Although she was the author of twenty four very popular books and
numerous short stories, and a close friend of nineteenth century literary
persona such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May
Alcott, Jane Goodwin Austin (1831-1894) has been all but forgotten.
Inexplicitly, virtually no modern evaluation has been offered on either
her life or writing. Austin, kin to celebrated historians and
politicians, spent the majority of her adult life wintering in
fashionable Boston and summering in Plymouth. She resided in Concord for
approximately eight years while it was the cultural center of the
Northeast. Austin's books are not "classics" or "masterpieces," but they
are remarkable for their breadth (ranging from historical romances to
gothic adventures to realistic sketches to children's stories),
popularity (Standish of Standish) went through at least 28
editions and was made into a play in 1919), and historical and cultural
accuracy (Austin put extensive research into each of her books, whether
it dealt with Pilgrim Plymouth or her contemporary Beacon Hill, Boston).
Jane Austin's writings and her associations with some of the best known
literary figures of her time provide valuable insights into 19th century
America.
INTRO || BIOGRAPHY
|| WORKS || LITERARY
FRIENDSHIPS || BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES CONSULTED
|| JGA IN PERSPECTIVE: OUTSIDE LINKS ||
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Note: Jane Goodwin Austin is not the same as, nor does
she bear any relation to Jane Austen (the famous English author)
Copyright © 1996 Megan Fox. All rights reserved. Megan is a
graduate student at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and
Information Science. Most of the research on JGA was done while she was
a graduate student in Literature at Boston College. To see more about
her, go to Megan's Home Page
Revised 12/00
fox@simmons.edu
This page is http://web.simmons.edu/~fox/jga.html
The ideas presented here are in no way endorsed by Simmons College