Bookverdict.com

Gr 7 Up—Reef beefs up what little is known about Austen's life by blending in social history and substantial descriptions of her novels. While the author's writing style is clear and unaffected, the book lacks organization. The text jumps from topic to topic, sometimes within the same paragraph, all without the benefit of headings and subheadings. For example, Jane and Cassandra's friendship with Martha and Mary Lloyd, Mary's attack of smallpox, smallpox statistics in general, symptoms, the side effects ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

"Millions of people throughout the world read and enjoy Austen's books; she and her novels are the subjects of countless films and adaptations; but very little is known about the woman herself." How then does Reef go about writing a biography of Jane Austen, who kept no diary, whose thousands of letters were largely destroyed, who never married or had children, who died relatively young of a mysterious illness, and of whom there is in existence only one known...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Reef combines firsthand accounts of Austen written by relatives and friends, facts about late-1700s Britain, and Austen's own novels and su...Log In or Sign Up to Read More