Drawing on a treasure of new material, Honan reveals an Austen surprising in her knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars (two of her brothers fought in the British Navy and rose to the rank of admiral) and surprising as well in her romantic entanglements--an engagement that lasted but a night, a bold flirtation that very nearly erupted into scandal. Above all, Honan sheds new light on Austen's social experience, giving new prominence to her large and fascinating family, and the Regency society in which she moved.
Readers of Jane Austen: Her Life will return to the novels not only with new understanding of the person who created them but with a vivid sense of the society from which they were drawn.
"A triumph . . . the only biography of Austen that she would have liked."--The Philadelphia Inquirer