Here, firmly rooted in her own social setting for the first time, is the real Jane Austen--the shy woman willing to challenge convention, the woman of no pretensions who nevertheless called herself "formidable, " a woman who could be frivolous and yet suffer from black depressions, who showed unfailing loyalty and, in the conduct of her own life, unfailing bravery. In an act of understanding and brilliant synthesis, Claire Tomalin reveals Jane Austen...

Jane Austen's popularity never seems to fade. But who was Jane Austen? This first YA biography takes an intimate peek at Austen's life and innermost feelings, interweaving her narrative with well-crafted digests of each of Austen's published novels.

"Step into the world of Georgian England and learn more about the genteel life of this beloved author. Although Jane Austen's works were first published anonymously and brought her little personal recognition, today they are rarely out of print and have inspired movies, television shows and mini-series, literary anthologies, and many other adaptations all around the world. Her writing--principally her five novels--is a critique of the British landed...

""Jane Austen at Home offers a fascinating look at Jane Austen's world through the lens of the homes in which she lived and worked throughout her life. The result is a refreshingly unique perspective on Austen and her work and a beautifully nuanced exploration of gender, creativity, and domesticity." - Amanda Foreman, bestselling author of Georgianna, Duchess of Devonshire. On the eve of the two hundredth anniversary of Jane Austen's death, take a...

This new biography explores the forces that shaped the interior life of one of the most beloved novelists in the English language. Each chapter begins by evoking an object that conjures up a key moment or theme in Austen's life and work. The woman who emerges is far tougher, more socially and politically aware, and altogether more modern that the conventional picture. The book looks at the biographical influence on her work, as well as her boundless...

A fresh look at an author whose novels have enjoyed constant popularity over the years draws on Austen's letters, family papers, and other candid interviews with her friends and relatives to bring her life into delightful focus.

This book covers the life and work of Charles Dickens, with examples taken from all his major works and writing. It considers the key themes in Dickens's novels, and the way in which he used his writing to critique the great dehumanising structures, ideologies, and bureaucracies of nineteenth-century Britain. This book examines the potent and multiple after-lives of Dickens's novels, and their ongoing impact today. It explores Dickens's own career...