The Realness of Jane Austen: Finding Jane in Small Moments
Focusing on the book:
The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne
Presentation Leader: Malcolm Fredeking
by Vonnie Alto, Regional Coordinator & Karen Kinzey, Secretary
Our region met at the Hillsboro Public Library where we held a book sale, recapped the AGM, and determined our 2025 programs. Lifetime member Joann Graham served as our hostess.
Malcolm Fredeking, a retired high school English teacher and an independent scholar, presented on “The Realness of Jane Austen: Finding Jane in Small Moments” with a focus on the book, The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne.
Malcolm was initially drawn to Jane Austen after viewing the 1980 production of Pride and Prejudice and realized he was mining a serious craftsman.
He synthesized his research by stating that Austen's realness is found in her letters revealing her wit, brilliance, and sharpness. In her fiction, she focused on real heroines who made their own mistakes and learned from it.
Malcolm noted that Austen’s writings highlights the quiet, intimate moments of daily life and compared the scenes in her novels to a Vermeer painting. She wants to grab the moment which is why Austen is around today and why her characters fascinate us.
We don't know for sure how Austen wrote. Maybe her portable writing desk wasn't with her all the time. She may have preferred a table or a stand. It's interesting that her sister, Cassandra never said when and how Austen used the desk. We know that Jane took the portable writing desk with her when she traveled but who knows how often she used it as the desk was big and heavy. Did she take it with her when she traveled? Did she actually use it? We don't really know what actually happened. We do know that Austen needed a quiet place like Steventon to write.
Malcolm referenced famous writers who were influenced by Austen’s realness (such as Virginia Woolf who was inspired by Austen to create a room of her own) and biographers who explored the real world of her life and writings.
However, not much really is known about Austen which leaves us all to speculate, who was she really? What is it about her life that we want to know?
Insightfully, Austen's world can be brought to life through small moments and objects.
The rediscovery of Jane Austen continues with biographers who explore her realness such as Carol Shields in Jane Austen (Penguin Lives edition) who noted that Jane gave us the real world and reinvented the structure of the modern novel. She made it new and clean.
Paula Byrne in The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things acknowledges the quiet, intimate moments of Jane as revealed in the vellum notebooks, her library subscriptions, and her portable writing desk which influenced Austen's writings, impacted her life, and are key to understanding her realness and evolution as a writer.
Although Malcolm disagreed with Bryne's statement that Austen required no teacher, he agreed with Byrne's observation that part of Austen's genius is her command of language. Language intrigued Austen as it does for all writers. We get a sense that she loved language, loved to play with words, even giggle and have fun in her letters to Cassandra.
Although not a deep book, Malcolm noted that the author enjoys examining objects which became a very personal read for Malcolm, especially the three chapters he addressed. Malcolm focused on Chapter 3: “The Vellum Notebooks,” Chapter 4: “The Subscription List,” and Chapter 16: “The Laptop Portable Writing Desk,” as these chapters resonates with his perspective as an educator.
Malcolm explored the influence of the vellum notebooks (Chapter 3) on Jane's evolving writing style which reveal Austen's unrestrained voice since they were not written for public consumption and often include sharp observations of various people's character and foibles.
What would Malcolm say to Austen if he could meet her? It's OK to have scenes with two male characters, something that is missing in her novels.
While most of the novels that Austen read were borrowed from a library, we don't know who all influenced her writing. We don't know everything she read and who affected her the most. We just don't know. In chapter 4 ("The Subscription List"), Malcolm observed that Byrne successfully examined which authors Austen was exposed to, but may have overestimated Frances Burney's influence and that of other female authors on Austen's writing as we can’t fully know all of Austen’s influences or who affected her the most. However, he praised Byrne's conclusions on Austen's development of a new type of female protagonist which changed the art form of the novel as a genre.
In Malcolm's discussion of Chapter 16 ("The Laptop Portable Writing Desk"), he emphasized the significance of Mr. Austen's purchase of a writing desk for his daughter which was an extravagant gift. The desk represented not only a substantial financial investment but also his strong encouragement of Jane's writing and her literary aspirations. However, Malcolm noted that Byrne did not fully explore how the desk "influenced" or "inspired" Austen's creativity and writing.
Malcolm notes that Jane's father could have discouraged her from writing but instead gave her the green light to write because writing is how kids learn. Therefore, the writing desk represents a green light from her father to go for it.
Austen wrote unrestrained. By age 10-11, Austen was seriously writing as evidenced by her Juvenilia. Malcolm noted that we see her as a thinker who had fun writing. By age 17, Austen was writing Lady Susan, which is very sophisticated writing for a 17-19 year old girl.
Malcolm added that Jane understood the world around her in part from her upbringing as she was surrounded by 5 brothers and the many schoolboys that her father tutored who lived at the rectory as boarders. It gave her a wider sensibility. She heard the jokes and saw how others behaved so she was not shocked by anything which is why she's not surprised by the behavior of Wickham or Mr. Collins.
As a result, Austen's fictional world resonates as real because of Austen's experience with small ordinary moments and the objects she utilized.
Thank you Malcolm for an intriguing presentation! Your insight raises questions in our minds leaving us to ponder Austen's realness--the small moments and objects that define her work and demonstrate her excellence as a writer.
Focusing on the book:
The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne
Presentation Leader: Malcolm Fredeking
by Vonnie Alto, Regional Coordinator & Karen Kinzey, Secretary
Our region met at the Hillsboro Public Library where we held a book sale, recapped the AGM, and determined our 2025 programs. Lifetime member Joann Graham served as our hostess.
Malcolm Fredeking, a retired high school English teacher and an independent scholar, presented on “The Realness of Jane Austen: Finding Jane in Small Moments” with a focus on the book, The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne.
Malcolm was initially drawn to Jane Austen after viewing the 1980 production of Pride and Prejudice and realized he was mining a serious craftsman.
He synthesized his research by stating that Austen's realness is found in her letters revealing her wit, brilliance, and sharpness. In her fiction, she focused on real heroines who made their own mistakes and learned from it.
Malcolm noted that Austen’s writings highlights the quiet, intimate moments of daily life and compared the scenes in her novels to a Vermeer painting. She wants to grab the moment which is why Austen is around today and why her characters fascinate us.
We don't know for sure how Austen wrote. Maybe her portable writing desk wasn't with her all the time. She may have preferred a table or a stand. It's interesting that her sister, Cassandra never said when and how Austen used the desk. We know that Jane took the portable writing desk with her when she traveled but who knows how often she used it as the desk was big and heavy. Did she take it with her when she traveled? Did she actually use it? We don't really know what actually happened. We do know that Austen needed a quiet place like Steventon to write.
Malcolm referenced famous writers who were influenced by Austen’s realness (such as Virginia Woolf who was inspired by Austen to create a room of her own) and biographers who explored the real world of her life and writings.
However, not much really is known about Austen which leaves us all to speculate, who was she really? What is it about her life that we want to know?
Insightfully, Austen's world can be brought to life through small moments and objects.
The rediscovery of Jane Austen continues with biographers who explore her realness such as Carol Shields in Jane Austen (Penguin Lives edition) who noted that Jane gave us the real world and reinvented the structure of the modern novel. She made it new and clean.
Paula Byrne in The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things acknowledges the quiet, intimate moments of Jane as revealed in the vellum notebooks, her library subscriptions, and her portable writing desk which influenced Austen's writings, impacted her life, and are key to understanding her realness and evolution as a writer.
Although Malcolm disagreed with Bryne's statement that Austen required no teacher, he agreed with Byrne's observation that part of Austen's genius is her command of language. Language intrigued Austen as it does for all writers. We get a sense that she loved language, loved to play with words, even giggle and have fun in her letters to Cassandra.
Although not a deep book, Malcolm noted that the author enjoys examining objects which became a very personal read for Malcolm, especially the three chapters he addressed. Malcolm focused on Chapter 3: “The Vellum Notebooks,” Chapter 4: “The Subscription List,” and Chapter 16: “The Laptop Portable Writing Desk,” as these chapters resonates with his perspective as an educator.
Malcolm explored the influence of the vellum notebooks (Chapter 3) on Jane's evolving writing style which reveal Austen's unrestrained voice since they were not written for public consumption and often include sharp observations of various people's character and foibles.
What would Malcolm say to Austen if he could meet her? It's OK to have scenes with two male characters, something that is missing in her novels.
While most of the novels that Austen read were borrowed from a library, we don't know who all influenced her writing. We don't know everything she read and who affected her the most. We just don't know. In chapter 4 ("The Subscription List"), Malcolm observed that Byrne successfully examined which authors Austen was exposed to, but may have overestimated Frances Burney's influence and that of other female authors on Austen's writing as we can’t fully know all of Austen’s influences or who affected her the most. However, he praised Byrne's conclusions on Austen's development of a new type of female protagonist which changed the art form of the novel as a genre.
In Malcolm's discussion of Chapter 16 ("The Laptop Portable Writing Desk"), he emphasized the significance of Mr. Austen's purchase of a writing desk for his daughter which was an extravagant gift. The desk represented not only a substantial financial investment but also his strong encouragement of Jane's writing and her literary aspirations. However, Malcolm noted that Byrne did not fully explore how the desk "influenced" or "inspired" Austen's creativity and writing.
Malcolm notes that Jane's father could have discouraged her from writing but instead gave her the green light to write because writing is how kids learn. Therefore, the writing desk represents a green light from her father to go for it.
Austen wrote unrestrained. By age 10-11, Austen was seriously writing as evidenced by her Juvenilia. Malcolm noted that we see her as a thinker who had fun writing. By age 17, Austen was writing Lady Susan, which is very sophisticated writing for a 17-19 year old girl.
Malcolm added that Jane understood the world around her in part from her upbringing as she was surrounded by 5 brothers and the many schoolboys that her father tutored who lived at the rectory as boarders. It gave her a wider sensibility. She heard the jokes and saw how others behaved so she was not shocked by anything which is why she's not surprised by the behavior of Wickham or Mr. Collins.
As a result, Austen's fictional world resonates as real because of Austen's experience with small ordinary moments and the objects she utilized.
Thank you Malcolm for an intriguing presentation! Your insight raises questions in our minds leaving us to ponder Austen's realness--the small moments and objects that define her work and demonstrate her excellence as a writer.