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

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...

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.

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!

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.

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.

Part Memoir, part literary analysis

Although I enjoyed this book, it was a light entertainment that was neither as satisfying as a real memoir nor as intellectually stimulating as literary analysis. The narration was okay, maybe even better than that, but there was something about the tone of the text that kept making me considering just dropping it without finishing.

I love Jane Austen, sometimes I would rather read Jane Austen's novels for the tenth time than start a new book that will surely disappoint, but in the end it was only my passion for anything Jane Austen that got me through this book. I can't help but find something condescending about the author's attitude....it's just something from which I couldn't escape and which robbed the book of much of its potential pleasure. I think I might have enjoyed a similar type of book by a different author.