Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels, Three Notebooks, a Writing Box, and One Clever Girl

K-Gr 2—Born at the turn of the 19th century, Jane Austen is now considered one of the world's greatest writers, but she grew up simply. In a house filled with boys and books, she was encouraged in her writing by her father who ran a boarding school. Hopkinson begins her appealing introduction to this beloved writer using a familiar Austen phrase "It is a truth universally acknowledged…" Most of Hopkinson's short, straightforward text focuses on the writer's childhood: her shy habit of observation; family life with her sister and many brothers; her enjoyment of family theatrical productions, reading, and writing; and her father's support. The final pages introduce her adult work, her new way of storytelling: "to hold up a mirror to the ordinary world so readers could recognize (and laugh at) themselves." Hopkinson makes clear the different expectations for men and women at the time, and points out that the four novels published in Austen's lifetime were credited to an unnamed "lady." Gentle ink and watercolor illustrations perfectly reflect the tone and understated humor of Austen's writing. Ranging from vignettes to spreads, Leng's art will help readers picture the time and place while focusing on domestic interiors, happy family occasions, and Austen at work. The back matter includes a time line and description of six novels.