Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman

Unlike most of my previous posts, this book is one that came out relatively recently, not even a month ago in this country.  I think two things led me to it - seeing television adapations of Emma and Persuasion plus a trip to the Jane Austen exhibition "A Woman's Wit" at the Morgan Library.  I enjoyed all of these experiences and, as is frequently the case, it motivated me to learn more, leading to the purchase and reading of this book which describes how Jane Austen moved from being an obscure writer with a limited audience to being one of the most well know authors in the world.  I remember reading a similar kind of book about the Bronte sisters a number of years ago - a combination of brief biography with then a history of the author's work after his or her lifetime.

Books like this are almost always of interest because they satisfy our need for more information about authors we enjoy in one way or another.  One thing I hadn't realized about Jane Austen is something I learned both from the book and the Morgan exhibit - how little of Jane Austen's correspondance has actually survived.  Supposedly she wrote literally hundreds of letters to her family (especially her sister Casandra) and friends, but only a small fraction survive.  The largest number in one place are those held by the Morgan, a tribute to both the wealth and collector's instinct of Mr. Morgan.  As noted by Ms. Harman this puts Austen in a class with Shakespeare as the two biographical subjects for whom there is very high interest and minimal biographical materials.

After summarizing Jane Austen's life especially with regard to her writing, the book goes on to explain her rise from obscurity to world reknown.  I found this to be the only weak chapter of the book, as I understand it the argument is that it was the first biography of the author, written by her nephew that was the beginning of the vast public hunger for more information about Austen.  I say weak because this point is made very briefly with little fanfare so that I actually missed it on a first read.  It was only when I found the next chapter began with Jane's fame an accomplished fact that I realized I must have missed something and went back and read the chapter a second time.

This concern is not that significant and certainly not sufficient to recommend against reading the book.  Once Jane's status is affirmed, the book moves on with some interesting commentary about both her work and the work's popularity.  In explaining the popularity of the novels, Harman mentions a number of things including the fact that there are very few references to contemporary events in the books.  This, according to Harman, partially accounts for their long term popularity, it gives them a sort of timelissness.  Another factor is Austen's almost perfect timing in writing about romantic situations, she has a great sense of just how to build up the drama and exactly when to bring the situation to a conclusion - always a happy conclusion.

Also of interest was the popularity of Austen's work during World War I as British soldiers tried desperately to hold on to any stability in a world of lethal chaos.  I had read about the importance of books to soldiers before, but didn't realize that Austen was an important source of comfort for men, most of whom had little or any connection with the world described in her novels.  Attention is also paid to the many television and movie adaptations of Austen's work.  It may have been my reading more than a direct statement by Harman, but I saw here a real warning about being mindful of things that are added or changed in the adaptations that are not in the original work.  This can happen very easily and can lead to losing the author's original intent. 

I am very glad that I both bought and read this book, all within the same month!  In addition to getting a better understanding of Austen's life and work as well as its aftermath, I found some interesting possibilities for further reading.  Enough to make me look forward to my next visit to the Rutgers library.