I like to read author biographies and this is a fascinating book about a fascinating author. The first quarter is biographical, and then Claire Harman explains how Jane Austen's fame grew through the decades and centuries.
Is fame important
for an author? Mass market writers aim for a huge audience, but literary
authors are frequently content with select readers that can appreciate their
art. Austen was undoubtedly a literary genius, but as Raymond Chandler wrote,
“It might reasonably be said that all art at some time and in some manner
becomes mass entertainment, and that if it does not it dies and is forgotten.”
Jane knew the secret
of great writing—revision. Perhaps she had no choice. Fifteen years or so
elapsed between the writing of her first novel and publication. In the meantime, she
honed Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibilities to perfection.
During an earlier
time in my life, I spent a lot of time in Concord, Massachusetts. The
biographical portion of Jane's Fame reminded me of Louisa May Alcott. They were
each encouraged to write by their families, grew up surrounded by literary
people and artists, and both read their stories aloud to family and friends.
Speaking of similarities, another one struck me while writing this post: Austen, Chandler, and Twain wrote contemporary fiction, but we now read their books as period fiction. Viewing their work as historical novels makes them timeless.