Jane and Dorothy: A True Tale of Sense and Sensibility; The Lives of Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth

Veevers (Bellfield Hall) writes an intelligent and sometimes searing portrait of two pivotal women in English literature, near contemporaries Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth. The book focuses on how their spinster status impacted their creative lives at a time of limited options for women. Austen’s writing slowed for years as her dependent status forced her to move against her will, first to Bath, then to wander unsettled with her mother and sister Cassandra until the offer of her brother’s cottage as a place to live saved the day. Wordsworth likewise depended on her famous brother and subordinated her own literary endeavors, including a travelogue of Scotland she’d hoped to publish, to William’s needs, copying his poems and providing emotional support. Luckily for Austen, she enjoyed a close relationship with Cassandra, who enabled her work; Wordsworth, however, often sacrificed her time and energy to William. Veevers’s writing flows effortlessly and sustains interest by moving back and forth between the two women. Most commendable is the way she depicts the insecure and sometimes demeaning reality of their lives—leaving readers to question what more these individuals might have produced in a society less weighted against them. [em](Apr.) [/em]