Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen

Weldon's imaginary niece, Alice, wants to write a novel. What she doesn't want to do, despite doing a college course in English Literature, is read Jane Austen. Weldon sets out to show her why she should.

Weldon, as a novelist, has a rather different take on some of the received wisdom about Austen. She refers to James Austen-Leigh's famous comment about Austen covering her work when others entered the room, which has led some to speculate that she was ashamed of her work. Weldon notes that "[m]ost writers choose to cover their work when someone else comes into the room", not wanting to answer questions such as "And who is this Mr. Knightley?" One of the most delightful things about this book is to read a writer's take on Austen and her show more work and works.

But that's not all. Her description of Literature as a "City of Invention" is one of the best things I've read in a long time. Books are the buildings, writers the architects. I'm sure we can all name a few books that fit this description: Sometimes you'll find quite a shoddy building so well placed and painted that it quite takes the visitor in, and the critics as well - and all cluster round, crying, 'Lo, a masterpiece!' and award it prizes. But the passage of time, the peeling of paint, the very lack of concerned visitors, reveals it in the end for what it is: a house of no interest or significance. show less

A Screwtape for Eng Lit undergraduates: Aunt Fay, the experienced novelist, writes to her (fictional) green-haired and rebellious niece Alice, trying to convince her of the joys of serious literature in general and Jane Austen in particular. Meanwhile, Alice seems to be getting on quite well with her own life without ever opening the pages of Persuasion.

There’s a lot of fun stuff here about what fiction is for and why we read — and write — novels, about how unpleasant the world was, especially for women, in Jane Austen’s day, about the realities of being a writer and making things up for a living, about why Austen wrote the sort of novels she did, and much else, all set out in a very droll, down-to-earth way. Certainly one of show more the funniest serious books of literary criticism you’re likely to come across, and it may make you regret the dullness of the set of real-life aunts nature issued you with… show less

A series of letters to a fictional niece, who is struggling to read Jane Austen, is the hook on which Fay Weldon hangs this collection of fifteen essays (for want of a better word) about Jane Austen, her life, her novels, and the era in which she lived. This subject is the basis for thoughts about writing, what it means to be an author, and how people approach the art of writing a book; and how readers consider and enjoy books. The author also offers snippets of advice about life and love to her 18 year old niece.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s very eloquently written, and easy to take in. I learned about aspects of Jane Austen’s life, and discovered new perspectives from which to read her books. It is certainly not necessary to show more like – or even to have read – Jane Austen to enjoy this book, but I would imagine that if you have never picked up an Austen novel, this would make you want to.

As you might expect, Weldon is forthright, honest and intelligent. She is also often amusing, and made me think – and also made me want to reread Emma very soon!

I would certainly recommend this enjoyable collection of letters, whether or not you are a fan of Jane Austen. show less

I heard about this here on LibraryThing and could hardly pass up the chance to read something about Jane Austen! This is about an aunt who (much like Jane Austen before her) corresponds with a niece interested in writing novels. The niece, Alice, is a fictional girl of green-and-black-colored hair who can't imagine why Jane Austen would be considered relevant today.

The blend of fiction and literary criticism threw me for a loop at first. The first few letters talk about Jane Austen's life and times, then move on to talk about, in turn, each of her novels and peppered with advice about reading, writing, and listening (or not) to critics. In fact, this struck me as much more about the act of writing than about Jane Austen in particular. show more At times witty, and other times confusing, sometimes I agreed and at others I wholeheartedly disagreed. But that, as I'm sure "Aunt Fay" would agree, is one of the joys of visiting the City of Invention. show less

It's amazing, how much this book matters to me. I don't like Fay Weldon's fiction, much, nor her drama, but every time I visit my childhood home, I pick this up, and *oh* so much of what I believe about the world was informed by this. So much of what I believe about writing and literature and women and just everything was informed by this.

It's not flawless -- far from it -- Weldon's assertion that one was meant to type as one writes is clearly batshit, as is some of her geography for the City of Invention (it's very very very Anglo-centric and mid-20th-century), but I keep discovering new things to think about, whenever I dip back in.

What a creative way to write about writing! Kudos to Fay Weldon. I read this when I was struggling through a particularly difficult semester while getting my own English lit degree. I loved studying literature, by the way, but there was plenty about it that I didn't love--Tristram Shandy comes to mind. Weren't any of you FORCED to read Pride and Prejudice in tenth grade--and don't you remember that you found it so booooring because you didn't know it was supposed to be funny? Remember?

What a delight! What a find. I only hope that someday I can be such an aunt to such a niece.

read as part of a book club challenge to read epistolary works. Fascinating read on the process of writing, what makes memorable novels, prize-winners and ultiamtely classic, or books that stand the test of time. Makes me want to read more of Weldon's ouevre .