MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Literary A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh

AnotherCat · 10-02-2016, 06:25 PM

I have now completed Tomalin's biography and enjoyed it - that said I like good biographies so it is a genre I am partial to and therefore biased. It is professionally written and lucid; also, given the source material problems Tomalin does not let her imagination run riot and try to flesh out the book with loose assumptions of little standing. She also makes it clear where sources are lacking. Even so she manages to produce a substantial book.

I had been interested in Sutherland's criticisms of Tomalin's observations regarding maternal bonding and Sutherland's general criticism of biographers, including Austin-Leigh, regarding the effect of the move from Steventon, etc. on Austen. I found that by my reading that Tomalin was not as forthright in that regard as Sutherland makes out and would suggest that judgement on the matter be left until after Tomalin's work has been read (and a little research on Sutherland's apparent propensity for sour grapes). I personally don't fully agree with all of Tomalin's proposals but I thought them fair enough, and worthy; and never sounding like a knowing all "school ma'am".

I was prompted by Fantasyfan's reference to Leavis's Jane Austen is one of the truly great writers... to have a count up of how many authors from Swift's time (for convenience taking his work as being the beginnings of the modern novel) through to mid 19th Century remain popular. While there were many competent authors during that period whose names remain familiar, it seems to me that there are very few whose works have lasted the distance to be popular works today as Austen's have.

Prior to the nomination of Austin-Leigh's book (which I only skimmed, reading Tomalin's work instead) I had not thought much about Austen's works or of reading them. I had read Emma long ago, so long ago that it may have been read as a set book, I just don't remember if it was or even anything about the story. I think I can put my thinking down to an incorrect assumption that they were "women's" rather than "men's" books, which assumption perhaps goes to prove that the current progressive view that all white males are sexist, racist, privileged (I wish

), bigoted rednecks is true ;-).

So I appreciated the nomination of the biography/memoire and am going to give at least one of Austen's novels a read.

10-02-2016, 06:25 PM	#18
AnotherCat .... Posts: 1,547 Karma: 18068960 Join Date: May 2012 Device: ....	I have now completed Tomalin's biography and enjoyed it - that said I like good biographies so it is a genre I am partial to and therefore biased. It is professionally written and lucid; also, given the source material problems Tomalin does not let her imagination run riot and try to flesh out the book with loose assumptions of little standing. She also makes it clear where sources are lacking. Even so she manages to produce a substantial book. I had been interested in Sutherland's criticisms of Tomalin's observations regarding maternal bonding and Sutherland's general criticism of biographers, including Austin-Leigh, regarding the effect of the move from Steventon, etc. on Austen. I found that by my reading that Tomalin was not as forthright in that regard as Sutherland makes out and would suggest that judgement on the matter be left until after Tomalin's work has been read (and a little research on Sutherland's apparent propensity for sour grapes). I personally don't fully agree with all of Tomalin's proposals but I thought them fair enough, and worthy; and never sounding like a knowing all "school ma'am". I was prompted by Fantasyfan's reference to Leavis's Jane Austen is one of the truly great writers... to have a count up of how many authors from Swift's time (for convenience taking his work as being the beginnings of the modern novel) through to mid 19th Century remain popular. While there were many competent authors during that period whose names remain familiar, it seems to me that there are very few whose works have lasted the distance to be popular works today as Austen's have. Prior to the nomination of Austin-Leigh's book (which I only skimmed, reading Tomalin's work instead) I had not thought much about Austen's works or of reading them. I had read Emma long ago, so long ago that it may have been read as a set book, I just don't remember if it was or even anything about the story. I think I can put my thinking down to an incorrect assumption that they were "women's" rather than "men's" books, which assumption perhaps goes to prove that the current progressive view that all white males are sexist, racist, privileged (I wish ), bigoted rednecks is true ;-). So I appreciated the nomination of the biography/memoire and am going to give at least one of Austen's novels a read. Last edited by AnotherCat; 10-02-2016 at 06:29 PM.