Why Jane Austen?

April 11, 2011
Jane Austen led a relatively obscure life. So why Jane Austen, we might rhetorically ask, along with Brownstein? The term Janeites was coined by an English literary critic in 1894, and Jane-o-Mania makes its debut in this book, which is part lit crit and, in its better sections, part cultural and social history. Much of this account is engaging: it cleverly begins with a 1949 Carl Rose cartoon depicting a "Hooray for Jane" marching band, and concentrates on explaining Austen's rising stock. But it might be a bit much for nonacademics; a little too cute in that winking, academic way. The question mark of the title and many others become something of a writer's tic, and the reader begs for some answers, too. Nonetheless, along the way we learn a lot that is unexpected. For example, Harpo Marx had a surprising role in bringing Austen to the silver screen. Brownstein, professor of English at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, expends even more fruitful energy on Austen's contemporary, Lord Byron, on Mary Wollstonecraft, on "The Aspern Papers." Her observations on all these works are scholarly but marked by ingenuity. 17 illus.

May 1, 2011

Combining literary criticism, biography, cultural studies, and women's studies to build a case for why Jane Austen remains relevant to so many readers, Brownstein (English, Brooklyn Coll. & CUNY Graduate Ctr.; Becoming a Heroine: Reading About Women in Novels) compares Austen's life to contemporaries such as Lord Byron and explores how her novels have been interpreted and used by later writers. Brownstein's interpretations of Austen's novels, letters, and juvenilia are fresh and frequently illuminating. While she pays attention to all of Austen's novels, she focuses most heavily on Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Devotees of Austen's other novels may feel slighted, but the two novels do act as natural contrasts. Pride and Prejudice is the most frequently adapted and probably the best-loved of Austen's novels, while Austen expected that she herself would be the only person to like the title character of Emma. Brownstein dissects film and television adaptations, charting the changing perceptions of the novelist and the novels, and explores the industry of "fake" Austen fiction as well. VERDICT This book will delight devoted readers and students of Jane Austen and may inspire readers who have disliked Austen in the past. Cultural studies enthusiasts interested in the interplay between high culture and pop culture will also enjoy it.--Sharon E. Reidt, Marlboro Coll. Lib., VT

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