Becoming Jane

Blurb

Becoming Jane Austen was researched and written by the Jane Austen scholar Jon Hunter Spence.
Becoming Jane Austen was first published in hardcover by Hambledon Continuum in 2003. It chronicles the early life of Jane Austen, the encounters and the developing relationship between Austen and Tom Lefroy, based on letters sent by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra. The book was used as the basis for the film Becoming Jane, which was released in January 2007. Jon Spence was a historical consultant for the film.
A review of the book by the Jane Austen Society of North America states that, "Jon Spence’s Becoming Jane Austen is one of the best half-dozen books published on Austen in the last quarter century, at least. It is a remarkably learned book written in a remarkably lucid style and a joy to read. The research is so substantial, wide-ranging, and detailed that any conjecture Spence builds on it has the feel of bedrock itself. His interpretation of Jane Austen’s character and personality as well as of her fiction impresses the reader with his long and intimate acquaintance with the writer and her works."
A paperback edition of the book was published by Continuum on 14 June 2007