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Jane Austen: A Family Record Paperback – November 13, 2003

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

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All the documented facts concerning the novelist are collected in this detailed account of Jane Austen's life, background and literary career. Her role within an affectionate and talented family group is described in the Austens' own words, showing how Jane was valued as daughter, sister, aunt and friend. The book demonstrates how Jane transformed the details of her peaceful life in the Hampshire countryside, along with the wartime careers of her brothers, into six novels that are among the most popular in the English language.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Indispensable … it is impossible to overestimate the value of this book.' The Jane Austen Society Newsletter

'Clear and quick-witted, this biography offers insights into Jane's personality and her relationships with her family and acquaintances … Not to be missed.' Good Book Guide

Book Description

An account of Jane Austen's life, background and literary career drawn largely from family letters and diaries.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; 2nd edition (November 13, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521534178
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521534178
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.99 x 1.02 x 9.02 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

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4.8 out of 5 stars
20 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the biography informative and easy to read. They describe it as the best source of Jane Austen information, with genealogical tables showing the descent of biographical information. The book is described as a must-read and recommended by customers.

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5 customers mention "Biography"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the biography interesting and informative, with interesting facts about the author. They describe it as a definitive modern biography of Jane Austen and her extended family. The book includes genealogical tables showing the descent of biographical information about Jane. It is described as an entertaining, complete, and unsentimentalized account of Jane Austen and the family.

"...Includes multiple genealogical tables and tables showing the descent of biographical information about Jane (letters, diaries, etc.). A must have!" Read more

"A literate, entertaining, complete, and unsentimentalized account of Jane Austen and her family, nuclear and extended...." Read more

"...Deirdre Le Faye is the BEST Jane Austen information source." Read more

"Lots of interesting facts about the author which accounts for her great writing" Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and recommend it as a must-read biography of Jane Austen.

"...Ms. Le Fay's book is a 5, Byrne's is a soft 3 but still worth reading as a second book, and Worsley's is a 1 and should be avoided...." Read more

"...her extended family that is at the same time a compelling and entertaining read...." Read more

"Super book...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019
    "Deidre Le Faye has edited this completely revised and expanded edition of W. and R.A.Austen-Leigh's 1913 biography of Jane Austen"

    This is an understatement. While using the Austen-Leigh's framework of a detailed chronological history and reference to Jane Austen's letters, I would say this is 99% new material.

    And it is very good material, at that.

    Like most recent bios, it goes far beyond Ms. Austen's own life and, so, it is truly accurate to call it a "family record" since it discuss at length several other members of the Austen and Leigh extended families.

    So, at times, Jane Austen gets a little bit lost as pages upon pages discusses her great uncle or her flirtatious cousin. However, in the end, it always comes back to her.

    Most happily, unlike other modern writers (i.e. Byrne and Worsley), Ms. Le Fay neither disparages the Austen family for "wrongfully" portraying Jane Austen as having a simple life nor does she feel a need to impose her own conjectures into the narrative as new "facts" of Jane Austen's life.

    When conjectures is needed, it is made. However, Ms. Le Fay generally notes it is only conjectures and provide the facts which she believes support her assumptions.

    And as to those facts, there are more here and more interestingly stated than in either of the other modern bios I have recently read (Byrne's The Real Jane Austen and Worsley's Jane Austen at Home).

    Comparatively, Ms. Le Fay's book is a 5, Byrne's is a soft 3 but still worth reading as a second book, and Worsley's is a 1 and should be avoided.

    Of the three modern bios I have read, this did the best at allowing me to sense what Jane Austen might have been like if I met her on one of daily walks.

    This book was a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it as the only Jane Austen bio you will ever need to read.

    (If you are not up to 360 pages nor wish to read about the several other members of Jane Austen's extended family, then you cannot go wrong with the original bio by W. and R.A.Austen-Leigh.)
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2021
    A wonderful biography of Jane and her extended family that is at the same time a compelling and entertaining read. Includes multiple genealogical tables and tables showing the descent of biographical information about Jane (letters, diaries, etc.). A must have!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2007
    A literate, entertaining, complete, and unsentimentalized account of Jane Austen and her family, nuclear and extended. The Austens and the Leighs (Jane's mother's family) were both numerous and well-connected; their relationships are detailed in an unequalled series of family trees. Ms. Le Faye has written about Jane Austen many times, and knows her stuff. If I were limited to one source of information on Miss Austen, A Family Record is the one I'd pick.
    22 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2011
    I love Jane Austen, her letters, novels and most of the biographies. This was the last bio I read and it answered just about all my questions about Jane Austen. Deirdre Le Faye is the BEST Jane Austen information source.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2018
    Lots of interesting facts about the author which accounts for her great writing
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2019
    Thanks!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Elaine Fairweather
    5.0 out of 5 stars Jane Austen in 3D
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2015
    I have had a life-long passionate interest in all things Jane Austen, and, despite feeling that I already knew most things about her, her family history and her works, I chose to buy this book for my collection. I did not expect to learn new things from it but I did look forward to having all the information about Jane’s family history in one volume and in chronological order.

    My expectations were greatly exceeded. The well-ordered account was surprisingly easy to read and assimilate. Such is the wholeness of Deirdre Le Faye’s work and her perfect placement of facts within their context, that my understanding and appreciation of Jane’s life has been brought to a new, almost three-dimensional, level. As well as this expanded view of what I already knew, I found there was plenty of interesting information that was previously unknown to me.

    Most other biographies end abruptly with Jane’s death. Deirdre Le Faye continues beyond, and we learn how family members come forward at different times with remembrances and anecdotes. We are also told how the surviving family members live out the remainder of their lives. By placing Jane Austen on a timeline between her ancestors and the future generations of her family, the author manages to create a much stronger connection between the reader in the 21st century and she who lived 200 years ago.

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would not hesitate to recommend it as the definitive record of Jane Austen’s life. Those who already have the book of Jane Austen’s Letters, will find it a useful companion to enhance their enjoyment. The Family Record probably isn’t so suitable to a new-comer to Jane Austen’s world, since the sheer volume of people, places and information might overwhelm initially. However, to anyone who is already familiar with the principal elements and who wishes to know everything there is to be known about Jane Austen, this is a must have.
  • Maria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Il contesto di Jane Austen
    Reviewed in Italy on October 14, 2015
    Cercavo una biografia su Jane Austen e in A Family Record ho trovato questo e molto altro.
    L'autrice dedica i primi capitoli agli antenati della Austen, per poi passare alla sua vita, di cui esplora, oltre al periodo di stesura dei sei romanzi, anche l'infanzia e l'adolescenza.
    I genitori, i fratelli, gli amici di Jane Austen vengono presentati, le loro vicende sono narrate insieme a quelle che riguardano lei in persona, fornendo al lettore un quadro completo della vita di tutti i giorni, degli interessi, dei rapporti sociali in una famiglia di fine Settecento.
    Gli alberi genealogici (presenti in appendice) degli Austen e delle famiglie di amici e cugini sono un'utile strumento, che permette al lettore di non perdersi tra i personaggi. All'interno del volume si trovano i ritratti dei familiari e alcune immagini dei luoghi visitati spesso dalla Austen.
    Lo stile di D. Le Faye è scorrevole, le fonti sono citate puntualmente e, pur trattandosi di un testo in lingua inglese, la lettura non presenta grandi difficoltà.
    Consiglio quest'opera a tutti gli appassionati di Jane Austen, soprattutto a quelli interessati a conoscere la storia e i costumi della sua epoca.
  • Judith Fleming
    5.0 out of 5 stars Jane Austen: A Family Record
    Reviewed in Canada on December 19, 2013
    An exceptionally interesting and highly researched book! It has been invaluable to our understanding of the life of Jane Austen, her family and associated places.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic price and book in excellent condition
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2023
    I read this book years ago and loved it. Not your typical Jane Austen biography. The author is knowledgeable about her subject and there were many nuggets of information that were new to me. As an admirer of Jane Austen and having read other biographies about her life and novels, this one was superior to many others.
  • YORAM COHEN
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still an indispensable book in any Jane Austen reader's library
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2017
    Still an indispensable book in any Jane Austen reader's library. However, last published in 2003, it seems that by now, 2017, a new edition would be desirable in view of the research done since that date.