A fantastic, light, accessible, engaging, and easy-to-read guide to Jane Austen, her life, her world, her novels, and her impact on our world. I have read all of Jane's books and some of her biographies, but this book still provided new information for me, explaining things I only had a vague idea about (concerning her characters and the world/manners). Whether traveling through Gregorian England or contemporary England, this book is a real help. My only complaint is that the author does do some interpretation of Jane that I might disagree with (i.e. characters, etc.) without making it clear that it was interpretation. Otherwise, a great read, for both the seasoned reader and the reader just beginning to dabble in Jane. I definitely will be recommending this one to friends. Grade: A-

Interesting background. More indept than I thought as it included societal and economic restraints

Thank you Ms Ray for a book that helps readers, like myself, who are not academic but need help in understanding certain aspects of Miss Austen's world and her wonderful books. Recommend it to all but especially those who need help with the period culture. Thanks again.

It's a really quick read and it's a fun way to learn the very basics about the Regency era. It covers fun topics like dancing, dinners and courting and even gets into more complex topics as wills and entails. The author constantly sites examples in Austen's novels, so if you haven't read all the novels, I believe it's possible some of the information might spoil things for you.

My only complaint is a few obvious typos and for some reason Edward Ferrars is called Edward Dashwood a few times(not sure if it was just overlooked because the proofreader didn't know anything about Austen or not, but it is annoying to say the least). Otherwise a great introduction to Austen's life and times.

This book was quite helpful and amusing to read it provided the information in a very interesting method and doesn't bore a person when reading it.

I have heard a great deal about Jane Austen over the years but could not get enthused about her writing. I read guides to Jane Austen with the same result. So it was with reluctance that I began reading this book when a friend loaned it to me. Suddenly, Jane Austen came to life. I could see things in Jane's writing that had eluded me for years. Joan Ray's writing style is comfortable and at the same time highly informative. If you want to have an eye opening experience about one of the great writers, I suggest that you pick up a copy of this guide. Thanks for your time.

Ed Paris

I have read numerous books about Jane Austen and her times, but this is by far the best of the bunch. I am used to mining nuggets from other books about the author and the Regency, but in "Jane Austen for Dummies," all of the information is there in well organized chapters in which the reader can move from one chapter to the next and back again with ease and without "losing one's place." If you want a well-organized reference book that is well written and entertaining, "Jane Austen for Dummies" is the one.

I found this book utterly delightful. The author is an academic with real expertise on Jane Austen and her writings; the delight is her witty, accessible style. She takes the reader on a journey that gives real insights into: Georgian England and English gentry; the Austen family; contemporary English events; primogeniture; flirting and dancing; and more, then shows how these topics show up, albeit subtly, in Austen's writings.

I am thoroughly enjoying my prerusal of the book and I'm glad that I bought it as it is defintely something I want on my bookshelf. I recommend it as a must have for Austen fans.

Jane Austen for Dummies will leave a contented smile on the face and satiated delight in the belly of even the most discriminating Austen afficionado! Joan Klingel Ray's scholarship is evident, but the manner in which she doles out both the essential and the trivial ingredients of all manner of things Regency and Austen will satiate any literary taste bud. I loved the organization of the text and the index is fabulous. I would love to see this book "taught"; it would enhance immeasurably the certain enjoyment of reading any of Asuten's novels.

You may be surprised to learn how much you don't know about Jane Austen.
Glance over the Table of Contents of Jane Austen for Dummies and you
can't help but envy Professor Joan Klingel Ray's students. She manages to
present in an informative and very entertaining manner Jane Austen's
life, works, literary predecessors, legacy, and so much more. This book
is for everyone who reads Jane Austen - and for those who don't. Think
Jane Austen is only for ladies who sip tea? Think Jane Austen favored the
aristocracy? Think Jane Austen lived a sad, lonely life and never
traveled? Read this book and discover the truth of the matter. You can
buy countless books about Jane Austen and spend the next decade or so
reading them, or you can get just this one.

The main reason I bought and read Jane Austen for Dummies was the author's credentials as a College Professor (with lifetime teaching guarantee at her college), and 3-time President of JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America). Since reading it, I feel almost as if I had had the pleasure of (and time for!) taking a class from Professor Ray. It is my first book ABOUT Jane Austen, as opposed to BY Jane Austen, and I expected, as I have found with other FOR DUMMIES books, that I would learn what I wanted to know, painlessly, and be thoroughly entertained in the reading. I was not disappointed; to put it less ironically (which technique Miss Austen specializes in, as you will learn from Dr. Ray!) I was delighted with the book; you will be too. Don't hesitate, go ahead and buy it -- It's a great book!

Jane Austen for Dummies is a delightful and helpful companion volume both for readers (and movie-goers) who are new to Austen and for those of us who read her six wonderful novels again and again! Joan Klingel Ray, who teaches university-level Austen courses and who, as former president of JASNA*, has given many well-received lectures on Austen throughout the U.S. and Canada, is the perfect guide to lead us through the world of Austen and her novels. Written in an entertaining style but based on her extensive knowledge and scholarship, Ray's book gives us context and a richer understanding of Austen's life and writings. Do you want to know about the "rules" of flirting, courtship, and marriage in Austen's day? The often precarious position of gentlewomen? The significance of primogeniture and entail? Or, for today's readers planning a literary pilgrimage--which sites associated with Austen can be visited? And how to get there? You'll find lots of information and pleasure within the covers of this book. Highly recommended for individual purchasers/readers and for library collections!! (*JASNA is the Jane Austen Society of North America.)

Jane Austen for Dummies was a great read - fun, informative, and a fascinating behind the scenes look at what's really going on in Jane Austen's beloved novels. From proper manners and dance etiquette to the intimate details of Austen's own life, Prof. Ray offers her readers a chance to learn more about one of our favorite authors and her writing. The book is divided into fun, easy-to-understand sections, each with its own theme, and draws on examples from Austen's writing to illustrate cultural points. The result is a genuinely interesting blend of literature and history, enhanced by Prof. Ray's clear enthusiasm for her subject. I would recommend this book to anyone with a love for Ms. Austen's works - both academics and pleasure-readers alike!

the author is a leading authority on jane austen and past president of jasna so i take her information as gospel! but don't buy this book thinking it's a primer to all the jane austen books. it is not. the 6 novels we love are only referred to once in a while. it is, however, full of info about the life and times of jane austen. lots of info if you are interested in manners, wedding/courtship customs, travel during the late 1700s early 1800s, men's roles, women's roles, etc.

the author is a leading authority on jane austen and past president of jasna so i take her information as gospel! but don't buy this book thinking it's a primer to all the jane austen books. it is not. the 6 novels we love are only referred to once in a while. it is, however, full of info about the life and times of jane austen. lots of info if you are interested in manners, wedding/courtship customs, travel during the late 1700s early 1800s, men's roles, women's roles, etc.

This is an outstanding book. I was worried that a book "For Dummies" might be too basic but I learned that the "for dummies" applies to the easy-to-understand style of writing rather than a low level of scholarship. The author, Joan Ray, is an internationally recognized Austen scholar who has done a marvelous job of placing Jane's work in context. I did not understand, from a 21st century viewpoint, many aspects of the novels but this book shows they made perfect sense in Janes's time considering the then current customs, social mores, economy etc. I recommend the book unhestitatingly!

This book is absolutely chock full of useful background information that will help you to understand the novels of Jane Austen (all of which I had read long before getting this book).

However I have one objection, which some people may not see as a problem, which is that the author takes the title of the book a little too literally. The idea of the For Dummies series is to write books that start the subject from scratch, but they are not actually intended to be read by real dummies. There is something about this author's style of writing that is just a little too flat and pedantic for my taste and I suspect that readers who enjoy Jane Austin may find this book a bit tedious, even though it does contain a great deal of useful content.

I suppose I should give an example of what I mean, so how about this?

(Instructions for getting to Jane Austen's grave at Winchester Cathedral).

"Depart the train at Winchester and take a taxi from the station... Head for the town center or centre, as the English spell the word." (Yes, Dummies would find that one hard to figure out.)

Or in describing the routine duties of a clergyman, she enumerates visiting the sick, giving spiritual counsel, offering religious instruction to children, and finding help for the poor and hungry, yet completely omits to mention performing baptisms, burying the dead, and perfoming marriages, plus performing all the duties of the registration of these events and the maintenance of records, which in an age of relatively high child mortality would have been pretty time consuming, as even a Dummy would know.

This book is absolutely chock full of useful background information that will help you to understand the novels of Jane Austen (all of which I had read long before getting this book).

However I have one objection, which some people may not see as a problem, which is that the author takes the title of the book a little too literally. The idea of the For Dummies series is to write books that start the subject from scratch, but they are not actually intended to be read by real dummies. There is something about this author's style of writing that is just a little too flat and pedantic for my taste and I suspect that readers who enjoy Jane Austin may find this book a bit tedious, even though it does contain a great deal of useful content.

I suppose I should give an example of what I mean, so how about this?

(Instructions for getting to Jane Austen's grave at Winchester Cathedral).

"Depart the train at Winchester and take a taxi from the station... Head for the town center or centre, as the English spell the word."

Or in describing the routine duties of a clergyman, she enumerates visiting the sick, giving spiritual counsel, offering religious instruction to children, and finding help for the poor and hungry, yet completely omits to mention performing baptisms, funerals, and weddings, which in an age of relatively high child mortality would have been pretty time consuming.

This book is absolutely chock full of useful background information that will help you to understand the novels of Jane Austen (all of which I had read long before getting this book).

However I have one objection, which some people may not see as a problem, which is that the author takes the title of the book a little too literally. The idea of the For Dummies series is to write books that start the subject from scratch, but they are not actually intended to be read by real dummies. There is something about this author's style of writing that is just a little too flat and pedantic for my taste and I suspect that readers who enjoy Jane Austin may find this book a bit tedious, even though it does contain a great deal of useful content.

I love this book! Professor Ray, who was President of the Jane Austen Society of North America for six years (which means she must have been doing something right!!) tells you about the society, the culture, the vocabulary of Austen's day related to ALL OF AUSTEN'S NOVELS with clear examples. The information in the book is very current in terms of what researchers know of Austen's novels. (I'm a librarian, and I have a nice personal collection of academic books on Austen.) I heard Dr. Ray speak 2 years ago at the Library of Congress on Austen (when we lived in DC), and I have been a fan of hers ever since. The book is easy to read because of the division into chapters and sections within the chapters. So I can carry it around with me easily and read about what I want when I want. I am a better reader of Jane Austen's novels because of this book.

_Jane Austen for Dummies_ wonderfully fulfills the need for a resource book on Austen's life, times, and works that provides insights for a range of readers, from those who have just discovered Austen to literature scholars. As an English professor, I learned much from Joan Ray's book and found her writing to be engaging and witty. I highly recommend it.

When Shakespeare wrote "Much Ado About Nothing" his audiences were well aware that the word "nothing" was Elizabethan slang for female genitalia. Like Shakespears' audiences Jane Austen's Regency readers had a decided advantage over modern readers in that they would have understood the political and class dimensions of her characterizations and plots. Why did Jane Austen send Lydia and Wickham to Brighton instead of to Weymouth? Professor Joan Klingel Ray's amazing "Jane Austen for Dummies" answers this question and many more, and in so doing gives us the information to enjoy the novels like we were Regency readers. With humor and wit Professor Ray explains the nuances of daily life in Jane Austen's time that help us to appreciate even more this extraordinary novelist's command of the written word.

Jane Austen's novels swept me off my feet in my teens, my 20's, my 30's...and they continue to do so. I came by Jane Austen for Dummies already fairly well-educated about Austen and Regency England, but oh my, how much more I learned! All the parlor politics, mystifying customs, and arcane rules of romance described so off-handedly by Jane Austen are laid out neatly and with great good humor by Klingel-Ray for the understanding of the 21st century reader. Save yourself some confusion (Why only two dances per couple? Why can't daughters inherit property? And is a barouche more like a Cadillac or a sport car?) and add this to your JA library.

There's an added benefit too: JAFD serves as a wonderful appetizer to the great Austen herself. My 15 year old son borrowed my copy of JAFD and proceeded to devour it. He then immersed himself in all things Austen: the books, the films, whatever he could lay his hands on. And, although I'm a long-time admirer of Jane Austen, it hadn't occured to me that a 9th grade boy would feel the same. He has let his writing be influenced, too! All this from the first happy reading of Jane Austen for Dummies. It is a fun, and stimulating, book.

The art on the cover is a perfect depiction of what this book is about. Joan Ray explores in depth the cultural background of Jane Austen's era. She picks a topic such as How a Gentleman Courts a Young Gentlewoman, gives historical information, and then cites examples of good and bad behavior from Austen's novels.

For a reader new to Austen there can be a bit of an overload of names. The cast of characters becomes a blur of Bennets and Bingleys, Catherines and Crawfords, Dashwoods and Darcys. Luckily the format of the books allows you to jump around from topic to topic and cherry pick what interests you.

For copies of the actual novels I like the Oxford World's Classics paperbacks. They have a new, clean typesetting, and each book has an introductory essay that gives background and analysis focused more specifically toward the story at hand.

No doubt Jane herself would have approved of Jane Klingel Ray's delightful, well-written book - a book not for "dull elves," but for curious, perceptive people who want to know more about our favorite Miss Austen. Not only is Ray's book stocked with fascinating facts about Jane Austen's writing career, but also about the culture in which Austen wrote and the author's continuing influence on us today.
I highly recommend this book - a must in the collection of anyone who has ever admired Austen's talent or desires to begin the "Janeite" journey.
Dallie Clark
Professor of Humanities
Collin County Community College

I've read several biographies about Jane Austen and I loved this book. Joan Kingel Ray (former JASNA President) does a great job presenting potentially dry material in a witty and informative manner. This book truly enriched my understanding of Jane's life and the social structure in which she lived.

This is a great review of Jane Austen's life and works. It has a lot of forgotten, but good, trivia, new and updated information as well. I find it a practical key reference source personally and highly recommend it to Austen devotees as well as to her "new friends" in the ever-widening Circle of Austen Friends. Hats off to Professor Ray.

I am a long time Janeite and still learned new things from Joan Klingel Ray's wonderful book. There is so much valuable background for the novels put into these pages and the author's voice is entertaining as well as
informative. I am planning to buy copies as holiday gifts for select friends this year.

Dr. Joan Ray is truly the foremost expert on all things Jane Austen and her Dummies book is a delighful read for Janeites and those just introduced to the beauty of Jane's works alike! This book is easy to read, extremely informative and one of the most entertaining things I've ever had the pleasure to read! I would recommend this book to anyone, and plan to purchase more copies to give to friends/family members who love Jane Austen as much as I do.

I found this book to be really a great read. It is a good, solid, reference book. There is so much about Jane Austen that is known but this is one place where you can get a lot of information in one place. For non-Janites it is a great introduction to some of the things about Jane. All in all I would recommend this to everyone Janites and non-Janites. You will enjoy it.