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A study of Jane Austen's life and writings, this work surveys two centuries of editing, censorship, and fiction that created a pious, wistful, romantically pining, and frustrated Austen. It serves up an antidote to that icon - a dynamic, brave, and buoyant writer - by examining subtle self-portraits in the author's works.
Searching for Jane Austen demolishes with wit and vivacity the often-held view of Jane, a decorous maiden aunt writing her small drawing-room stories of teas and balls. Emily Auerbach presents a different Jane Austen - a brilliant writer who, despite the obstacles facing women of her time, worked seriously on improving her craft and became one of the world's greatest novelists - a master of wit, irony, and character development. In this beautifully illustrated and lively work, Auerbach surveys two centuries of editing, censoring, and distorting Austen's life and writings. who get drunk, lie, steal, and throw rivals out of windows. Auerbach demonstrates that Austen constantly improved her skills by setting herself a new challenge in each of her novels. She considers Austen's final irreverent writings, discusses her tragic death at the age of forty-one, and ferrets out ridiculous modern adaptations and illustrations, including ads, cartoons, book jackets, newspaper articles, plays, and films from our own time.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is retold in this illustrated search and find book, perfect for introducing children to classic fiction and creating a keepsake title to treasure.
This exhilarating collection of essays is the product of a lifetime's engagement with Jane Austen's writing. They are modest, searching, wonderfully perceptive essays from which all lovers of Jane Austen, the most knowledgeable as well as those who have just discovered her, will have much to learn. They are essays that send us back to the novels with a renewed understanding of Jane Austen's extraordinary achievement. Prof. Richard Cronin, University of Glasgow This volume presents an exhilarating and insightful collection of essays on Jane Austen – distilling the author’s deep understanding and appreciation of Austen’s works across a lifetime. The volume is both intra- and inter-textual in focus, ranging from perceptive analysis of individual scenes to the exploration of motifs across Austen’s fiction. Full of astute connections, these lively discussions hinge on the study of human behaviour – from family relationships to sickness and hypochondria – highlighting Austen’s artful literary techniques and her powers of human observation. Jane Austen: Reflections of a Reader by (the late) Nora Bartlett is a brilliant contribution to the field of Jane Austen studies, both in its accessible style (which preserves the oral register of the original lectures), and in its foregrounding of the reader in a warm, compelling and incisive conversation about Austen’s works. As such, it will appeal widely to all lovers of Jane Austen, whether first-time readers, students or scholars.
Searching for Mr Tilney What secrets lie at the heart of Jane Austen's teenage journal? When Caroline Heath is taken to Bath in 1975, she little expects to find the gothic adventure she craves, let alone discover Jane Austen's secret teenage journal, or how it's possible to live in someone else's body. Yet, she's soon caught up in a whirlwind of fantastic events - travels through time, a love story or three, and even the odd sinister murder - or so she thinks. As the past and present entwine, Jane's journal reveals a coming of age tale, set against the scandalous backdrop of Knole Park in Kent, and the story behind an enigmatic portrait. In Bath, a Georgian townhouse acts as a portal in time, and Caroline finds herself becoming Cassandra Austen, a young woman making her debut in society, torn between family duty and the love of her life. As the riddles unfold, and the lines blur between illusion and reality, will Caroline find the happiness she seeks or will she indulge her wild imagination, threatening her future and a fairytale ending?
For fans of I Dissent and She Persisted -- and Jane Austen fans of all ages -- a picture book biography about the beloved and enduring writer and how she found her unique voice. Witty and mischievous Jane Austen grew up in a house overflowing with words. As a young girl, she delighted in making her family laugh with tales that poked fun at the popular novels of her time, stories that featured fragile ladies and ridiculous plots. Before long, Jane was writing her own stories-uproariously funny ones, using all the details of her life in a country village as inspiration. In times of joy, Jane's words burst from her pen. But after facing sorrow and loss, she wondered if she'd ever write again. Jane realized her writing would not be truly her own until she found her unique voice. She didn't know it then, but that voice would go on to capture readers' hearts and minds for generations to come.
When aspiring writer, Sophie Elliot, receives the keys to the family townhouse in Bath, it's an invitation she can't turn down, especially when she learns that she will be living next door to the house Jane Austen lived in. On discovering that an ancient glove belonging to her mysterious neighbour, Josh Strafford, will transport her back in time to Regency Bath, she questions her sanity, but Sophie is soon caught up in two dimensions, each reality as certain as the other. Torn between her life in the modern world, and that of her ancestor who befriends Jane Austen and her fascinating brother Charles, Sophie's story travels two hundred years across time, and back again, to unite this modern heroine with her own Captain Wentworth. Blending fact and fiction together, the tale of Jane Austen's own quest for happiness weaves alongside, creating a believable world of new possibilities for the inspiration behind the beloved novel, Persuasion.
Hardcore bibliography meets Antiques Roadshow in an illustrated exploration of the role that cheap reprints played in Jane Austen's literary celebrity—and in changing the larger book world itself. Gold Winner of the 2019 Foreword INDIES Award for History by FOREWORD Reviews In the nineteenth century, inexpensive editions of Jane Austen's novels targeted to Britain's working classes were sold at railway stations, traded for soap wrappers, and awarded as school prizes. At just pennies a copy, these reprints were some of the earliest mass-market paperbacks, with Austen's beloved stories squeezed into tight columns on thin, cheap paper. Few of these hard-lived bargain books survive, yet they made a substantial difference to Austen's early readership. These were the books bought and read by ordinary people. Packed with nearly 100 full-color photographs of dazzling, sometimes gaudy, sometimes tasteless covers, The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a unique history of these rare and forgotten Austen volumes. Such shoddy editions, Janine Barchas argues, were instrumental in bringing Austen's work and reputation before the general public. Only by examining them can we grasp the chaotic range of Austen's popular reach among working-class readers. Informed by the author's years of unconventional book hunting, The Lost Books of Jane Austen will surprise even the most ardent Janeite with glimpses of scruffy survivors that challenge the prevailing story of the author's steady and genteel rise. Thoroughly innovative and occasionally irreverent, this book will appeal in equal measure to book historians, Austen fans, and scholars of literary celebrity.
Immerse yourself in Jane Austen’s world with more than 50 themed word search puzzles based on famous scenes from the novels. Revisit your favorite passages from Jane Austen’s novels with more than 100 puzzles that include words drawn directly from the text. This expanded edition includes all of the puzzles from Jane Austen Word Search (2022), plus 57 more. Whether it’s a conversation between favorite characters or a description of an iconic setting, you’ll find yourself immersed in the world of Regency England as you complete these puzzles. Each puzzle features an extract of a memorable scene, with the search terms both highlighted within the extract and listed below the puzzle. Ideal for lovers of classical literature, this puzzle book makes for an enjoyable, relaxing activity whenever you want to daydream of the grand balls and tea parties of Austen’s world.
"History, romance, and even a little mystery all combined in one wonderful book." —Best Sellers World, Five Star Review Maggie went in search of a love story, but she never expected to find her own... Desperate to escape her life in a small Pennsylvania mining town, Maggie Joyce accepts a job in post-World War II London, hoping to find adventure. While touring Derbyshire, she stumbles upon the stately Montclair, rumored by locals to be the inspiration for Pemberley, the centerpiece of Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice. Determined to discover the truth behind the rumors, Maggie embarks on a journey through the letters and journals of Montclair's former owners, the Lacey family, searching for signs of Darcy and Elizabeth. But when the search introduces her to both a dashing American pilot and a handsome descendant of the "Darcy" line, Maggie must decide how her own love story will end. Perfect for fans of Death Comes to Pemberley. Praise for Searching for Pemberley: "A shining addition to the world of historical fiction."— Curled Up With A Good Book "A resounding success on all levels."— Roundtable Reviews "A precious jewel of a novel with a strong love story and page-turning mystery. Absorbing, amusing, and very cleverly written."— The Searcher
