A review by amelia555
Jane Austen at Home: A Biography by Lucy Worsley

4.5

Really enjoyed this book! I'm an admirer of Jane Austen, but not a devotee, and I can attest this book's extreme readability for everyone. This is as much an account of life of a famous writer as it is a story of a woman in a precarious financial situation in a very particular time and place. The book is well-researched and provides as much info as possible about Jane Austen distilled from various letters and accounts. But when the information isn't known or clear, it turns to what what thought of or popular at the time as something Jane must've used. What medicine was frequently prescribed (the Austens almost definitely used it too), what fashions occupied women's minds (Jane and Cassandra probably wore them too), where they traveled for holidays, and, in general, what was accustomed for people, specifically women, of their position in society. All through the book we follow the Austen women as they're forced to move from one house to another, and learn just how dependable single women were on their family relations.
I enjoy Lucy Worsley's TV shows, they're both educational and fun. Previously, I read her book on the history of different rooms in a house (If Walls Could Talk) and found it lacking — too scattered. But this one was much better, the story is centered, and it's clear the subject is dear to the author.