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A review by clockworkbee
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
5.0
I really enjoyed Kelly’s analysis of Austen’s works. I didn’t always agree with her, but she did a great job explaining some of the context that is lost to Austen’s modern readers. I liked that she used Austen’s letters at the beginning of each chapter, but I wasn’t a huge fan of her recreating scenes from Austen’s life based off of them. This is purely an audiobook version nitpick, but I also disliked that the narrator attempted a British accent when she read these letters. It was awful! On to the good things though. I believe the author is correct in her assertion that Austen’s works are taught entirely wrong. Modern readers see her as merely a romance author, when in fact she was actually slipping very daring social criticism between the romance. We do a disservice to Austen when we fail to pick up on her references to the political events and published works of her day.
I am a lifelong Austen fan, but I admit that I’ve always hated Mansfield Park. I always thought that Fanny Price was the dull heroine of the bunch. She’s very proper and events take place around her without much of her influence. This book achieved what I didn’t think was possible- it made me appreciate Mansfield Park. In fact, now I feel badly that the work that was clearly so dear to its author’s heart is so little loved by her fans. Once Kelly started putting the novel into context it was so easy to see what Austen was trying get across with Mansfield Park. Fanny isn’t meant to be lovable- she was meant to serve as England’s conscious. She was supposed to make Austen’s original readers reflect on where there money was coming from and face the horrors of slavery. It may not be her most lovable novel, but I think it was her most important. Austen used her novels as a way of critiquing the society she lived in. Women weren’t encouraged to have political opinions in her day. She definitely slipped hers into her writing if you know how to look for them. I really enjoyed this book and I have a feeling I will revisit it again.
I am a lifelong Austen fan, but I admit that I’ve always hated Mansfield Park. I always thought that Fanny Price was the dull heroine of the bunch. She’s very proper and events take place around her without much of her influence. This book achieved what I didn’t think was possible- it made me appreciate Mansfield Park. In fact, now I feel badly that the work that was clearly so dear to its author’s heart is so little loved by her fans. Once Kelly started putting the novel into context it was so easy to see what Austen was trying get across with Mansfield Park. Fanny isn’t meant to be lovable- she was meant to serve as England’s conscious. She was supposed to make Austen’s original readers reflect on where there money was coming from and face the horrors of slavery. It may not be her most lovable novel, but I think it was her most important. Austen used her novels as a way of critiquing the society she lived in. Women weren’t encouraged to have political opinions in her day. She definitely slipped hers into her writing if you know how to look for them. I really enjoyed this book and I have a feeling I will revisit it again.