Imatge de l'autor

Jill Pitkeathley

Autor/a de Cassandra and Jane

5 obres 274 Membres 9 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Jill Pitkeathley was born in Guernsey in the Channel Islands of the United Kingdom. She was involved for a long time with social work in the UK and worldwide. In 1997 Prime Minister Tony Blair made her a Life Peer in the House of Lords. She has survived cancer twice and began writing about Jane mostra'n més Austen after this second incident. Her first novel concerning Austen was entitled Cassandra and Jane. The second book, Dearest Cousin Jane, is now in paperback. Pitkeathley lives in Herefordshire, England. mostra'n menys

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Obres de Jill Pitkeathley

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female

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Meh... There's really nothing new in this imagined biography of Jane Austen's life told from the perspective of her older sister Cassandra. The book reads like a timeline with commentary so if you are a true Janeite, you already know all of this and if you're new to the author, it will probably be a pretty dull introduction. I much more prefer to see an author take these same tirelessly repeated facts and do something creative with them---as Stephanie Barron does in her Jane Austen mysteries series, for instance.

If the novel is subpar, the author commentary at the end is nothing but pages of textbook feminist robotic repeatings. "Subjugation" of women, "marriage almost always led to a life of endless childbearing with all of its inherent dangers"...yada yada yada... Oh, and this one: "marriage had to be the aim because without it any unmarried woman was totally dependent on the support of her male relatives..." Even though the very person she's writing about proved herself to be an independent woman of means---as did many, many women of the day. Times are not that different now---much as we'd like to imagine them to be.

All in all, I enjoyed the Jane reminiscing as I'd not read anything about her in awhile---but I found this work to be mainly a regurgitation of all the facts we Janeites are already welllllllll aware of.
… (més)
 
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classyhomemaker | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Dec 11, 2023 |
A fictional memoir of the sister to someone who led a brilliant but brief life, Cassandra and Jane is a poignant story for Janeites who want to know more about their patron goddess's life. While the novel doesn't focus as much on how lives were back then, it still offers interesting insight into the relationships Jane had with the people around her. Some people have called this boring, and while I see their viewpoint, I think the book is still interesting. If anything, it's streamlined.

Readers still get a sense of how women lived in the Regency era: what they thought, what they cared about, what they feared. Cassandra Austen, in particular, is parts petty, jealous, loving, and helpful. She's not what we think of when we think of "strong" heroines, and she's definitely not one to steal the spotlight away from someone like Jane. That said, I think Pitkeathley did a good job creating distinct characters, in spite of the lack of primary sources about Austen. You feel like Cassandra is her own person, and that person is imperfect. But so are we all.

While this novel only shows glimpses of Jane's inner feelings, you still get a sense of the stakes, as Cassandra recounts their unmarried lives. Fans familiar with Austen's life will recognize these events and enjoy the fresh take with Cassandra at the helm. Newcomers will see a quaint story that will send them to other sources to learn more. True, it's not as sparkling as Austen's own writing, but it doesn't need to be. If you're here for Austen and no other funny business, this is the book for you.
… (més)
 
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readerbug2 | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Nov 16, 2023 |
This is an enjoyable but fairly run-of-the-mill fictionalized biography of Jane Austen, told from the point of view of her sister, Cassandra. The author stays pretty true to the known facts of Austen's life--which doesn't necessarily make for an exciting read. If anything is expanded upon here, it's simply some of the family quarrels and Cassandra's jealousy over sharing Jane with others. We learn little, either real or imagined, about Cassandra's own life, aside from her engagement to a young clergyman who died before their wedding, her stints of caring for ailing and about-to-deliver relatives, and her assistance in reading, making copies of, and giving suggestions for Jane's manuscripts in progress. Overall, it was a fast and enjoyable read but might be appreciated more by those who haven't read any deeper biographies of Austen.… (més)
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Cariola | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Jan 29, 2016 |
This is the second novel by Pitkeathley on the life of Jane Austen. The first explored her relationship with her sister Cassandra, but this one widens the scope to include the cousins and other family members. Told in letters and first person narratives, each chapter gives the reader a point of view or relates an incident as seen from the vantage point of a different family member. The narrative follows chronologically to the major incidents in Jane Austen's life but gives a wider picture of her life. Pitkeathley has obviously immersed herself in Austen's novels and life and there are many delightful comparisons to be made in her writing to that of Austen. It almost makes you think that all of Austen's characters are based on her relatives, something she always denied. But the moans and groans of Mrs. James Austen (Mary) are so like those of Mary Musgrove in Persuasion that she must be one and the same. One of the better novels in this genre, those written in Austen's style.… (més)
 
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pak6th | Feb 12, 2011 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
5
Membres
274
Popularitat
#84,603
Valoració
½ 3.4
Ressenyes
9
ISBN
16
Llengües
2

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