Only a Novel

A treat for all Jane Austen devotees ,those who already devour books she’d written and books she wrote.Perfect also for those just learning about her.A look at her in her private life and then a look at her world persona.An informative entertaining well written look at the real Jane Austen, #netgalley #agorabooks,

Only A Novel by Jane Aiken Hodge is a fascinating study of the private life of Jane Austen and how it impacted on her public output i.e. the publication of her beloved novels. Using a combination of Austen's own writings and letters as well as contemporary records and family histories the author delves into the private life of a woman who shunned publicity as a writer and does her best to understand how her life and circumstances shaped her into one of the most beloved authors of all time, despite her rather modest success in her own lifetime. Diving deeply into the family finances and correspondences allows Aiken- Hodge to show these influences on Austen's writings , as well as how proud and supportive her family were despite their own financial difficulties and disappointments. It is fascinating to read about how some familiar faces from her works were likely inspired by those in her life, and how her attitudes and writing style changed over time. I would recommend this to any lover of Austen's work as a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes that is sure to inform future readings of all of her novels.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A well researched, fascinating and entertaining book, perfect for fans of Jane Austen.
I liked the style of writing, the clarity of the explanations and how the the book is organized.
It was an entertaining read, I recommend it to any Jane Austen fan.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A look at Jane Austen's life through her writings, family relations and available, albeit scarce, contemporary records; a well-written, informative and thorough biography regarding Jane Austen, whose popularity never seems to cease.

Only a Novel is a treat for fellow fans of Jane Austen, and though it's not the most original, I found it entertaining and a nice weekend read. Recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I truly enjoyed this book; I loved the integration of Austen's writings and real life for all of her life. Jane Austen was a complicated women (as all of us are), but analysis usually seems to focus on one area or another, usually romantic. This examines all aspects of her novels and life and brings them together. There are a few mis-speakings (the wrong name given to a character, here or there), but overall, Hodge really does know her subject, and it shows.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves their Austen! It could be overwhelming if you aren't intimately acquainted with Austen's writings, but there are many books to fit into that niche. This book is perfect for anyone who wants to examine all of Austen's writings at once, and to look at how her life impacted them. It is particularly useful for anyone who wants to learn more about when each of the novels was actually written, edited, and published, because it is a confusing path to follow but once understood, it makes such a difference.

If you’re a Jane Austen fan, you must read this book! Originally published in 1972, Jane Aiken Hodge’s Only a Novel combs through the existing letters between Jane and her sister Cassandra (as well as the letters between Jane and other members of the Austen family) to illuminate the details of Jane’s personal life during the periods she was writing each of her books and thus help to identify the incidents and actual people behind her fictional plots and characters.

Much of this book, of course, is speculative—we can’t know for sure what Jane was thinking or intending while she was writing her masterpieces, all the more so because Cassandra destroyed so many of their most personal letters—but I found Hodge’s painstaking work in matching threads from the remaining letters with their counterparts in the books fascinating; it was great fun to read and deepened my enjoyment and appreciation of Austen’s books, as well as my image of Jane herself. I certainly don’t agree with all Hodge’s assertions (she is quite dismissive of Sense and Sensibility, for example, and considers Northanger Abbey to be the better book, which I just cannot get on board with), but I admired the scholarship behind them. Highly recommend. (One tip: If you haven’t read the novels recently, it might be worth a re-read before beginning this book. I hadn’t read Mansfield Park in years before embarking on Only a Novel, and was consequently a little frustrated with myself in the sections of Hodge’s book that dealt with it because I just wasn’t as conversant with the plot and character details as I am with the other books and therefore couldn’t fully appreciate the analysis.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Agora books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

One of the difficulties of trying to piece together the full story of what Jane Austen the living person was really like is the lack of surviving materials from her life. Cassandra Austen held a large number of the letters written by Jane and she destroyed the majority of them in order to keep family business private as well as to protect her sister's personal thoughts and opinions. Written in 1972 this book doesn't provide anything new for fans of Jane Austen because there just doesn't seem to be anything tangible surviving the destruction of the personal letters. Ms. Hodge provides a very good history of what was happening in the life of Jane Austen privately as the novels were published. This work covers the life of Jane Austen from birth to her death.

This is a very readable book but it is almost a requirement that you be more than just ordinarily acquainted with the major Jane Austen novels in order to feel comfortable with the book. Names of people, homes and locations from all the novels are presented throughout this book without differentiating whether they are factual or taken from the fiction. You just already have to know. The "double life" referred to in the title is actually the private and the public life of the person who wrote the novels which have come to be so famous and beloved by so many. Nothing new was revealed by Jane Aiken Hodge but it is obvious she loved this subject matter and that contributed enormously to my enjoyment of the book.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from Netgalley.com and the publisher, Agora Books.

This intimate portrait of Jane Austen through the remaining letters and documents of her private life is an illuminating look at what Miss Austen's life was truly like. An excellent read perfect for both lifelong devotees and newly introduced to Jane Austen and her work.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I want to begin by saying that I received this book for free through Netgalley, but all thoughts are my own. This book is about the double life of Jane Austen, the author & the sister/aunt/daughter. In this book we learn a lot about Jane Austen’s everyday life, as well as that of her life as an author. Although I have read 2 of her novels, Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice, I did not know much if anything about Jane Austen herself, so I found this book to be extremely informative & interesting. Jane Aiken Hodge’s writing style is easy to read through, making this a quick non-fiction read, which I appreciate. I do personally enjoy reading a lot of non-fiction but sometimes feel as if it takes a very long time to get through due to the writing style, but the writing in this book was wonderful to read & didn’t feel too heavy. I also like that this book included a lot of quotes and details about Jane Austen’s letters to her sister Cassandra, who she was very close to. I really felt like I was learning a lot by reading this and did really enjoy it and can tell a lot of research and care went into this book, which is a discussion more of the life of Jane Austen than the death, as her death is not really touched upon too much in this book. But I am glad that her death is not really mentioned, partially because I am aware that her death is in a way a mystery, but also since this book is the double life of Jane Austen. I also feel like I learnt more about the world of publishing in the 1800’s and also Jane’s struggles but also successes of being an author. She is most definitely an author somewhat appreciated in her time, but is much more appreciated and admired now. We also did learn more about Jane Austen’s family in this book and love learning about how tightly-knit her family were and how admired she was as Aunt Jane. This is a must read for any Jane Austen fans, or even if you’re just interested in reading about the lives of classic authors.

ONLY A NOVEL

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF JANE AUSTEN

BY JANE AIKEN HODGE

AGORA BOOKS

BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS , NONFICTION (ADULT)

PUB DATE 25 MAR 2019





I am reviewing a copy of Only A Novel through Agora Books and Netgalley:





In this book not only is Jane Austen’s book and writing covered but her private life as well. We learn of the genteel young woman who was dedicated to family life as well as the life of an author who avoided the spotlight, while illuminating the lives of women ruled by English Manners with her wit and observations.





The facts from this books are weaved from both historical records, as well as family letters. This biography by Jane Aiken Hodge is meant to unite both sides of Austen, the author as well as the woman who was devoted to her family.







I found this book to be a bit short, but to the point, and it gave me new insights on Jane Austen, therefore I give it a rating of five out of five stars!





Happy Reading!

Only a Novel tells the story of Jane Austen the author and the person. Well researched and well written.

Most of what we know about Jane Austen is based on a closely-curated series of letters (many were purposefully burned) passed down by family members. In her non-fiction work Only A Novel: The Double Life of Jane Austen, Jane Aiken Hodge looks to explore the ‘lives’ of Jane Austen as a family member and as a writer.

Only A Novel is playfully written, addressing a smart reader without demanding the reader be smart. Despite this, it definitely veers more towards historical text than light or narrative biography. And that works well - from the introduction, it’s clear that it’s more an analysis into Jane than a chronicling of her life.

While it would help for a reader to know a bit about the period, Jane Austen and her novels, it is not a requirement. While I have a fair knowledge of the era, I am a just casual Austen fan and the book is still easily digestible.

My favourite line from the book comes early on, with Aiken Hodge noting that Jane and her sister Cassandra had an education consisting of “plenty of books, plenty of time, and plenty of good talk”, much like those of her heroines. What better education could there be than that?

Overall, it was great but definitely oriented towards those looking for a more analysis-based text (albeit a lively one) than a mass-market biography. Worth a read.

I  found this account of Jane Austen's life really enjoyable. I had been looking around for a biography of the author but I wanted to discover a more personal side too. Jane Aiken Hodge uses family letters to do this. However, many had been destroyed by Jane's sister Cassandra who wanted to protect the family's privacy. Consequently, the only surviving letters were ones that Cassandra deemed too mundane to be of interest. This means that there are large gaps in what we know of Jane Austen's life.

It was interesting to read about young women in the late 1700s and early 1800s whose 'only future was matrimony' and academic education was considered unimportant. The women did, however, need to be accomplished in singing, dancing, music, handwriting and 'listening to the gentlemen talk'

I do feel that someone with a good understanding of Jane Austen's novels would enjoy this biography the most. It has a few references to the books which may be confusing if you are not familiar with Jane Austen's characters and locations. For devoted Jane Austen fans, it is a highly informative and enjoyable read.

Wow! Such detail! This author has truly done her homework. I found that this book was so packed with information that I couldn't have any distractions while reading. It is not a quick or easy read, because of its size and detail, but the many tidbits of information are interesting and fun. This book provides the best of both worlds--substantive information about a classic author that is also fascinating and a joy to read.

Thank you to the publisher, who provided me with a free electronic copy of the book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review. These opinions are my own.

How do we know what we know about Jane Austen?

Jane Austen’s letters are probably the best way to gauge what we can about her life and her standing in the times she lived in. However, not many of her letters survive and definitely not those that had ‘colourful’ observations of different family members! This book looks into the books and surviving letters of Jane Austen to draw inferences and conclusions about the real Jane Austen.

I think it starts off really well, and draws you into the nuances of Jane’s life that one could age from the surviving letters. It goes on in-depth and recreates the enigmatic life of Austen. I got the feeling that I was actually reading an Austen novel. The last bit about jane’s last days were revealing for me, since this is one aspect that I did not know much about.

It is a highly detailed work, recommended for those who are die-hard Jane Austen fans!

This is an intriguing look at Jane Austen’s life. I like Jane Aiken Hodge’s writing style, and it made this an enjoyable biography. I’m not a Jane Austen scholar, but this book seemed to be well-researched and drew off of several different sources. I’d recommend this book for anyone who’s an Austen fan and wants to learn more about Jane’s life.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.