Jane Austen for Dummies by
Dr. Joan Klingel Ray is, of course, a part of the ever-growing line of " --- for Dummies" books.
Dr. Ray is a former president of the
Jane Austen Society of North America and teaches courses on Austen at university. This book is full of information about everything Austen - her life, her writing, and her family. It also provides a great deal of information about life in general during the Regency period, which (as you likely know) is the time during which Jane Austen lived.
Dr. Ray also includes something of a Jane Austen tour guide in one chapter, listing Austen-related places to visit in England (as well as directions on how to get to each place and a URL to the location's website, if one exists). There are also Top Ten lists and some ideas for discussion for a Jane Austen reading group. The set-up of the contents is designed so that a straight read-through is not necessary. You can skip around if you want, to read just the information you're looking for, and anything within each section that might require more information for a better understanding is marked by giving (in parentheses) the chapter where that information can be located.
Don't let the title throw you - if you are making the choice to read Jane Austen or to read more about her life, then obviously you have excellent taste and are no dummy!
