Taking Liberties With Jane

The latest Jane Austen film to emerge from Hollywood is actually about the author herself – specifically, about her romance with law student Tom LeFroy and his effect on her literary passions. Austen scholars are not expected to be among the film’s fans. “It’s all very be-still-my-beating-heart.” It’s also all very speculative, which is a nice way of saying that it’s probably very untrue.