Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The family profile is a portrait that shows the father, George Austen, the adoptive mother, Catherine Knight, and the boy Edward, who was adopted by the couple in 1783. It was commissioned by Thomas Knight, a wealthy but childless gentleman from Kent, to commemorate his formal adoption of his nephew Edward Austen. #2 The practice of adoption was not uncommon in the Georgian era, when the preservation of large estates was the key to wealth and status. It was common for children to be transferred into wealthy families, and for girls to be adopted. #3 In 1782, a six-year-old girl was excitedly awaiting the return of her father in a hack chaise from the main stage-coach post in Andover. Her father was returning home with his elder daughter, who had been visiting relatives in Bath. #4 Jane Austen was the seventh child of the Reverend George Austen and his wife Cassandra, née Leigh. She was born in December 1775, and was baptized privately by her father on the morrow to ensure that her soul would be saved if she died in her first few days.

ポーラ・バーンの研究を凝縮した本書は、静かな隠遁作家というジェーン・オースティンの虚像を打ち破り、激動の社会で逞しく生きた彼女の真実を浮き彫りにします。特にジョージアン時代の養子縁組という慣習が、領地維持や一族の命運をいかに左右したかというリアリズムは、彼女の小説に流れる「財産と結婚」という主題の生々しい源泉を鮮烈に提示しています。 一見穏やかな田園風景の裏に潜む、野心や打算が渦巻く家族の政治劇。この解説書を通じて彼女のルーツを辿ることは、名作の行間に隠された鋭い社会批評と魂の叫びを再発見する、知的な興奮に満ちた体験となるはずです。至高の文豪が抱えていた「現実」の重みを、ぜひその目で確かめてください。