"Just Jane" by Nancy Moser

This is Moser's very well researched and well written bio-fiction about Jane Austen.

I had seen and enjoyed the movie, "Becoming Jane" and wanted to compare stories, essentially. "Becoming Jane" concentrates almost exclusively on Jane Austen's early love interest in Tom Lefroy, the Irish cousin of the Austen's Lefroy neighbors. The movie contends that this was a major love interest and that Jane very nearly ran off to marry Lefroy. The book, although just as much fiction as the movie, seems to be better grounded in reality and contends that this was just an unrequited infatuation that Jane fairly quickly got over.

The book contends that Jane actually received two marriage proposals, from Edward Bridges and Harris Bigg-Wither, and that she actually accepted Harris' proposal over one night until she thought better of it in the morning.

While Jane knew of at least one successful woman author who was also married, it was very much the exception for any woman to have any kind of career following marriage beyond motherhood. Jane's books were always her children. She took them everywhere with her and her ability to work on them depended very much on her mood and happiness with her living situation. Her years in Bath were unhappy and they were not productive from a writing stand-point.

"Just Jane" provides an insightful glimpse into the life of one of the 19th century's most brilliant authors pieced together from the letters that remain from the author, and some of the biographies about her.

I highly recomment "Just Jane" to all Austen lovers, and 19th century English literature readers.

Liz Nichols