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

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

A fresh look at Austen

If you, like me, simply cannot get too much Austen, this book will delight you. It’s written as a memoir, weaving the author’s life with the messages he finds in Austen’s books about life, live and that quality so often ignored today — character. I came away with new insights into the important things Austen can teach us all.

Great story for a Jane Austen lover (Janeite)

Where does A Jane Austen Education rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my first Audiobook, and I've really enjoyed it.

What did you like best about this story?

I read and re-read my favorite Jane Austen novels every year, and have never formally studied Jane Austen, so getting the author's perspective and how Austen's works have influenced him create another level of appreciation for my favorite novels.

Quite Possibly the Best Book I Ever Heard

Please, if you are interested in Jane Austen, listen to this book. The narration is outstanding. I will not say more at the risk of spoiling a single bit of this gem.

A Unique approach

Join the Author as he charts his own personal and moral development through Austin’s six novels. He reads each novel as though it held a mirror to himself and his world. This personal way of reading gave me fresh insights into Austen’s novels and made the pAages come alive again.

Give Me More!

William Deresiewicz has given the lover of Jane Austen just what she wants: validation and analysis into why Austen's stories are timeless. Mr. Deresiewicz begins by telling us how dull he found Austen when required to read "Emma" for a college class, but as he rereads the novel he discovers the magic that Austen lovers know so well. He then takes each Austen book and shows us how the lessons of love and romance she weaves into her narratives are still applicable today???and how they changed his life. I loved this book and am looking forward to rereading it!

This book really "gets" Austen

This book works on every level -- as a work of literary criticism and as a compelling story. I've read several books about Jane Austen or "sequels" to her novels before, but always been disappointed, as the non-fictional books were boring and pedantic and the fictional books failed to appreciate that Austen's work is about much more than romance. "A Jane Austen Education," on the other hand, appreciated and conveyed the depth and delight of Austen's work while, at the same time, delivering a contemporary story (the author's own) that pleasantly invoked all the elements of Austen. Narrated very well. Overall, it was a surprising delight.

Much better than you would think from the title...

Would you listen to A Jane Austen Education again? Why?

This book was very clear and easy to digest. I will listen to it again when I want to feel better about the world. The author does a great job of combining really great criticism of Jane Austen's works, the history of her life and historical period, and how it relates to his own life.

Great read!

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

Fun, Educational, Romantic

What other book might you compare A Jane Austen Education to and why?

Can't think of a comparison. Really different and really fun to read and helped me learn more about Austen and about her books...

What about Sean Pratt’s performance did you like?

He did a great job. Very clear.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Jane Austen's books help make a guy more romantic...

Any additional comments?

All Austen friends will like this analysis and story, and non-Austen friends will appreciate Austen more...

Heartfelt

Kept me listening and up too late and then early to finish. Will start to reread Austen.

one of the best books I've heard recently

This a great book, probably better for listening than for reading I suspect. It is well-narrated, well-paced, always interesting and stimulating, and oddly enough, it might leave you a better person at the end (without any preaching at all). The author successfully interweaves his own life story (perhaps being a bit hard-hearted on himself, for effect ... hard to know), with Jane Austen's life story and her time, with the main plot points and characters of Austen's novels. The interplay between these three sets of stories is what makes the book so exciting to listen to -- things that happen to the author, to Austen and to her characters I mean. I recommend this book highly.