The Ambitions of Jane Franklin

Posted on 19 January 2017 by Alison Alexander

A genius at publicity before the term existed, Jane Franklin was a celebrity in the mid 19th century This is her remarkable life, including her extensive travels, her years in Tasmania as the governor s wife, and her very public battle to save husband, the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, from accusations of cannibalism. Free Read The Ambitions of Jane Franklin [ by ] Alison Alexander [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr I ve loved Alison s other Tasmanian history books but felt this one didn t quite work This is probably mostly reflective of Lady Franklin s success in editing her papers to leave the view of her history that she wanted to leav...You might not like Victorian Jane Franklin much after reading this biography but, my god, you can t but be impressed by her It is certainly an apt title, Lady Franklin was all about ambition and little else She was the wife of hapless Sir John Franklin who led the 1845 Arctic expedition, involving two ships and 129 men, in search of the final links of the Northwest Passage and not one of them made it home again Despite this, he was lauded for years as a hero thanks to his wife who assumed You might not like Victorian Jane Franklin much after reading this biography but, my god, you can t but be impressed by her It is certainly an apt title, Lady Franklin was all about ambition and little else She was the wife of hapless Sir John Franklin who led the 1845 Arctic expedition, involving two ships and 129 men, in search of the final links of the Northwest Passage and not one of them made it home again Despite this, he was lauded for years as a hero thanks to his wife who assumed full charge of his story She is probably the only woman who has ever commanded the British Royal Navy to send out search parties She even moved to be nearer HQ so that they were in easy reach She wanted to go looking for him too and had to be dissuaded from trekking through Arctic Canada in her 56th year As it is, Alexander reckons she was the most travelled woman in her time Possibly due to disappoint...Choosing a fascinating character is only half the success of a book Writing well in relationship both to that character and their world, and linking and making it relevant and approachable for those of another time and place is the real challenge of biography.While there are many aspects of Alison Alexander s biography of Lady Jane Franklin that seem to fit into one box or the other, unfortunately I feel she fails to bring the audience with her to enter Jane s world effectively Everything se Choosing a fascinating character is only half the success of a book Writing well in relationship both to that character and their world, and linking and making it relevant and approachable for those of another time and place is the real challenge of biography.While there are many aspects of Alison Alexander s biography of Lady Jane Franklin that seem to fit into one box or the other, unfortunately I feel she fails to bring the audience with her to enter Jane s world effectively Everything seems to be from a distant stance of the expectation that this forthright personality should be open to ready claim by feminism The fact that Jane Franklin herself rejecte...Reviewed by the Wise Women Book ClubRated 2 5We found the writing style of the Ambitions of Jane Franklin to be a little textbook It was rather dull, but the obvious research by the author was quite good.The plot of the book was that of a biography The Austen theme was great We especially appreciated the female dominated bo...I enjoyed reading this biography of Jane Franklin because in so many different ways, I felt this book clarified who Lady Franklin was through letters, careful research, and reconstruction of her life The book clearly describes her childhood, her early, rather adventurous and intrepid travels, her late in life marriage to Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, and, of most interest to me, her subsequent sojourn in Van Diemen s Land current Tasmania during his governorship there Despite the cons I enjoyed reading this biography of Jane Franklin because in so many different ways, I felt this book clarified who Lady Franklin was through letters, careful research, and reconstruction of her life The book clearly describes her childhood, her early, rather adventurous and intrepid travels, her late in life marriage to Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, and, of most interest to me, her subsequent sojourn in Van Diemen s Land current Tasmania during his governorship there Despite the considerable research that underpins this biography and a consistently even handed style, the book is quite readable and brings an accurate picture of Lady Franklin to life very effectively Through snippets from h...The Ambitions of Jane Franklin by Tasmanian historian Alison Alexander is a warts and all portrait of this remarkable woman, who at one time the 1850s was the most talked about person in England as she organised search after search for her husband Sir John Franklin, lost in his search for the North West Passage In this well researched biography the author paints a diverse picture of this woman, providing insights and rationales for her behaviour, invoking reactions from what a marvellous p The Ambitions of Jane Franklin by Tasmanian historian Alison Alexander is a warts and all portrait of this remarkable woman, who at one time the 1850s was the most talked about person in England as she organised search after search for her husband Sir John Franklin, lost in his search for the North West Passage In this well researched biography the author paints a diverse picture of this woman, providing insights and ratio...I wanted to love this book But I had to force myself to keep reading at many points There were a number of places where I needed to read the sentence a couple of times to understand the gist which is annoying There were some ideas that weren t explored ...Well written and easy to read biography on a fascinating lady, her life, times and achievements.Alexander covers some complex parts of history and describes them simply concisely, and accurately A great tale showing life in England and Van Diemen s Lands especially in the 1830s to 1850s.The book was a reasonable read Though it was not too different from the other book about her I read.A meticulous, well organised biography of Jane Franklin, the wife of the Governor of Tasmania from 1837 to 1844.

19 January 2017

Alison Alexander