Sophia's Reviews > Jane Austen's Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock: 'A Girl of Genius and Feeling'
Jane Austen's Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock: 'A Girl of Genius and Feeling'
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Sophia's review
bookshelves: jane-austen-austenesque, net-galley-reads, history-biography
Dec 02, 2024
bookshelves: jane-austen-austenesque, net-galley-reads, history-biography
My long love affair with Jane Austen’s works led to my curiosity about the author who wrote such fabulous works including what I could find about her family. In my earlier reading, I learned of Austen’s aunt, Philadelphia and her exciting cousin Eliza, but I am always eager to read more about Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock.
Jan Merriman wrote with a tone of admiration and excitement, revealing to readers a woman, who even for her time, was out of the ordinary in where her life took her after inauspicious beginnings. First, there was a bit of interesting background of where Philadelphia fit into the broader Austen family ancestry and then how her life progressed after the sad deaths of her parents and separation from her younger brother and sister. Philadelphia, destined for a more obscure life in London training with millinery, was the one who took opportunity when it came and rose far above the life of a shop girl.
I was most anticipating the section of the book that dealt with her time in India when she was closely acquainted with Warren Hastings, rumored later to be the real father of her daughter, Eliza. I appreciated the detail the author shares of life in Colonial India at the time and what it would have been like for an English woman in Phila’s position as wife to a busy man, isolated and far from home land.
Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock, like other Austen-related biographies, relies a great deal on speculation and educated guesswork, but also family letters, particularly Eliza’s, and news accounts related to the period happenings and her acquaintance. She makes a connection to Jane Austen’s novels and how Jane’s writings were influenced by her aunt and cousin in stories such as Catherine or the Bower. There is a good deal of handy footnoting and bibliographic inclusion afterwards that show the prodigious amount of research.
All in all, an insightful and engaging biography full of the heart and color of a fascinating woman’s life with a connection to her famous novelist niece, Jane Austen.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for honest review.
My full review will post at The Quill Ink 1.9.25.
Jan Merriman wrote with a tone of admiration and excitement, revealing to readers a woman, who even for her time, was out of the ordinary in where her life took her after inauspicious beginnings. First, there was a bit of interesting background of where Philadelphia fit into the broader Austen family ancestry and then how her life progressed after the sad deaths of her parents and separation from her younger brother and sister. Philadelphia, destined for a more obscure life in London training with millinery, was the one who took opportunity when it came and rose far above the life of a shop girl.
I was most anticipating the section of the book that dealt with her time in India when she was closely acquainted with Warren Hastings, rumored later to be the real father of her daughter, Eliza. I appreciated the detail the author shares of life in Colonial India at the time and what it would have been like for an English woman in Phila’s position as wife to a busy man, isolated and far from home land.
Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock, like other Austen-related biographies, relies a great deal on speculation and educated guesswork, but also family letters, particularly Eliza’s, and news accounts related to the period happenings and her acquaintance. She makes a connection to Jane Austen’s novels and how Jane’s writings were influenced by her aunt and cousin in stories such as Catherine or the Bower. There is a good deal of handy footnoting and bibliographic inclusion afterwards that show the prodigious amount of research.
All in all, an insightful and engaging biography full of the heart and color of a fascinating woman’s life with a connection to her famous novelist niece, Jane Austen.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for honest review.
My full review will post at The Quill Ink 1.9.25.
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Reading Progress
November 17, 2024
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Started Reading
November 17, 2024
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November 26, 2024
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