Jane Austen for Dummies

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!

Teaser Tuesday #6 - Jane Austen for Dummies

I haven't been bloggity-blogging too much lately, since I am at the point in the semester where I have a lot of papers and projects going on, but I can't pass up another Teaser Tuesday!  It's a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading, and it's easy to participate:  just grab your current read and post a couple teaser sentences - be careful not to include any spoilers, though!

I know mine is going up later than I normally would have liked, but it's still Tuesday, so here it is:

 "Introduced to England from Germany in 1812, the waltz had a catchy rhythm, but it required the partners to be in close physical proximity, with the male partner's arm around the female's waist.  Four years after its introduction, the scandalous waltz was approved by England's great dancing arbiter, Thomas Wilson.  Even then, the waltz was only approved for married couples who were dancing together!" (p. 107)

Just one of many fun facts about Georgian England! So if you ever wondered why, in the books or films you never see the characters doing anything but a country dance or a reel, here is your answer! Other dances were likely too risqué.  Can't imagine what people from the Regency would think if they saw how people dance now!

Teaser Tuesday #5 - Jane Austen for Dummies

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Just pick up whatever book you're currently reading and post a couple sentences as a teaser - be careful not to use any spoilers, though!

Right now I'm reading Jane Austen for Dummies by Dr. Joan Klingel Ray.  This book will be the main feature of my upcoming giveaway, so I wanted to read it all the way through and get a review up for those of you who may be interested in entering.  Here's a little snippet in case you aren't sure this book would be interesting:

"These letters reveal an Austen who could be cynical, nasty, cruel, and sarcastic.  Here are some examples:  'Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright.  I suppose she happened unawares to look at her husband.' (October 27, 1798)"

Very harsh! This was written when Jane was 22, and of course, infant mortality rates and likely also risk of something like a miscarriage were MUCH higher back then, so it would have been more of an everyday occurrence.  Still sad, but probably easier to treat as a commonplace event (especially if it's not someone you're terribly close to).  I wonder who this Mrs. Hall of Sherborne was, and why Jane would say something like this about her or her husband - maybe she's mentioned again later in the book... 

For the record, I'm not into dead baby jokes, but I thought this was a good teaser, because a lot of people tend to shy away from novels and authors from before the 20th century, because they perhaps feel the books will be boring and dry.  But obviously, people back then were not always so polite and boring as one might feel inclined to think!  And with Austen, this cynicism and sarcastic wit is transferred to a great many of her novels' characters.