Jane Austen: Obstinate Heart

by Valerie Grosvenor Myer

Book Overview

Jane Austen's world-famous novels give readers a small glimpse into the author's real life, which was filled with as many ups and downs as those of Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennet. She too had to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1559703873
• ISBN13: 9781559703871
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A solid, focused biography flawed by lack of notes

This is a very good biography for readers who want a fairly straightforward, reliable, moderate length account of Austen's life. Among the seven biographies that I have read so far, I think that this is the best first choice for readers who want more than Carol Shield's well-done Jane Austen, part of Penquins short biography series, but who don't want to tackle a book as long as John Halperin's Life of Jane Austen, nearly twice the length of this. Halperin weaves a lot more quotes together to build his narrative,something that I found disconcerting when I was younger, although I like it now. I leave the reader to determine their own taste. (As a teenager, I regarded books made up largely of quotes as most people regard books with mathematical formula.) Myers organizes her work both chronologically and thematically, discussing all of JA's romances and potential romances in one chapter, and then alluding back to them when she returns to chronological order. She recounts standard interpretations, but allows for some alternatives; she duly records that Mrs. Austen was regarded as a hypochondriac, but notes that her frequent pregnancies may have left her with problems of which we are unaware. Some of the reviewers have complained that Myers does not contribute any new research, but frankly I think that there are probably few facts to add to what is already know and a readable biography is itself a great accomplishment, and preferable to inventing wild theories to gain a little publicity. Some other authors that have produced more research into the minutiae of Georgian-Regency life thereby scant JA's life or hare off on tangents that may try some readers' patience. While I personally adore all this somewhat extraneous detail, it is best preceded by reading a book like this that gives one a solid grounding regarding JA's life. Others make up for a lack of new information by posthumous psychoanalysis and mindreading, not something that I encourage. The reader should be aware that the book is serious flawed by a lack of notes. I don't know if this was the author's or the publisher's choice. The book generally accords with what other biographers write, so I am fairly confident of the facts, but when Myers makes an unusual assertion, such as the claim that Cassandra Leigh didn't really want to marry George Austen, this is very irritating. In all, I think this is a good choice for entering into a study of JA's life, one that can be enriched by reading other books later.

The suffering artist....

Just above her grave in Wincester Cathedral is written, "In the beginning was the word..." I am convinced that no one has ever written English prose narrative as well as Jane Austen. In her book, 'Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart' Valerie Grosvenor Myer takes the reader behind the scenes into the private life of this remarkable author. Using correspondence, diaries, and the memoirs of Jane Austen and her family and friends, Ms. Myer constructs a biography that helps the reader understand Austen's day-to-day existence 200 years ago--the environment that formed her and inspired her creative process. She lived a life of genteel poverty--barely made genteel by the kindness of her brothers and friends. She worked hard--in an age when the mangle was just invented, irons were heated on the fireplace, and woman's work was never done, she and her mother and sister could not always get the help they needed. She worried about money, reworked old clothes to make them last, lacked good food at times, was cold at times, and wanted for many material comforts. And yet, she managed without the aid of a computer or even a typewriter, to produce six of the world's greatest novels. This book will appeal to women more so than men because it concerns issues that have affected women more. Most women have faced some form of discrimination or deprivation, or know of the deprivation of other women--lack of food, lack of clothing, fear, depression, an inability to control one's reproductive life, and poverty. Austen was aware of women's struggles--her own and those of family and friends. She watched five sisters-in-law succomb to early deaths owing to childbearing. Austen's books center on the struggles of heroines to make lives for themselves in what is essentially a man's world. Although this book doesn't discuss Austen's books in any depth, it certainly illuminates the links between the life of the author and her characters. It's an excellent book. It made me cry.

Great Bio if you are a new Janeite!

This was the 4th biography that I have read about Jane Austen. I loved it because it didn't dwell on Eliza the cousin or the shoplifting Aunt! It was about the day to day life of Jane Austen and the world she lived in. If you have a little knowledge from other bios about Jane, this is a great read. To the author - don't be discouraged by the other reviews! I want to read your book on Charlotte Bronte if I can find it.