Since 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, I’ve been reading a lot of Austen-related books this year, and I’m so glad I was lucky enough to receive this ARC of Jane Austen: The Original Romance Novelist.

This pocket portrait is a lovely blend of biography and literary appreciation, highlighting not only the Regency-era world Austen lived in but also the timelessness of her novels. I especially enjoyed how the book balanced excerpts from her works with thoughtful insights into her social commentary and lasting influence on modern culture.

It’s concise, engaging, and beautifully curated, perfect for longtime fans and newcomers alike. A wonderful tribute in a landmark Austen year.

I loved the biography in vignette form. The writing has a sense of humor that's also characteristic of Jane Austen. The interweaving of Jane's life and her work is very well done. I recommend it!

Wonderful, well-written and well-researched book absolutely bursting with information. The vignettes provide perfect bite-size pieces of Jane Austen's story, but the author cleverly weaves in elements of the novels and the adaptations and connections to interesting social history to create more texture. Both structure and style are engaging, and each time I dipped in, I left with a list of things to research. I'm a lifelong Austen fan, and there was plenty of new-to-me information in this book. It's a real gem that I'd recommend any Austen lover add to their collection in this special anniversary year.

"Take a trip back in time to the Regency-era life of Jane Austen, one of literature's most beloved novelists, with this captivating exploration of her works and the timeless themes of romance, family, and society.

Pocket Portraits: Jane Austen takes you through the moments of Jane Austen's life - some well-known and some which may be unexpected. These are the moments that shaped her six published novels, which draw deeply on themes of family, agency, philosophy, and love. From excerpts of her swoon-worthy tales like Pride and Prejudice and Emma to insight into Austen's social commentary and why her works still leave their mark on contemporary pop culture, this book paints a vivid portrait of the complicated woman behind the quill.

This beautifully curated book is both an inspiring biography and a celebration of literary brilliance. Whether you're a longtime admirer of Austen or just beginning your literary adventure, Pocket Portraits: Jane Austen will leave you fascinated, inspired, and longing for more."

Damn, I'm always longing for more Austen. Time for another re-read.

It's really interesting learning about Jane's life before she became the famous author we all know about today. The way this book is formatted makes it very easy to digest in chunks, and I like the inserts from her writing that are included between each two page section.

How could I not love a book about Jane Austen? I grew up fascinated by the Regency era and cherished every Jane Austen novel I could find. "Jane Austen" provides an in-depth look at her family history and upbringing, exploring what inspired her most famous literary works as well as some of her lesser-known pieces. I enjoyed learning about her family's unwavering support for her craft, her cheeky sense of humor and sarcasm, and her passion for romance.

I would like to thank @NetGalley and @AdamsMedia for providing me with the advanced copy of “Jane Austen” in exchange for an honest review.

Information is accurate and it's well written. However, if You know Austen there's nothing new in this book. If You don't, them it's ok

Thanks to Adams Media and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

This was an easy to read, enjoyable, and informative look at Jane Austen’s life and her books. The short chapters are easily consumable and fun to read. I found out a surprising amount of things I hadn’t known before!

The examination of her works isn’t intensive, but it’s perfect for both those who have and who haven’t read all her books. Though I think I’d quibble about calling Mr Darcy the original alpha male 😂

Overall I’d recommend for any Janeite!

A delightful quick read with fascinating snippets of Jane Austen's life. Beautifully illustrated. A perfect gift for any Austen fan.

A great read for any fan of Jane Austin. I really enjoyed learning about her life and the inclusion of her book snippets. The more you know sections were very interesting too!

This is a perfectly delightful read for the newest and most devoted Janeites alike. I love the format of bite-sized portraits that make learning about Jane Austen's life less intimidating than picking up, for instance, Claire Tomalin's behemoth of a biography (which is also fantastic, just different!) I got through the entire book in under two hours and found it very easy-to-read. The author does an excellent job of tying Austen's life, writings, and legacy to both the historical and cultural context of Regency England and more contemporary phenomena. The 100 "pocket portraits" cover family histories, the varied season of Austen's life/career, and her continuing legacy in modern-day film adaptations and similar stories such as Bridgerton. The sections of blue text at the end of each portrait - "the more you know" and "literary connections" - greatly enhance the work by providing relevant and fascinating trivia that I, as a Austen afficionado and knowledge collector, crave. Excerpts from Austen's writings and other featured texts augment the work as well.

I personally think some of the portraits - especially those with more modern ties/interpretations - were stretched a little too far out of context...though that's purely based on my own subjective views.

Overall, this was a charming, well-researched little book. A perfect gift for anyone even minutely interested in Jane Austen.

Absolutely love the idea of the book, it was obviously well researched and the author goes into a lot of detail. I think it would read well as a resource book rather than one to read quickly. I think it would be nice to dip in and out, as chapter is very short, just two pages. It includes some history of the time to help you put the books into context, handy if you’re like me and struggle with history. I enjoyed the pretty illustrations and the extra info written in blue was a nice touch. The added excerpts were also very welcome. I think this would be an excellent Christmas present for a Jane Austen fan or someone who is interested in history from that time. Lots of excerpts from letters are also included and really bring the author to life. As well as details of Jane Austen’s life the author brings in more modern stories that she has inspired which was interesting.
I absolutely loved the addition of Anne Lister to this book and for me this showed how much research and thought has gone into the book, managing to make a book about Jane Austen as diverse as this is really makes it 5 stars for me. It’s not just a cut and paste of Jane’s life which you can find in lots of other books, rather it’s the authors own personal research and thoughts. The extra resources at the end were a very helpful additional reading and listening resources.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for my consideration this is all my own rambling, honest and personal opinions. I read an uncorrected proof and I hope they don’t change anything, other than remove the red writing telling me it was an uncorrected proof!

As a die hard Jane Austen fan, you can never go wrong with a good Jane Austen biopic. As a cute little pocket book, this one tells various stories throughout Jane's life, with lovely imagry and cursive style close ot Jane's own script. The book flips between letters and a third party statement of facts, keeping the reader enaged with Jane's story. A must read for any Jane Austen fan.