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A review by bookhoarding
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
3.0
What Janeite doesn't want to dive deeper into her works and find a hidden gem or two? We all want a new way to inhale her novels, or new insight into the rather mysterious woman herself.
This book gives us a whole lot of potential context for reading Austen. I say "potential" because not every hypothesized perspective came off as legitimate. I appreciate the immense research and detail put into this, but I do not feel every chapter was convincing. The Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility chapters felt strongest, but everything else came off very weak.
I appreciate the new info on her life and the era, but her "facts" on how to read Austen are questionable.
This book gives us a whole lot of potential context for reading Austen. I say "potential" because not every hypothesized perspective came off as legitimate. I appreciate the immense research and detail put into this, but I do not feel every chapter was convincing. The Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility chapters felt strongest, but everything else came off very weak.
I appreciate the new info on her life and the era, but her "facts" on how to read Austen are questionable.