Bibliograph

Jane and Dorothy, a true tale of sense and sensibility : the lives of Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth, Marian Veevers

Type

Label

Jane and Dorothy, a true tale of sense and sensibility : the lives of Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth, Marian Veevers

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-370) and index

resource.biographical

collective biography

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Jane and Dorothy

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

992569824

Responsibility statement

Marian Veevers

Sub title

a true tale of sense and sensibility : the lives of Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth

Summary

"Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth were born just four years apart, in a world torn between heady revolutionary ideas and fierce conservatism, but their lives have never been examined together before. They both lived in Georgian England, navigated strict social conventions and new ideals, and they were both influenced by Dorothy's brother, the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and his coterie. They were both supremely talented writers yet often lacked the necessary peace of mind in their search for self-expression. Neither ever married. [This book] uses each life to illuminate the other. For both women, financial security was paramount and whereas Jane Austen hoped to achieve this through her writing, rather than being dependent on her family, Dorothy made the opposite choice and put her creative powers to the use of her brilliant brother, with whom she lived all her adult life. Though neither path would bring lasting fulfillment and independence, both women's mark on literary culture is undeniable. In this probing book, Marian Veevers discovers a crucial missing piece to the puzzle of Dorothy and William's relationship and addresses enduring myths surrounding the one man who seems to have stolen Jane's heart, only to break it."--Dust jacket

Table Of Contents

Prologue: The inward secrets of our hearts -- Gentlemen's daughers -- Little prattlers among men -- Original sin -- Fashionably educated and left without a fortune -- Love and friendship -- Ladies of the rectory -- A happy command of language -- Considering the future -- Falling in love -- Betrayal -- Journeys, brothers, freedom and confinement -- A house of my own -- An experiment in liberty -- My own darling child -- A small revolution -- Poetry and prose -- A maid whom there were none to praise -- Homecoming and exile -- Exercised to constraint -- Our affections do rebel -- Vary capable of loving -- Marriage : the settlement we should aim at -- Writing and publication -- My father cannot provide for us -- Another exile, another homecoming -- Beyond 1809 -- Epilogue: A natural sequel to an unnatural beginning? -- Appendix 1: Stanzas from The Minstrel -- Appendix 2: The Forest : epode -- Appendix 3: Among All Lovely Things My Love Had Been

Target audience

adult

Classification