Jane Austen's Bookshelf
A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend
Rebecca Romney
- From
- rare
- book
- dealer
- and
- guest
- star
- of
- the
- hit
- show
- Pawn
- Stars,
- a
- page-turning
- literary
- adventure
- that
- introduces
- readers
- to
- the
- women
- writers
- who
- inspired
- Jane
- Austen—and
- investigates
- why
- their
- books
- have
- disappeared
- from
- our
- shelves.Long
- before
- she
- was
- a
- rare
- book
- dealer,
- Rebecca
- Romney
- was
- a
- devoted
- reader
- of
- Jane
- Austen.
- She
- loved
- that
- Austen’s
- books
- took
- the
- lives
- of
- women
- seriously,
- explored
- relationships
- with
- wit
- and
- confidence,
- and
- always,
- allowed
- for
- the
- possibility
- of
- a
- happy
- ending.
- She
- read
- and
- reread
- them,
- often
- wishing
- Austen
- wrote
- just
- one
- more.But
- Austen
- wasn’t
- a
- lone
- genius.
- She
- wrote
- at
- a
- time
- of
- great
- experimentation
- for
- women
- writers—and
- clues
- about
- those
- women,
- and
- the
- exceptional
- books
- they
- wrote,
- are
- sprinkled
- like
- breadcrumbs
- throughout
- Austen’s
- work.
- Every
- character
- in
- Northanger
- Abbey
- who
- isn’t
- a
- boor
- sings
- the
- praises
- of
- Ann
- Radcliffe.
- The
- play
- that
- causes
- such
- a
- stir
- in
- Mansfield
- Park
- is
- a
- real
- one
- by
- the
- playwright
- Elizabeth
- Inchbald.
- In
- fact,
- the
- phrase
- “pride
- and
- prejudice”
- came
- from
- Frances
- Burney’s
- second
- novel
- Cecilia.
- The
- women
- that
- populated
- Jane
- Austen’s
- bookshelf
- profoundly
- influenced
- her
- work;
- Austen
- looked
- up
- to
- them,
- passionately
- discussed
- their
- books
- with
- her
- friends,
- and
- used
- an
- appreciation
- of
- their
- books
- as
- a
- litmus
- test
- for
- whether
- someone
- had
- good
- taste.
- So
- where
- had
- these
- women
- gone?
- Why
- hadn’t
- Romney—despite
- her
- training—ever
- read
- them?
- Or,
- in
- some
- cases,
- even
- heard
- of
- them?
- And
- why
- were
- they
- no
- longer
- embraced
- as
- part
- of
- the
- wider
- literary
- canon?Jane
- Austen’s
- Bookshelf
- investigates
- the
- disappearance
- of
- Austen’s
- heroes—women
- writers
- who
- were
- erased
- from
- the
- Western
- canon—to
- reveal
- who
- they
- were,
- what
- they
- meant
- to
- Austen,
- and
- how
- they
- were
- forgotten.
- Each
- chapter
- profiles
- a
- different
- writer
- including
- Frances
- Burney,
- Ann
- Radcliffe,
- Charlotte
- Lennox,
- Charlotte
- Smith,
- Hannah
- More,
- Elizabeth
- Inchbald,
- Hester
- Lynch
- Thrale
- Piozzi,
- and
- Maria
- Edgeworth—and
- recounts
- Romney’s
- experience
- reading
- them,
- finding
- rare
- copies
- of
- their
- works,
- and
- drawing
- on
- connections
- between
- their
- words
- and
- Austen’s.
- Romney
- collects
- the
- once-famed
- works
- of
- these
- forgotten
- writers,
- physically
- recreating
- Austen’s
- bookshelf
- and
- making
- a
- convincing
- case
- for
- why
- these
- books
- should
- be
- placed
- back
- on
- the
- to-be-read
- pile
- of
- all
- book
- lovers
- today.
- Jane
- Austen’s
- Bookshelf
- will
- encourage
- you
- to
- look
- beyond
- assigned
- reading
- lists,
- question
- who
- decides
- what
- belongs
- there,
- and
- build
- your
- very
- own
- collection
- of
- favorite novels.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
