Winner Announcement:
The 10th person to comment, Silver De, is the lucky winner of Young Jane Austen: Becoming an Author. She has sent me her address and the book will be mailed to her shortly.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog, read the review, and left a comment!
The chapters are very short--sometimes little more than a paragraph or two--written from the point-of-view of a child describing her world as it slowly comes into focus and expands and contracts with the flow of life and the life of the family.Not much is known about Austen's early years, and so Pliscou uses modern psychological thinking to thoughtfully speculate on how Austen might have responded to the few known circumstances of her life as a child, given her later works and words.
While I was expecting to see young Jane putting pen to paper with her Juvenilia, in ending where she does, Pliscou makes the point that Austen's earliest years put her firmly on the path to literary prowess.
The book is beautifully constructed, with lovely simple drawings of Jane and her family dotting the pages. It is a quick read, even when you read the annotations and biographical details, and bibliography. I read it on a short flight between Denver and Phoenix, and found it satisfying. Covering familiar ground but also providing insights into why and how Austen was able to tap vast reservoirs of creativity to become the Austen we know and love.
The author has graciously provided me with a second copy to give-away on my blog --the first copy will be shared with my JASNA group in Denver/Boulder. For more info on the book, visit Lisa Pliscou's website.
If you would like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below and provide your contact info. The giveaway is open internationally, and I will accept entries through 8 pm MT on Sunday, May 24.
