Wild for Austen by Devoney Looser

 

Title:  Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane

Author:  Devoney Looser

Narrated by:  Marisa Calin

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 6 minutes

Source: Thank you @Netgalley for the review copy.

If you could meet your favorite author, would you want to?  I get nervous meeting authors myself, but I do like to imagine that it would be fun to time travel and meet Jane Austen.

Jane Austen’s nephew wrote an autobiography of his aunt long after her death that described her as a quiet, pious spinster.  Author Devoney Looser argues that Austen was wilder for her time than we think.  This book examines her life, legacy, and works.

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       Wild for Austen by Devoney Looser was one of the March reads for the JASNA Northwood book club.  We found this book to be interesting to read and discuss.

·       The first section of the novel when through each Austen novel as well as her unfinished works and juvenilia and described the plot and “wildness” of the characters.  It really showed how original she was in her writing.  Lady Susan was picked out as a particular wild character.

·       I never thought of Persuasion before as a cliffhanger.  It was interesting to think that Napoleon would soon escape after the end of the novel, and our characters would be back at work in the Navy defending the country.  This would make a great sequel!

·       The second park of the book discussed Austen’s family, friend, and potential inspirations.  Some of these people, like Cousin Eliza, were in her life, while others were conjectured or brief acquaintances she may have met at a party.  I wasn’t convinced that they all inspired Austen.

·       Austen’s mother’s Leigh family was quite large and have many writers in it.

·       The audiobook was engaging with a good narrator.

·       I enjoyed that this book showed that Austen traveled and had a wide array of acquaintances, which was more than the few country families she wrote of in her fiction.

·       There was a very interesting piece on the Austen family’s involvement in the abolition movement.  Three brothers were activity and publicly involved after Austen’s death according to new research from the author.  She found information in newspaper articles from the day.

·       Great Aunt Leigh-Perrot’s shoplifting episode and trial was explained in much detail, more than I had read previously.  I thought it was very interesting.  I still wonder if she was a kleptomaniac or was being scammed by the shop.

·       The third section of the book was not as interesting to me.  It discussed Austen erotica but didn’t sadly discuss regular retellings or continuations.  It also spent time on films that weren’t made, which didn’t really interest me.

·       I did like that the author stated that one can keep Austen alive by talking to others about Jane Austen, reading her books, and watching her Austen inspired movies.

Overall, Wild for Austen by Devoney Looser was an interesting and unique look into Austen’s life and works.