A review by ehmannky
A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections by James Edward Austen-Leigh, Henry Austen, Caroline Austen, Kathryn Sutherland, Anna Austen Lefroy

informative lighthearted slow-paced

3.5

I think this is an interesting insight into Austen's Victorian relatives and the differences between the Regency and the Victorian era. Like the embarrassment and disdain that the younger generations felt over the fact that Henry Austen included the fact that his sister had entertained her relatives on her death bed with a silly rhyme or how absolutely determined they were to ensure that everyone thought that she was a Good Pious Christian Woman Who Respected The Church. The annotations were incredibly useful. I don't know if this would be of any interest to a general reader, but if you are an avid Austen fan than it's probably worth a read. 

I did find all of the details about how good she was with young kids, how she was talented with games like the ball and cup, told everyone fairy stories, and that kids just sort of followed her around at Chawton, incredibly charming. Those were the parts I found uniquely valuable and I wish Austen Leigh spent more time with those instead of going off on snobbish tangents about their obscure aristocratic past or trying to convince everyone his aunt was a Good Pious Christian Woman Who Respected The Church.