Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper by Manuela Santoni - ADVISABLE

Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper by Manuela Santoni, 95 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Graphic Universe (Lerner), 2016. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is the story of Jane Austen’s family dynamics, the discovery of her writing talents, and her romantic experiences. This graphic novel hinges on the axis of her relationship with Mr. Lefroy, who enters Jane’s life as an arrogant character. Jane falls in love with him, and he her. When he leaves town, they continue corresponding and get engaged, but when Jane visits him after their time apart she realizes she does not love him anymore. This relationship is suggested to inform much of her writing. 

I want to love anything that even mentions Jane Austen, but this was only okay for me. I thought the lack of color, all the illustrations are black and white, was a little monotonous and boring given the high emotions of the story. It is interesting to learn about Jane’s romantic adventures, but I think the only audience that will enjoy that are those who have read Jane Austen previously. So, while the writing is appropriate for elementary aged readers, not many of them have read Austen’s work and will likely have no interest in this story.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher