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  • A Jane Austen Education

  • How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter
  • By: William Deresiewicz
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (388 ratings)

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A Jane Austen Education

By: William Deresiewicz
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
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Publisher's summary

An eloquent memoir of a young man's life transformed by literature.

In A Jane Austen Education, Austen scholar William Deresiewicz turns to the author's novels to reveal the remarkable life lessons hidden within. With humor and candor, Deresiewicz employs his own experiences to demonstrate the enduring power of Austen's teachings. Progressing from his days as an immature student to a happily married man, Deresiewicz's A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man's discovery of the world outside himself.

A self-styled intellectual rebel dedicated to writers such as James Joyce and Joseph Conrad, Deresiewicz never thought Austen's novels would have anything to offer him. But when he was assigned to read Emma as a graduate student at Columbia, something extraordinary happened. Austen's devotion to the everyday, and her belief in the value of ordinary lives, ignited something in Deresiewicz. He began viewing the world through Austen's eyes and treating those around him as generously as Austen treated her characters. Along the way, Deresiewicz was amazed to discover that the people in his life developed the depth and richness of literary characters-that his own life had suddenly acquired all the fascination of a novel. His real education had finally begun.

Weaving his own story - and Austen's - around the ones her novels tell, Deresiewicz shows how her books are both about education and themselves an education. Her heroines learn about friendship and feeling, staying young and being good, and, of course, love. As they grow up, they learn lessons that are imparted to Austen's reader, who learns and grows by their sides.

A Jane Austen Education is a testament to the transformative power of literature, a celebration of Austen's mastery, and a joy to listen. Whether for a newcomer to Austen or a lifelong devotee, Deresiewicz brings fresh insights to the novelist and her beloved works. Ultimately, Austen's world becomes indelibly entwined with our own, showing the relevance of her message and the triumph of her vision.

©2011 William Deresiewicz (P)2011 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about A Jane Austen Education

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A Jane Austin fan

What made the experience of listening to A Jane Austen Education the most enjoyable?

I loved this book. There are 3 stories going on. His personal story, Jane Austins books and Jane Austins personal story. If your a fan of hers a must read and I have not read all her books but have seen all of her books movies.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A surprisingly great find!!

What made the experience of listening to A Jane Austen Education the most enjoyable?

I have never read the books and it was fun to have someone distill them down tothe basics and share his thematic summaries of each book.

What did you like best about this story?

How he became a better person through the process of his doctoral studies.

What about Sean Pratt’s performance did you like?

nice voice, regulated cadence and expressive in nature

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, just liked it a lot.

Any additional comments?

After reading this book, it made me want to go back and read the novels.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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English Literature

If you could sum up A Jane Austen Education in three words, what would they be?

Great Book.Great Book.Great Book.Great Book.Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book

Who was your favorite character and why?

Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book

What about Sean Pratt’s performance did you like?

Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book

Any additional comments?

Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book. Great Book

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Loved this!!

I became acquainted with this author when he came to speak to and advise my town’s high school parents about college. He gave the most inspirational advice for the parents of students who march to the rhythm of their own drums! Look him up and read his articles! Now, in regards to this beautiful book. If you love Jane Austin, like myself, you will love this memoir! Enjoy!

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Pleasantly surprised

After being routinely disappointed by the Jane Austen spin-off books, I was pleasantly surprised by this approach to Austen. Dr. Deresiewicz (Phd in literature from Columbia) explores each of the six Austen books as they related to his maturing as a friend and lover. I suspect this book will appeal more to those Austen fans who prefer her books over the movies, because the author really grapples with Austen's characters as she wrote them, not the romantic ideals so often portrayed in the movies. But the result is a deeply thoughtful illumination of Austen's wisdom regarding relationships, friendship, listening, nature, and figuring out one's priorities in life.

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love love loved this book

I listened to this book on an 18 hour drive alone, it kept me completely enthralled. I remembered about all of the Austen books I have read over the years, and felt like I was in an English lit class with an interesting professor. He related all of the books to his life and i could do the same.

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Performance confusion

Nice, accessible review of personal reflections on Austen, a favorite author. However, reader (or author?) confused pronouns so often that it was distracting. I respect and appreciate gender fluidity, but, at times, couldn’t tell who said what when a line referenced both male and female characters.

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Just the thing I needed

I got this book and let it sit in my audible for ages before finally getting around to listening to it, and for that I’m sorry I waited so long. This is now my new favorite comfort book, and something I will be reading again and again. A true journey through Jane Austen’s work, and one that gives you something you can cherish forever.

Not quite a literary critique, not quite a diary-a dialogue between two authors that spans time and space. This is a book that really gives you a lived example about how one learns and grows as a person from reading fiction, and why you can look to fiction to grow as a person!

Mr.Deresiewicz admits in the opening chapters that he wasn’t someone who really got Jane Austen’s style or appreciated her works before sitting with them and looking beyond her genre and perceived audience to see the student of human nature Ms.Austen truly was. You get the sense that as he learns and talks about her characters and her life, you can find so many parallels in your own life that old favorites come alive again with new and exciting familiarity.

I started this book thinking it would be a fun if dry way of seeing an author I loved through the lens of someone else, I put this book down feeling like I had learned more about myself. If you’re a Jane Austen fan, or if you’re not but can’t figure out why so many still love and admire her books-get this, you’ll learn about writing and society and all the times you were the hero and villain of your own story while listening to someone else take that same journey.

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Janeites should not miss this

I never wanted to "analyze" a book again after finishing my last English class (over 40 years ago) but this is so enjoyable from Mr. Deresiewicz's life perspective. This summer I want to read all of Jane Austen again and listen to this as a companion. I will appreciate my most loved books even more. Narrator was wonderful.

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Very Pleasantly Surprised!

I listed to this as an audiobook on Audible. As a massive Jane Austen fan, I thought I would probably enjoy this book. I figured it would be interesting to hear about my favorite author from a male perspective. Wow, was I pleasantly surprised! I loved this book! I really enjoyed his honest description of how Austen’s novels impacted his life. The author was able to put into words things I have felt about Austen’s work, but I couldn’t quite articulate. I love that the author says Austen’s novels help us to grow up. Yes!!! They help us see the realities and complexities in our relationships. They help us to have compassion for and see the good in people we may find irritating (i.e., Miss Bates, Mr. Woodhouse). They help us to see life and ourselves for what we are. As for me, I have PTSD and in addition to traditional forms of therapy, I find that turning to Austen’s books and the films, helps me to stop spiraling and believe the world is a happy, meaningful place again. What a delight to read the story of someone who reluctantly read Austen and like me, continues to find great personal benefits to our lives!

The narrator was excellent!

I don’t want to give anything else away, but I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to listen to it again!

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