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Review: POCKET PORTRAIT'S JANE AUSTEN: The Original Romance Novelist by Janet Lewis Saidi
- Sophia Rose
- Oct 1
- 3 min read
ABOUT THE BOOK
Take a trip back in time to the Regency-era life of Jane Austen, one of literature’s most beloved novelists, with this captivating exploration of her works and the timeless themes of romance, family, and society. Pocket Portrait's Jane Austen takes you through the moments of Jane Austen’s life—some well-known and some which may be unexpected. These are the moments that shaped her six published novels, which draw deeply on themes of family, agency, philosophy, and love. From excerpts of her swoon-worthy tales like Pride and Prejudice and Emma to insight into Austen’s social commentary and why her works still leave their mark on contemporary pop culture, this book paints a vivid portrait of the complicated woman behind the quill. This beautifully curated book is both an inspiring biography and a celebration of literary brilliance. Whether you’re a longtime admirer of Austen or just beginning your literary adventure, Pocket Portrait's Jane Austen will leave you fascinated, inspired, and longing for more.
OPENING LINES
“After more than two centuries, six novels, and countless adaptations of her life story and works, many fans believe they know Jane Austen.”
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
No matter how many times I’ve read a biography of Jane Austen, I am still all a quiver when I am presented with a new one. Each author approaches Jane’s life with their own unique and talented wordsmithing after researching their sources, and this is true of Janet Lewis Saidi’s gorgeous and giftable, pocket-sized take on Jane Austen’s life, writing, and continuing legend.
Pocket Portrait’s Jane Austen is loaded with a hundred pint-sized biographical vignettes dancing swiftly on the topics, samples from her writing that correlate to the vignette topics, and further literary connections to explore--this is where some little-known gems of facts were tucked in. Not only are Austen’s life and novels discussed in a neatly organized chronological order, but the pop culture connections that are part of Austen’s lasting legacy. A handy table of contents anchors the front, and an equally helpful index closes things out.
Pocket Portrait’s Jane Austen is not trying to be the end-all be-all biography, but does a fabulous job of exploring Jane’s life at home, among friends, as a novelist, and from the perspective of the world she lived in at the time to how she impacts today’s new crowd of fans encountering her works sometimes through other media at first: movie and TV adaptions, podcasts, variations, retellings, and genre-twists. It was thorough and scholarly without deep diving, leaving readers to use this book as a jumping-off point for further exploration.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the hard copy version I read is utterly giftable and full of features that make it the worthiest of shelf-able editions. A bio of bite-size vignettes to be sampled like luscious literary bonbons.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janet Lewis Saidi is the creator of The Austen Connection, a public humanities and journalism project that connects Austen’s literature to the pop culture and current events of our world today. The project has been featured in numerous publications such as Electric Lit, The Christian Science Monitor, and at national and international conferences such as Melbourne’s AustenCon and the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) AGM. A professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, Janet has taught writing, editing, and producing for fourteen years. In addition to her work as a producer at KBIA, her journalistic work has appeared on NPR, the BBC, PBS, and in Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor.
ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER, Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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