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• Friday, August 3, 2007 05:52 AM

  read the book

  The inspration for "Becoming Jne" is from a biography "Becoming Jane Austen" by Jon Spence. The book lays out a lot of family history and context to explore how and why Jane bacame a writer, and such a good writer. (He served as historical consultant on the movie as well, though he reminds readers in his new edition that the film's "plot and incidents" are fictional).

  According to Spence, Jane Austen was made proposals at least twice (once when she was the ripe old age of 30). Since she had no income, no fame (yet), and no lofty connections, she must have been "attractive" enough for her admireres to oerlook her marriage-market deficiencies. Anne Hathaway? Whay not?

  Spence also champions the Tom Lefroy romance (though he doesn't make the speculative leaps that the movie does), and discusses at length how "Tom Jones" (A book Austen and Lefroy enjoyed in common, and which, according to Spence, becomes Austen's shorthand symbol for Lefroy) references crept into Jane Austen's own novels.

  I suspect that's why the movie Jane is introduced to a novel the real Jane had read and admired. The vast majority of the movie-going public, including many Austen-iphiles, has probably never read "Tom Jones" and we need to get that exposition in somewhere.

  I still plan on seeing the movie. But I'm glad I read the book first. Anyone who is disappointed with the film will get a thoughtful, detailed and suported impression of Jane Austen's creative and personal life.

  —Juliebird Read Juliebird's other letters
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