A review by sophistikitty
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly

3.0

This was an enjoyable, and interesting, read, but I couldn't escape the feeling that, quite a lot of the time, the author was rather stretching things to make her argument. She seems to begin most of her points with 'surely' Jane must have known this, or felt that, and therefore we can draw these conclusions from her text. And perhaps she's right, but she states her case with a lot more certainty than seems warranted.

Of course, the fact that she also expends a lot of energy in casting problematic aspersions on some (or most) of Jane Austen's beloved characters might be biasing me against her, as she no doubt anticipates. But even bearing that in mind, and trying to take it into account, I couldn't quite be convinced.

Even so, I think I'll reread the novels again.