![]() ![]() Austen does not come off well in the Worsley biography either.) To some, the description of her hypochondria felt a bit overboard. Austen seemed to take a good deal of criticism from Tomalin, whether directly or just in tone. One person described it as “food for thought…like picking up breadcrumbs.” Poor Mrs. Some people were uncomfortable with the amount of speculation some were more comfortable with it. One person commented that Deirdre Le Faye’s biography is much more “these are the facts.” Tomalin’s language itself-“could have” or “would have”-emphasized her speculation. ![]() This observation brought forth the idea of biographers’ biases and what they bring into the book. ![]() Several people commented that while this book was strong on research, it felt like it had more speculation than other Austen biographies (e.g., Lucy Worsley’s, Deirdre Le Faye’s) about things that simply couldn’t be known. A few of the virtual book club crew Biographers’ Speculation ![]() Many of us were still making our way through the book, but some clear themes emerged in the discussion. The book will be featured at June’s Jane Austen Summer Program and we took the opportunity to get a head start. On May 16, JASNA-NC met for our quarterly Virtual Book Club to discuss Claire Tomalin’s Jane Austen: A Life. ![]()
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