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flappermyrtle's review against another edition
3.0
Having just finished this book, I cannot but mourn the afterword of this otherwise interesting and informative book. In her last pages, Johnson is so negative about screen adaptations and other modern Austenian paraphernalia, and speaks in such discriminatory tones of fans of the television series and films that it left a bad taste in my mouth. In the other chapters, she provides a wealth of information on Austen's stature throughout the ages and zooms in on interesting artifacts and critical works. But in her introduction and afterword, she comes forward as a Janeite herself, and one that is very haughty considering her status as a reader and editor of Austen's works. Pity, really.
devoneylooser's review against another edition
5.0
I've had the pleasure of reviewing this book: Looser, Devoney. “The State of the Union of Jane Austen, Fact and Fiction” (Review essay). Los Angeles Review of Books (27 Jan 2013): n. pag. Web. http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=1349.
bob_muller's review against another edition
3.0
Like any collection of essays written over a long period, the essays here are very uneven in quality and interest for the general reader, even a Janeite reader. I found the essays on magic and fairies (and fairy tales) unreadable and the essays on Austen's body and Austen's house to be fascinating. The WWI and WWII essays were interesting reviews of Kipling's story and other Jane-centered writing as they contributed to the culture of Britain at the time, but I wasn't enthralled. Johnson's writing shows here background as an American academic steeped in the language and thinking of the late 20th century humanities; I could wish for clearer organization and insights, fewer syllables, and shorter sentences. Since Jane Austen is perfectly readable with much the same afflictions (due to the language of the early 19th century), I can't criticize too much. I find very different things in Jane Austen than does Johnson, but that's the beauty and wonder of her writing, as Johnson points out, and why she has become a saint (with relics) in the religion of everyday life.
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