A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me about Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter - Softcover

Deresiewicz, Professor William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143121251 ISBN 13: 9780143121251

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2012

Synopsis

Before Jane Austen, William Deresiewicz was a very different young man. A sullen and arrogant graduate student, he never thought Austen would have anything to offer him. Then he read Emmaa??and everything changed.A A A A A A A A A A A In this unique and lyrical book, Deresiewicz weaves the misadventures of Austenā€TMs characters with his own youthful follies, demonstrating the power of the great novelistā€TMs teachingsa??and how, for Austen, growing up and making mistakes are one and the same. Honest, erudite, and deeply moving, A Jane Austen Education is the story of one manā€TMs discovery of the world outside himself.A

About this title

Review:

"Sharp, endearingly self-effacing . . . a profound truth lies embedded in Deresiewicz's witty account." -- THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"Like Austen, Deresiewicz is lucid, principled and knows how to think as well as how to feel, without ever sacrificing one to the other.... a delightful and enlightening book. -- SLATE.COM

"An entertaining and original version of literary criticism--as autobiography." -- THE SEATTLE TIMES

"With A Jane Austen Education, Deresiewicz writes with discerning wit and quiet perception about the lessons in friendship, empathy, honesty, happiness, and love he learns from each of Austen's immortal novels." -- CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"[Deresiewicz] is charming on the page. He talks about literary characters as if they were real people, and about Austen as if she lived at the end of the block...he does so in a style that comes across as fresh and conversational, like a genuinely witty bibliophile you'd like to talk with at a party. " -- LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS

"[Deresiewicz] writes with wit, charm and candor, and the result is simply delightful." -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

About the Author:

WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ is a widely published book critic and the author of Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets. He was nominated for National Magazine Awards in 2008, 2009, and 2011 and the National Book Critics Circle's Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing in 2010 and 2011.

www.billderesiewicz.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0143121251
• ISBN 13: 9780143121251
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288