Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels, Three Notebooks, a Writing Box, and One Clever Girl by Deborah Hopkinson (review)

Growing up in a household with hundreds of books and two parents who encouraged their daughters' curiosity and learning, it's no surprise that Jane Austen formed strong opinions. "Jane was a reader who knew exactly what she liked, and precisely what she didn't," and as a keen observer of her bustling surroundings (comings and goings of six brothers and a houseful of student boarders), she also had her thoughts about society and its norms. Here veteran picture-book biographer Hopkinson offers a lively take on a woman who, despite publishing conventions that favored male writers, refused to let her authorial voice remain mute. Like Pliscou's Brave Jane Austen (BCCB 1/18), this manages to successfully introduce Austen's characteristic wit and social commentary to an audience who would otherwise be too young to digest the original works. Leng's scrawly line and watercolor artwork focuses on the details of the social gatherings and domestic milieu Austen experienced and expertly translated into her novels. End matter comprises not only a timeline, bibliography, and resources but also an engaging "Jane's Bookshelf" section that highlights her six famous titles, offering publication dates, brief plot synopses, and a pair of quotations. A delightful read on its own, this will also offer for many readers a window into their mothers', aunties', and sisters' obsessions.