Jane Austen and the Theatre

Rating:
Summary: Greatly enhanced my appreciation of Jane Austen's novels.
Review: In 2002, two books were published with the titles of "Jane Austen and the Theater", one by Paula Byrne and the other by Penny Gay. As an avid reader of Jane Austen's novels, I was curious and read them both. Both books were good but for the casual reader like myself, I found Paula Byrne's the most enlightning and educational.

The first part of the book covers Jane Austen's life and her interest in the theater. This part of the book also educates the casual reader about dramatic technics such as dramatic presentation and dramatic dialogue.

The second part of the book shows how Jane used her knowledge and experience of the theater in her novels. In this part of the book she shows how Jane used theatrical motifs, especially comedic satir. Finally, I think Paula Byrne has given us some insight into where Jane got some of her ideas for her characters and stories.