Product: Becoming Jane [Blu-ray] (2007)
Rating: 5.0
Excellent surmise
It is one of the great ironies of lterary history that Mr. LeFroy outlived Jane Austen by 52 years. Was Jane the love of his life? While we have reason to think that her had fond memories we have no evidence for anything more. Actually all that we know is that there was a romance- and that Jane's family put a stop to it. Or rather that someone did. We know so little of her life because Jane was not the most successful member of her family- that distinction belongs to her older brother Frances Austen, who rose to become the highest ranking officer in the Royal Navy at a time when the Royal navy ruled the waves. As one of the most powerful and influential men in the British Empire Sir Frances could and evidently did severly curtail the information we have about Jane. The truth is that there are huge gaps in what we know and this means that one is very free to speculate. And both the book and the movie make very free use of that license. Which means that the story can be a great deal more entertaining than might otherwise have been the case.