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A review by ricefun
Bitch In a Bonnet: Reclaiming Jane Austen from the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps by Robert Rodi
4.0
This was so much fun. Rodi interacts with the Austen texts from a contemporary perspective that is both funny and insightful. His first and foremost reminder to his readers is that Austen is a master at satire, but not so much a master of anything we would recognize as romance. Her main characters end up in socially advantageous relationships, and some may like one another along the way. But bodice rippers, or even passionate glances, aren't to be found in the main characters of her novels.
My one major criticism is the he doesn't know the order of Austen's writings. He keeps referring to Northanger Abbey as a later novel, when in fact it was the first written. It was just one of the last published because it was kept in a drawer by the publishing company that initially purchased the rites to it.
Even with this, Rodi's reminder that Austen's fascination was with the "grotesques" of the British social world was a great lens through which to re-examine the novels. I've only read the first edition, so I'm looking forward to finding the second edition to read his thoughts on the other three novels.
My one major criticism is the he doesn't know the order of Austen's writings. He keeps referring to Northanger Abbey as a later novel, when in fact it was the first written. It was just one of the last published because it was kept in a drawer by the publishing company that initially purchased the rites to it.
Even with this, Rodi's reminder that Austen's fascination was with the "grotesques" of the British social world was a great lens through which to re-examine the novels. I've only read the first edition, so I'm looking forward to finding the second edition to read his thoughts on the other three novels.