REVIEW: The Daily Jane Austen: A Year of Quotes by Devoney Looser

Review by Christina Boyd

Before I even power up, I read a quote from Austen scholar Devoney Looser’s The Daily Jane Austen: A Year of Quotes. For example, yesterday I gleaned a nugget from a letter to Austen’s niece Fanny Knight about marrying without affection. Perfect—given I was earlier relating a scene from current project with similar advice, and it was a nice “serendipitous” moment that often happens in life when we come across an Austen quote that hits a chord in our daily routine. Quick, little excerpts from personal letters, lines from all her novels, or juvenilia make a lovely way to start the day.

Dr. Looser’s thought-provoking foreword that begins dissecting arguably Austen’s most recognized line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged...” and then makes the connection all the ways writers, filmmakers, social media, consumers, and merchandisers repeat, repurpose, and mass produce her words—over the last two hundred years. Thoughtfully curated by Dr. Looser, each month begins from favorite scenes from The Six, excepting Mansfield Park—the majority from best beloved Pride & Prejudice.

This is a must for any Janeite’s desk, bedside table, kitchen counter...or wherever you start your day.