Loved this from A-Z look at Austen as she is one of my favorite authors. She's one of the first classics that I read and loved. I loved this look at her life.

Starting with a few key words, it was possible for me to dive back into the universe of Jane Austen's books and also to recall situations I had forgotten and to better understand a certain type of expectations and attitudes of the time.
For many anyway, but not for everyone, especially if you are not a lover of Victorian literature.

Partendo da alcune parole chiave, mi é stato possibile tornare ad immergermi nell'universo dei libri di Jane Austen e anche di ricordare situazioni che avevo dimenticato e di capire meglio un certo tipo di aspettative ed atteggiamenti del tempo.
Per molti comunque, ma non per tutti, specialmente se non siete amanti della letteratura vittoriana.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

For fans of Jane Austen this is fun and a chance to dive into Jane Austen’s world . Lots of information

I chose this as I really liked the initial idea. I like the bolded chosen words throughout, I will say the words chosen seemed pretty random and odd at first glance.
I was hoping it would be more fun and a lot less text, as each word has a kind of essay with it. I'm a Jane Austen fan and I thought this was going to be a fun little side book.

A really enjoyable and easy to follow look at Jane Austen, her life and works.

I always think when reading a book like this you could be overwhelmed with information and opinions but this was really well done. It took a lot of what is familiar and presented in a different way.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A good scholarly look at Austen’s work in a fun format. I enjoyed the connotations drawn between different works and Austen’s own life. Overall, a great gift for Austen lovers or a scholarly addition to one’s own collection.

Michael Greaney, An A-Z of Jane Austen, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic, for providing me with this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful read!

An A-Z of Jane Austen is informative, fun and captivating, delivering an accessible and thoughtful approach to some of Jane Austen’s ideas. It provides a fine starting off point to debate about the meaning of so many of the features that appear time and again in Austen’s novels, shorter works in the Juvenilia, Love and Freindship, letters and unfinished work. The book is arranged alphabetically, naming and developing one feature and referring to the works in which it appears. There is a brief analysis of the role, meaning and import of the feature. The wealth of examples raises questions, and sometimes answers, about the way in which Austen viewed seemingly simple aspects of her work. After all, what can a section on Horses tell us? And Risk? Kindness? Servant, Theatre, and Bath are familiar to Austen readers, along with Matchmaking and Visit. But X is for Xis? Z for ZigZag?

Acknowledgements begin the book, outlining the way in which it was developed from modules on Austen that Michael Greaney taught at Lancaster University. Credit is also given to his students. The explanatory notes and abbreviations are useful. The way in which the citations appear throughout the text in an unobtrusive manner, ensuring the reader knows immediately the Austen work from which the example is taken are ideal. The introduction explains the way in which the book is organised around keywords, including places, things, concepts, activities and practices, and categories of personhood. There is a short biography, including information about the writing and publication of Austen’s work. Greaney acknowledges that the words he has chosen for each letter are not definitive – others could as easily be chosen. If this book were to be used in a classroom study of Austen, what an innovative approach could be adopted if this idea were to be followed.

An A- Z of Jane Austen would be an excellent addition to any study of Austen, perhaps most importantly because it stimulates discussion and innovative approaches to her work. It also provides a template for developing studies about other writers and their writing. However, it would be a mistake to think this is its only use. The book is a delightful read for anyone interested in Austen, and further, in thinking about any literary work. I appreciated reading An A- Z of Austen as a person interested in analysing Austen’s writing, and as someone who just wants to read Austen and enjoy. To find serious analysis, wrapped in short fun segments is a pleasure. A pleasure that deserves to be shared. Michael Greaney has made this possible.

This was such a fun way of presenting some of the themes and ideas of Jane Austen!

I've read almost all of Austen's books, and there was still so much in this that I didn't know, both about her works and about her world. I also enjoyed how most sections contained examples from multiple Austen books. I'm used to thinking about her works individually, so it was interesting to think about the many similarities across the books.

Recommended for anyone who's a fan of Austen's works!

An A-Z of Jane Austen is a sort of small encyclopedia about the famous author. By using 26 keywords, Greaney explores a lot of topics which concern Austen's books but also what we know of her life from her memoirs, letters, and documents that her family kept.

As an English language and literature postgraduate and as an Austen fan, I couldn't miss such a book. I really like the cover, it conveys the aim of this book. Like I said, this is a sort of small encyclopedia about Austen and her most used topics, words and plots. It can function as a way to understand Austen's writing from a critical point of view, but it is also as a way to find more about Austen herself if one is just curious. I found the writing academic, but it can also appeal to a wider audience of people who just want to read more about the author because it isn't strictly academic.

This book is not divided into chapters but into letters, so the readers are free to wander and read from the letter they prefer. Every letter offers a critical analysis of the discourses of the topic given, and the author gives practical examples of situations, characters, and the words from the books to prove the main point/keyword. If a keyword/topic appears in another paragraph, it is in bold, which makes it easier for the reader to go to that other word to expand the insight into that topic.

The book has a nice structure, but I would have liked it more if the author had provided us with sub-paragraphs with subtitles. The writing flows well, but if the reader wanted to find a specific point (for example, a point where the author talks about a specific book/character), they would have to re-read the keyword paragraph or highlight it. I'm saying this mostly for the paperback edition of this book. Other than that, I find it a good analysis of Austen and her books, which are timeless.

Thank you Bloomsbury Academic and Netgalley for letting me read this title in advance. All opinions are my own.

Thanks Netgalley!
Pretty cool idea... I like the bolded words throughout, knowing that word is featured. The words chosen seemed pretty random and odd at first glance, but I like how each is developed.
I'm not a fan of nonfiction, but a huge fan of Austen and regency books, so I liked this. :)

I liked the cover of this book very much and thought it is a light book about the writings of Jane Austen. I was very pleasent surprised to find this as a very informative and very good researched book about Jane Austen and her works, whitch is perfect for all Jane Austen fans. In the light of this book all the Jane Austen books will shine brighter. Suddenly you'll see connections and patterns in her books that you haven't thought of. The author makes through the A-Z outline obiouves the connections between Jans Austen's books instead of going from book to book.
That was a delightful read and I learned a lot about Jane Austen's books. That is no easy read that'a why I would recommend this book to all those who love Jane Austen's books. The book itself would be a great addition to any Jane Austen bokkshelf.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Pros: This charming and informative book about Jane Austen and her works is a perfect addition to the library of all Jane-ites. This book is well-researched and references all of Austen's works, including those outside of her well-known novels. My favorite thing about this book is that it points out patterns and connections in Austen's writings that I have never noticed, e.g., how accidents, illnesses, and dances are often used as plot devices.

Cons: This is not a con but more of a note to readers--this book is more scholarly than I was expecting. Based on the cover art, I was expecting illustrations or a coffee table-type book. Again, I don't think this is a negative--I quickly adjusted expectations and very much enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the opportunity to read this book!

This book provides a unique look at both commonly occurring and somewhat overlooked concepts found throughout Jane Austen’s writings. The author, Michael Greaney, uses an A-Z outline rather than formatting the chapters by a specific work. Each letter covers one topic with multiple examples cited spanning the different works of Jane Austen.

While this is not the most comprehensive guide to Jane Austen, the arrangement makes it a helpful companion for research. The is a listing of “works cited” at the end of the book for further reading. The author has also included an index for easier use.

This volume would make a great addition to any classical literature library or the home library of any Jane Austen fans.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for my copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

As someone who has studied Austen on and off but consistently for the past decade or so, I was super excited to see this. Professionally and academically, one of my goals is to help make Austen more accessible and understandable for younger generations (especially here in the US where across the board, the K-12 education system has severely failed 20 and younger but that's a discussion for a different day) so when I came across "An A-Z of Jane Austen", I thought "Oh wow, this sounds awesome and seems simplistic enough to start an easy discussion about Austen!" I think I might have been wrong.

I think the cover, which is very cute and would look lovely on my bookshelf, kind of gives off that this is a basic surface level book about all things Austen. However, the actual material inside the cover is not basic or surface level. The book does open with an introduction from the author about how this was essentially a dissertation which at that point, I was very skeptical about the accessibility of this topic. As I read through, that skepticism was right; this is not a light and easy read but something more for the serious Austen academics. If I were somebody who was casually acquainted with Austen (whether that be through the TV and film adaptations or through her more widely read works), I think that I would feel very overwhelmed by the information in this. This book is great if you're a more serious academic and/or your studying Austen.

I wouldn't recommend this book if you're a casual reader, but if you're like me and love Austen, this book is heavenly!

With a name like A-Z of Jane Austen, I was expecting a lighter exploration of the Authors life and works. However, what I got was a work that comes across like someone's dissertation for their doctorate in Jane Austen. It is without a doubt an interesting read that is very well researched, however, it is neither a light nor a quick read. I would recommend this as reference material for anyone writing papers for college on Ms. Austen.

An A-Z of Jane Austen is a fascinating look into Jane Austen's themes of writing, from the way accidents are portrayed as life lessons to the way characters attempt to zigzag around their own social faults and embarrassments.

I have to admit that going into this book, I expected more bite-sized pieces of knowledge, framed by alphabetical tidbits. Instead, I got 26 well-crafted essays about topics woven into Jane Austen's works. One of my favorites was the J essay for Jane, it stood out to me and I could tell time had really been given to craft it and discuss Jane Austen's role in her own work. I could easily see this book being used in classrooms, from high school age to general college courses on literature. This is a great resource for Austen fans and academics, alike!

The cover is what drew me in, and I think the interior of this work would benefit from some light illustration. Even just to break up some of the longer essays, illustrations would help guide the reader along and pull this piece away from a standard textbook feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for providing me with a copy for an honest review!

A brilliant idea and fly by stop of Jane Austen’s most iconic reads. With Interconnected discussions of 26 keywords (an alphabet letter prompt for each word) providing a gloriously insightful and fresh perspective of this famous and well know stories.

They read like little mini essays on each word, focusing a dialogue around each prompt and incorporating the array of Austen’s work centred around the word representing a letter of the alphabet. From Accidents to Matchmaking to Horses to ZigZag, I loved how the author got inventive with the chosen words.

It provided a new and novel perspective for me to Austen’s books (even though I have yet to read them all. I’m currently at half of her works). Getting a glimpse into her potential thought processes, her experiences in life and what life was like in that era. I think the book would have benefited from a few illustrations though to break up the text, as it felt like a lot of heavy writing at times.

It’s certainly a must read for any literary fan and lover of Jane Austen’s books. It would be of great benefit too to any students of literatures or those doing their A-levels on such a topic.

Thank you to the author and publisher for this book via NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.

Using a lively A-Z structure, Greaney provides fresh angles on familiar Austen themes (D is for dance; M is for matchmaking), casts light on under-examined corners of her imagination (R is for risk; S is for serious), and shows how current social and cultural concerns are re-shaping our understanding of her work (Q is for queer; W is for West Indies). Through this approach, we learn how attention to the tiniest linguistic detail in Austen's work can yield rewarding new perspectives on the achievements of one of our most celebrated authors.

Sharply focused on textual detail but broad in scope it broaches questions that, like Austen's work, will intrigue, delight and inspire: Why are children so marginal in her storylines? Who is the best exponent of matchmaking in her fiction? Why are many of her female characters – but none of her heroines – called Jane? Providing a new close-up encounter with one of our most celebrated writers, this book invites a renewed appreciation of the infinite subtlety and endless re-readability of a body of writing in which every word counts.

“An A to Z of Jane Austen” by Michael Greaney is a truly delightful collection of essays that delve into the imagination of Classic novelist Jane Austen. I adore reading all classic novels but occasionally I find the language and intended meaning can be a little difficult to interpret. With authors from different centuries to our present one, it can be challenging to really get to know the author, like we can simply do today via an authors website. So it was very interesting to be able to discover things about Jane Austen that I previously didn’t know. Quirky things, that in hindsight, make so much sense! Anyone who has a love of classic literature will thoroughly enjoy this collection of essays. I would love to see the author apply this idea to many other authors of classic literature.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

First off I loved the cover so twee and very Austen

I liked this book and found out lots of information I did not know about Jane Austen. The layout of the A-Z was good, I liked how some of the sections were unexpected and bit quirky…not what you would you automatically think of when you first think of Jane Austen.

I found the extracts from Jane’s writing a nice touch, the made me want to reread the novels.

I found some odd sections drawn out and a bit boring but in main I liked the style of writing and the information that I already knew and that of what I did not kept me interested and wanting more.

I think this would be good book for someone coming Austen’s works for the first time, perhaps a teenager about start English Lit at award level,

Would have liked to see illustrations inside the book I feel that would have added something and made the basic pages match the interesting facts. Plus as the cover was so nice these little sketches would have fitted well.

All in all this is a book for both new and old fans of Austin full of facts and some lovely extracts from some of best novels ever written

A book all about Jane Austen, from A-Z we get an insightful look of Austen’s themes and fun little details and facts. This was honestly such a delightful read, you get to learn so much and discover more about Jane Austen’s world. Filled with linguistic detail and fun new perspectives and and insight, this book is the perfect book for fans of Jane Austen!

*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury Academic for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*