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A review by mlirwin
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
5.0
A really amazing read. Kelly is now and forever my go to for anything relating to Jane Austen, her work and even the Regency period in England. The books offers a clear analysis of works that are well known, like Pride and Prejudice; and works that are less known, like Northanger Abbey. The amount of knowledge in this book is so finely woken and firmly packed, that the book should weight 100lbs rather than the 296 pages it ends up being.
The writing itself can seem to go on and the sentences run on and on, seemingly with no point. Kelly packs so much information into a sentence that it can be hard to remember what the original point was.
Kelly does a good job of understanding Jane Austen through what we know, mostly by deeply analysing her books, but references letters, books and reviews to understand the context of Jane's works. It's honestly the only way I think I could appreciate her works today, through this deep understanding of context. Makes the movies more interesting too.
The writing itself can seem to go on and the sentences run on and on, seemingly with no point. Kelly packs so much information into a sentence that it can be hard to remember what the original point was.
Kelly does a good job of understanding Jane Austen through what we know, mostly by deeply analysing her books, but references letters, books and reviews to understand the context of Jane's works. It's honestly the only way I think I could appreciate her works today, through this deep understanding of context. Makes the movies more interesting too.