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A review by mcastello13
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
4.0
August 2020:
This is the second time I’m reading this book and both readings have greatly enhanced my past and, I’m sure, future readings of Jane Austen’s work. I don’t agree with everything Helena Kelly asserts but I do appreciate the overall project of encouraging people to think and read Austen’s work more critically than they usually do, and to not read them as romance novels only. Because, honestly, would you actually want to be in one the main romantic relationships in Jane’s novels? I wouldn’t. (Not that we still can’t enjoy the romances in the films and various miniseries, of course, because I certainly plan to continue doing so.)
I think what I most appreciate about this book is the historical context it provides for the novels, as this completely changes my reading of them, most notably of Mansfield Park. Going into this reading, I couldn’t remember why Kelly ties MP so closely to abolitionist and anti-slavery ideas; it seems so absurd when you read it at face value to think it has these more radical undertones. When I reread that chapter, however, I was a little blown away. Knowing the historical context actually makes it very clear (to me, at least) that Jane is skewering the Church of England for its ties to slavery. It’s fascinating.
Overall, I appreciate the depth of knowledge Kelly has of Jane’s work. I always think I know these novels well but reading this book makes me realize how many little details I miss (along with the broader historical context, as mentioned above). I love gaining this whole other layer of knowledge for works that I feel I know so well.
I think the argument for Sense and Sensibility might be the strongest, although each chapter makes me read the novels in a new light.
I don’t love being told how to think, however, and as I wrote earlier I can’t bring myself to agree with every argument Kelly makes. Also, I think the fictional scenes that open each chapter could have been cut. That being said, (and this will not be surprising given I was an English major) I absolutely love this way of critically reviewing literature, especially when it comes to my favorite writer of all time.
This is the second time I’m reading this book and both readings have greatly enhanced my past and, I’m sure, future readings of Jane Austen’s work. I don’t agree with everything Helena Kelly asserts but I do appreciate the overall project of encouraging people to think and read Austen’s work more critically than they usually do, and to not read them as romance novels only. Because, honestly, would you actually want to be in one the main romantic relationships in Jane’s novels? I wouldn’t. (Not that we still can’t enjoy the romances in the films and various miniseries, of course, because I certainly plan to continue doing so.)
I think what I most appreciate about this book is the historical context it provides for the novels, as this completely changes my reading of them, most notably of Mansfield Park. Going into this reading, I couldn’t remember why Kelly ties MP so closely to abolitionist and anti-slavery ideas; it seems so absurd when you read it at face value to think it has these more radical undertones. When I reread that chapter, however, I was a little blown away. Knowing the historical context actually makes it very clear (to me, at least) that Jane is skewering the Church of England for its ties to slavery. It’s fascinating.
Overall, I appreciate the depth of knowledge Kelly has of Jane’s work. I always think I know these novels well but reading this book makes me realize how many little details I miss (along with the broader historical context, as mentioned above). I love gaining this whole other layer of knowledge for works that I feel I know so well.
I think the argument for Sense and Sensibility might be the strongest, although each chapter makes me read the novels in a new light.
I don’t love being told how to think, however, and as I wrote earlier I can’t bring myself to agree with every argument Kelly makes. Also, I think the fictional scenes that open each chapter could have been cut. That being said, (and this will not be surprising given I was an English major) I absolutely love this way of critically reviewing literature, especially when it comes to my favorite writer of all time.