2/5:
I read this for a regency challenge, and found the writing to be not my type. Others will like it, however. I just feel like it's not something I would finish, or dedicate 7 hours to.

-Constant Reader

Sometimes I don't want to know who the authors are because I only want to know them through their fiction and not the non-fiction which is their lives. But these letters help you understand that Jane was alive and well despite her lack of a fortunate marriage.

These letters show that she was simply applying herself to her life not in an effort to prove or show anything - more for something to occupy her hours.

Not a bad way to spend your time - certainly beats youtube.

this was an incredible insight into Jane Austen's life and the life of those of that period. I find it amazing the letters have survived and am so thankful they have. I started it while reading another good book then couldn't put it down! A must for Jane Austen fans.

My heart went out to her.... Her voice is preserved in her letters. I missed her so much when it ended.

Thus concludes my deep dive into the works of Jane Austen! I've read all her own writing, about five biographies, multiple "fan fiction" novels inspired by Jane Austen or her characters, and, finally, this collection of her letters. 29 books in all (I think) over the last six months.

I LOVED getting to read more of Jane's writing and to see the famously-quoted passages in context. My book is peppered with smiley faces where she made me laugh out loud, and I keep obnoxiously quoting passages to family and friends. I wish Jane and I could be pen pals.

My only complaint is that the end notes should have been footnotes; going back and forth from beginning/middle to end of the book was mentally exhausting and physically taxing on my book: two pages came loose. :(

Would definitely recommend to nerdy Jane Austen fans!

Next to reading the novels over and over ad infinitem, the best thing I can think of to read is Jane Austen's letters. Ms. Le Faye does an outstanding job of collecting, describing, tracing provenance, and annotating the letters exactly to my taste. Reading them is like sitting down for a visit with the wittiest friend you never had.

It was wonderful to listen to these letters read aloud. Austen's letters published is almost like nowadays social media, a peek into someone else's life with real people whom one doesn't know. My ears loved her language.

A joy to read. It's like having afternoon tea with Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, or Marianne and Elinor Dashwood. All the tidbits of daily living, in such a neighbourhood as theirs, circa late 18th, early 19th Century. Nothing could satisfy more!

Letter writing seems to be a lost art. Jane Austen's letters are charming. She has a wonderful way of describing everyday events. Her wit is clearly visible. The letters touching of the deaths in the family are very toughing.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, I've set my mind to reading all of her surviving work. I've already read all her novels, of course, but have never read her letters. And I'm so glad I did: to read the shape of her daily life in her own words, coloured by her characteristic energy and humour was an absolute delight.

I am a JA addict. I read her books and letters over and over again. This time I am struck how kind and loving she was to her nieces, especially Fanny Knight, and what a backstabbing niece Fanny was much later in life toward her dead aunt.

Even in her letters Jane Austen is such a witty and soulful writer – if only more were left! And if only she had lived longer.