and her family for the last thirty years. In 1995 she prepared a completely new edition of Jane Austen's Letters. She has also written several other books: a short illustrated biography, Jane Austen (1998), Jane Austen's 'Outlandish Cousin', the Life and Letters of Eliza de Feuillide (2002), and Jane Austen: The World of her Novels (2002), as well as numerous articles in literary journals.
Review Quotes: 'Indispensable ... it is impossible to overestimate the value of this book.' The Jane Austen Society Newsletter