⭐⭐⭐
Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane is a bit of a mess. Essentially, author Devoney Looser wants the
world to know that Jane Austen was the not the quiet, retiring writer
some of her descendants portrayed her as; she wants the world to think
of Austen as being "wild." It's in the title and Looser uses the word
over and over and over, many times in situations where it is, at best, a
stretch. And the book itself is a random collection (though one that I
could see making a solid syllabus for an Austen course); it starts out
with discussions of Austen's writings, including her juvenilia, writings
other than the main six novels, and some writings that may or may not
be Austen, then moves into discussions of her family (both during and
after her lifetime), and finishes with a collection of chapters on
random topics from rumors of Austen having a lover in Switzerland to
Austen films that were never made to the use of Austen in court cases to
Austen-related erotica.
A lot of my issue with it is that Looser is clearly pushing against a portrayal of Austen largely created by Austen's nephew James Edward Austen Leigh, who wrote of his aunt "Jane Austen lived in entire seclusion from the literary world: neither by correspondence, nor by personal intercourse was she known to any contemporary authors" (Ch. 15). People think of Austen as "staid," so Looser wrote this that we might think of Austen as wild. I don't hate the argument, honestly, but Looser is trying so hard to make it happen that the reader can't help but roll their eyes a bit.
In the early chapters, Looser goes through Austen's writing and highlights where she thinks Austen's wildness shows through. I appreciated the discussions of the juvenilia and other lesser-known works, where you can really see Austen be less staid, as it were, than in her novels. But in the chapters on the books, Looser makes some assertions that I don't think the material warrants.
I found some of the later chapters more interesting, if less directly reflecting Austen. Looser has a chapter on Austen used in both pro- and anti-slavery and pro- and anti-suffrage arguments and clearly wants to show the Austen as being abolitionist and pro-suffrage. There's a lot of interesting material about the relationship of the Austens to slavery and the abolitionist movement, but I don't know that Jane Austen's nephew being an abolitionist is necessarily reflective of anything. (I did like this, though, from the section on the suffrage movement:
And admittedly, I got annoyed with Looser patting herself on the back throughout the book, mentioning new information that she herself unearthed in research! And like, good job finding a reference to Jane Austen that nobody in the past 250 years has before; that honestly is pretty impressive. She just mentions it a bit more than I'd like; there's a "Be impressed!" tone that didn't sit well with me.
There's some good, new information in here, and Looser does a good job of putting Jane Austen in context of the world where she lived and about which she wrote. But the book is uneven and is sometimes a bit of a slog, unfortunately. Still worth a read by Janeites, though I'd recommend picking and choosing chapters.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
A lot of my issue with it is that Looser is clearly pushing against a portrayal of Austen largely created by Austen's nephew James Edward Austen Leigh, who wrote of his aunt "Jane Austen lived in entire seclusion from the literary world: neither by correspondence, nor by personal intercourse was she known to any contemporary authors" (Ch. 15). People think of Austen as "staid," so Looser wrote this that we might think of Austen as wild. I don't hate the argument, honestly, but Looser is trying so hard to make it happen that the reader can't help but roll their eyes a bit.
In the early chapters, Looser goes through Austen's writing and highlights where she thinks Austen's wildness shows through. I appreciated the discussions of the juvenilia and other lesser-known works, where you can really see Austen be less staid, as it were, than in her novels. But in the chapters on the books, Looser makes some assertions that I don't think the material warrants.
I found some of the later chapters more interesting, if less directly reflecting Austen. Looser has a chapter on Austen used in both pro- and anti-slavery and pro- and anti-suffrage arguments and clearly wants to show the Austen as being abolitionist and pro-suffrage. There's a lot of interesting material about the relationship of the Austens to slavery and the abolitionist movement, but I don't know that Jane Austen's nephew being an abolitionist is necessarily reflective of anything. (I did like this, though, from the section on the suffrage movement:
It's true Cambridge then was stuffed to the gills with adult children of dead authors and intellectuals, including descendants of Charles Darwin. The Austen Leighs rubbed elbows with many there who had fascinating family and friendly literary connections. Nevertheless, her saying something publicly under the Austen surname would have added weight to the anti-suffrage movement." [Ch. 18])There were also chapters on what Austen's relatives were up to--marrying into the French aristocracy, someone who was possibly a spy, someone who was accused of shoplifting and had a high-profile court case--as well as Jane possibly having some interaction with progressive-type authors. "Look!" Looser says, pointing at these. "Jane Austen had a wild life!" By which she means...Jane Austen had knowledge of these things, and wrote letters about them, and had some nice visits with people who were involved. I don't know that it necessarily makes Jane Austen herself "wild."
And admittedly, I got annoyed with Looser patting herself on the back throughout the book, mentioning new information that she herself unearthed in research! And like, good job finding a reference to Jane Austen that nobody in the past 250 years has before; that honestly is pretty impressive. She just mentions it a bit more than I'd like; there's a "Be impressed!" tone that didn't sit well with me.
There's some good, new information in here, and Looser does a good job of putting Jane Austen in context of the world where she lived and about which she wrote. But the book is uneven and is sometimes a bit of a slog, unfortunately. Still worth a read by Janeites, though I'd recommend picking and choosing chapters.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
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