Jane Austen At Home by Lucy Worsley

• Title:  Jane Austen at Home
• Author:  Lucy Worsley
• Genre:  Biography
• Pages:  387
• Published:  July 2017 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  On the two-hundredth anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, historian Lucy Worsley leads us into the world in which one of English Literature’s best-loved novelists lived.

This new telling of the story of Jane’s life shows us how and why she lived as she did, examining the rooms, spaces, and possessions that mattered to her, and the way in which home is used in her novels to mean both a place of pleasure and a prison. It wasn’t all country houses and ballrooms; in fact, her life was often a painful struggle.

Jane famously lived a “life without incident,” but with new research and insights Lucy Worsley reveals a passionate woman who fought for her freedom. A woman who far from being a lonely spinster in fact had at least five marriage prospects, but who in the end refused to settle for anything less than Mr. Darcy.  (publisher)

My take:  I’ve enjoyed Jane Austen’s novels so reading Lucy Worsley’s biography of the revered author was a pleasure. It’s a compelling look at Austen’s life and, more specifically, how she lived. The impact of what was going on at any given time in her life was apparent in her heroines’ circumstances. The day-to-day minutiae landed on the pages of the novels that readers, then and now, recognize and can relate. That’s why there are so many Janeites still today. I found the book easy to read and, honestly, difficult to put down. I especially loved learning about Jane’s endearing relationship with her sister Cassandra. I appreciated the extensive research made apparent by the bibliography, notes and index. The photos and illustrations included in two sections enhanced the reading experience. I can say with confidence Jane Austen at Home would be a perfect gift for Austen fans.

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