Jane and Her Gentlemen: Jane Austen and the Men in Her Life and Novels

discusses the men in jane's life from family, friends, suitors, et. al. some of whom may have been the models for characters in her books. Interesting, well-written, loved it!

As Audrey Hawkridge notes in her forward to "Jane and her Gentlemen", the limited biographic material on Jane Austen has been pretty well raked over; it is difficult to write anything fresh and different. Nevertheless, Hawkridge is game for the challenge. The result is a highly readable, engaging discussion of the real and fictional gentlemen in Jane Austen's life and novels. While there are few relevations here, Hawkridge's enthusiasm for the subject will make this a pleasant read for Jane Austen fans. "Jane and her Gentlemen" is divided into four sections. The first is the short, obligatory biography of Jane Austen. The second is the story of her brothers and their relationship with Jane. The third is a survey of the various men who make cameo appearances either in her life or in her fiction. The fourth and perhaps most interesting section is an exploration of the gentlemen who provide the romance in her fiction and in her life. One need not agree with Hawkridge to be entertained by her opinions on the leading men in the novels. The obvious romantic hero Mr. Darcy is compared with the rather uncertain male leads of "Sense and Sensitivity." Hawkridge wrestles, as have others, with whether Edmund Bertram was the proper match for Fanny Price in "Mansfield Park." Mr. Knightley of "Emma" and Captain Wentworth of "Persuasion" draw her approval. Hawkridge's account of the men with whom Jane Austen may or may not have had relationships in life is also very worthwhile. Her summary of the known facts and her informed speculation about the unnamed man who attracted Jane's interest at a seaside resort in the summer of 1801 is as good as any I have read. Hawkridge does her due dilengence on the rumored marriage proposal by mail of one Thomas Harding Newman of Essex, and on a painting, said to be of Jane Austen, that was given by Newman's descendents to one of Austen's grand-nephews in 1880. Hawkridge's strong opinions are honestly presented. She portrays Jane Austen as a woman with a distinctive and independent personality and the courage to follow her own convictions with respect to love and marriage. "Jane and her Gentlemen" is highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen.

The literature on Jane Austen is so vast that it becomes helpful to have a tertiary literature on special points. This is information about men who were, or may have been, significant in Jane Austen's life. As such, its importance is that it pulls together widely scattered information. I don't think that Hawkridge has come up with significant new information, but she has come up with a number of things that I didn't know, although I have read about 20 books on JA. Since this is a specialty book, she puts in information that most books would regard as inconsequential (e.g. a man rumored to have proposed to JA in a letter), and puts in alternate versions of familiar stories. Hawkridge also studies the different types of romantic leads that JA created, and considers their relationship to people she knew, although she does begin the book by quoting JA's famous statement that she likes her male characters to well to associate them with a mere mortal. For people interested in the topic, this is the obvious place to start. Hawkridge has numerous notes and a select bibliography leading the reader to other sources to be explored at length. I have great praise for the inclusion of of a chronology, would that more historical writers did that, as well as an extremely informative family tree, a bibliography and an index. I give a thumbs down on the notes. In the time-honored and idiotic fashion, the notes are in sections headed simply by the number of the chapter, while the pages have only the chapter title as a running title. Tracking down a note either means keepng track of the chapter that one is reading (a trick that I have never mastered) or flipping to the front of the chapter to find the number.