Contenu
In The Life of the Author: Jane Austen, Catherine Delafield presents a non-linear approach to building and reframing a well-known life. Grounded in evidence of that life - Jane Austen's letters, selected juvenile writings and unpublished versions of her novels - this unique volume explores Austen's literary life within themes of family, correspondent, and fiction.
Delafield addresses multiple aspects of Austen's epistolary practice, such as the use of letters as representations of absence and place and suggests pathways to new interpretations of Austen's chronological life and literary output. The author places particular emphasis on Austen's female circle, the "sisterhood" of correspondents, as well as Cassandra Austen, the editor of the surviving letters. Throughout the book, Delafield considers the ways Austen's life evidence has been applied to both fiction and biography from the nineteenth century to the present.
Featuring a select chronology using letters as landmarks, tables representing surviving letters by correspondent, and family trees tracing names and relationships, The Life of the Author: Jane Austen is a valuable resource for Austen enthusiasts looking for fresh literary-biographical perspectives, and an excellent textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses on the novel, women's writing, British writing, and life writing.