Becoming Jane reviews and such

I have a review of Becoming Jane up at BreakPoint.  Here's a brief excerpt:

My own personal Austen is almost entirely different. She is faithful and incredibly intelligent, with a wonderful energy for life. She comes from a sharp, loving, laughing family. She craves a quiet life, a life many of us might think of as small. I picture Austen this way not just because this is how I want her to be (though that may play a role), but because these are the things I see when I study her life. ...

Anne Hathaway, who plays Austen, was attempting to portray her as a lonely genius, with no equals in her immediate group of family and friends. I believe that actually Jane’s genius grew out of her sharp family environment. She wrote at the beginning only to entertain her family, with no other purpose, and I believe they inspired her, at least partly, in her wonderful wit and storytelling.

Also, I believe, they taught her what a loving family could be, and inspired her to marry for love. Significantly, none of the Austen children made matches only for the sake of money—all of them who married seem to have done so for love, and this must have been instilled in them in their loving home.

Read more here.

And I loved this review from Slate:  See Jane Elope.

Also, loved this little gem from Marsha Huff, president of JASNA, in a recent NY Times article (unfortunately, now they're charging for the article):

And however much society has changed, Austen’s heroines — unlike the Brontës’ — deal with the believable, timeless obstacles of class, money and misunderstanding, which make her works adaptable to any era. As Ms. Huff said: “Everyone thinks she’s Elizabeth Bennet; not everyone thinks she’s Jane Eyre. Everyone knows a young woman trying to decide if the guy she’s attracted to is Mr. Right. Not everyone meets a Mr. Right who has a mad wife in the attic.”

I've just run a quote from Bronte on Austen at austenquotes.com.

Jane really is everywhere right now.  For all the latest, visit AustenBlog.