Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Real Jane Austen:
1. Paula Byrne's use of material objects to limn Jane Austen's life is considered an innovative approach to biographical writing. Does it work? Did the book engage you? Is her discussion of the various objects and their influcence in Austen's writings persuasive?
2. What conventional views of Jane Austen does Byrne reject in writing her biography. How does her portrayal of Austen differ from, say, her brother's?
3. How much did you know about Austen's life before you read Byrne's book? What new insights have you gained into the author...and, most especially, into her novels? Is there anything that surprises you as a result of Byrne's biography?
4. After reading The Real Jane Austen, how would you define Austen?
5. Talk about Austen's attitudes toward marriage and children. What were her views on slavery?
6. Which essays, detailing which objects in particular—e.g., the East Indian shawl, ivory miniature, or velvet cushions—do you find most enlightening and or persuasive?
7. Do you find any parts of Byrne's book stretched a bit thin...or lacking in persuasiveness...or bogged down in minutiae?
8. Which is your favorite Austen novel (if you have a "favorite")? What insights have you gained into that work after reading Paula Byrne's biography?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)