THE REAL JANE AUSTEN: A Life in Small Things, by Paula Byrne. Harper, 2013, 400 pp., $29.99 (hardcover)
Jane Austen may be too likable or lovable for her own good. "Pride and Prejudice," which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, was recently elected the U.K.'s favorite novel, and Austen herself is in danger of becoming everyone's favorite maiden aunt — witty, wise and benign despite her emotional disappointments and the restrictions of her life.
Her books, however, aren't frothy, frilly romantic comedies. With startling honesty they examine the friction between individuals and society, as well as exposing the secret collusion between love and property, and their ironic humor is often a reflex of despair. The first short chapter of "Pride and Prejudice" begins with a grand generalization about the sexual allure of money and ends with an aphoristic character assassination that is hilarious because of its savagery.