Jane Austen at Home: A Biography by Lucy Worsley

About the book: (from the publisher) Take a trip back to Jane Austen’s world and the many places she lived as historian Lucy Worsley visits Austen’s childhood home, her schools, her holiday accommodations, the houses–both grand and small–of the relations upon whom she was dependent, and the home she shared with her mother and sister towards the end of her life. In places like Steventon Parsonage, Godmersham Park, Chawton House and a small rented house in Winchester, Worsley discovers a Jane Austen very different from the one who famously lived a ‘life without incident’.

Worsley examines the rooms, spaces and possessions which mattered to her, and the varying ways in which homes are used in her novels as both places of pleasure and as prisons. She shows readers a passionate Jane Austen who fought for her freedom, a woman who had at least five marriage prospects, but–in the end–a woman who refused to settle for anything less than Mr. Darcy.

Illustrated with two sections of color plates, Lucy Worsley’s Jane Austen at Home is a richly entertaining and illuminating new book about one of the world’s favorite novelists and one of the subjects she returned to over and over in her unforgettable novels: home.

About the author: Lucy Worsley is a historian, author, curator and television presenter. Lucy read Ancient and Modern History at New College, Oxford and worked for English Heritage before becoming Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. She also presents history programs for the BBC and is the author of several bestselling books, including Courtiers: the Secret History of the Georgian Court, Cavalier: The Story of a 17th Century Playboy, and more. She lives in London, England.

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Genre: Non-fiction/Biography

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My take: What a delightful new biography about one of Western literature’s most beloved authors. Just when you thought you’d read it all comes a fresh take on Jane. The twist? The home angle — and for a woman like Jane Austen, who famously appreciated the comforts of home — what could be more appropriate?

I thoroughly enjoyed this treat of a book, from its thorough research by respected historian Jane Worsely, to the color photos, to its new insights into a favorite writer — herself as rich and complex a character as any of those she so cleverly penned.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.

After words: Which of Jane Austen’s novels is your favorite?