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Introduction
James Austen-Leigh has been describing the accomplishments of his aunt, the novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817). She was fluent in French, he tells us, and a decent pianist with a pleasant singing voice; she was much addicted to the novels of Samuel Richardson and the poetry of George Crabbe, and well-read in English history too.
IT was not, however, what she knew, but what she was, that distinguished her from others. I cannot better describe the fascination which she exercised over children than by quoting the words of two of her nieces.
One says:
“As a very little girl I was always creeping up to aunt Jane, and following her whenever I could, in the house and out of it. I might not have remembered this but for the recollection of my mother’s telling me privately, that I must not be troublesome to my aunt. Her first charm to children was great sweetness of manner. She seemed to love you, and you loved her in return. This, as well as I can now recollect, was what I felt in my early days, before I was old enough to be amused by her cleverness. But soon came the delight of her playful talk. She could make everything amusing to a child.
Précis
Drawing on the recollections of his cousins, James Edward Austen-Leigh tells us that what made his aunt Jane, the celebrated novelist Jane Austen, so beloved among his family was not any conventional accomplishments of mind, but her gentle temper and above all her way with children, putting them at ease and improvising enthralling tales for them. (56 / 60 words)
Drawing on the recollections of his cousins, James Edward Austen-Leigh tells us that what made his aunt Jane, the celebrated novelist Jane Austen, so beloved among his family was not any conventional accomplishments of mind, but her gentle temper and above all her way with children, putting them at ease and improvising enthralling tales for them.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, may, must, or, otherwise, since, whether, who.
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