Jane Austen's Letters Book

Even if these letters weren't by Jane Austen, they'd be worth reading for the way they take you right into the lives lived by the lower country gentry in the late Georgian era. The quiet country life? It's worse even than Shetland ... a constant round of calling on neighbours and them calling on you, keeping in touch with relatives by letter, dinner parties, balls, theatres, visits of a fortnight or more with other relatives ... and in among that you had to harvest your fruit and vegetables and make preserves, wine, brew your beer, make or refurbish your own clothes ... it's amazing Austen got any writing done at all in among it. But as they are by Austen, well, the busy round is told with wit and spirit worthy of Elizabeth Bennet. Most importantly, what a lovely idea you get of Austen herself - lively, interested in everything, so fond of her sister, concerned about her mother, amused by her brothers and giddy niece Fanny. You read the biography written by her brother Henry, in which he speaks of her as a most beloved sister and aunt, and think he's over-egging the pud a bit, and then you read her letters and see how it couldn't help but be true. And I bet you wouldn't pick Jane Austen as the writer of the comment (I'm paraphrasing here) 'The good thing about being older is that at balls I can sit by the fire and drink as much wine as I like.'

The volume (tome) is the sort where you need several bookmarks: one for the text, one for the footnotes and another, if you want, for the biographical section, where there's more information on everyone mentioned in the letters. I read the notes first, for each letter, then the letter itself, and I really could have done with having Le Faye's biography of Austen to hand as well, and to find out what had happened in the times the sisters were together - which wasn't often, as one or other was always being needed to help with the children and house when another baby was being born to one of their brothers, while the other had to stay at home with their mother.

A work of thorough scholarship, which ends with Austen's sister Cassandra's letters written to her favourite niece, Fanny, just after Austen's death: 'I have lost such a sister ...' These moved me to tears - you really felt her loss.

This book was a Christmas treat to myself, with a book token, and worth every penny.