This is an Online Internet Book Club on Jane Austen's Letters by Jane Austen. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
Jane Austen famously labeled her literary ambit a "little bit (two inches wide) of ivory." Luckily, her personal travels and those of her family were slightly more extensive, otherwise we should be without her letters. Not only should every Janeite possess them, but also every connoisseur of correspondence. Austen's wit is ubiquitous--even though some protest it edges into waspishness. E. M. Forster, for example, described the letters between Austen and her beloved sister, Cassandra, as "the whinnying of harpies."
On September 18, 1796, she tells Cassandra, "What dreadful Hot weather we have!--It keeps one in a continual state of Inelegance.--If Miss Pearson should return with me, pray be careful not to expect too much Beauty..." The dashes and capitalization alone make one long for the days before stylistic rules had so cemented. As for the sentiments! Austen paces her monologues to perfection, making the comic and ironic most out of the smallest incidents. Still, her frustration does occasionally emerge. "I am forced to be abusive," she implodes to Cassandra, "for want of a subject, having nothing really to say." Jane Austen has more than enough to say for lovers of literature and the cultural pinprick.
Book Club Questions for Jane Austen's Letters (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Jane Austen's Letters (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Jane Austen's Letters:
- Did Jane Austen emphasize any specific themes throughout Jane Austen's Letters? What do you think Jane Austen is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Jane Austen's Letters and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Jane Austen's Letters? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Jane Austen's Letters reveal Jane Austen's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Jane Austen is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Jane Austen's Letters affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Jane Austen's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Jane Austen's Letters (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Jane Austen's Letters (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Jane Austen's Letters:
- Did Jane Austen make persuasive arguments in Jane Austen's Letters? Did Jane Austen's Letters change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Jane Austen's Letters?
- How does Jane Austen present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Jane Austen biased within Jane Austen's Letters? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Jane Austen's Letters make you want to read next? Why?
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