Product Description
Now in Penguin Classics—a treasure trove of Jane Austen’s novels

Few novelists have conveyed the subtleties and nuances of their own social milieu with the wit and insight of Jane Austen. Here in one volume are her seven great novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride andPrejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. Through her vivacious and spirited heroines and their circle, Austen vividly portrays English middle-class life as the eighteenth century came to a close and the nineteenth century began. Each of the novels is a love story and a story about marriage—marriage for love, for financial security, for social status. But they are not romances; ironic, comic, and wise, they are masterly evocations of the society Jane Austen observed. This beautiful volume covers the literary career of one of England’s finest prose stylists of any century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Fast and excellent product
Book was sent in a timely fashion.It arrived promptly and was in great condition.

Love!
These stories are classic and great, so basicly they are classicly great! I love that they have combined them all into one large book, i thought it would intimidate me at first but you really just get sucked in to the jane austen world from the first page. And for me just reading one story at a time and then taking a break in between or reading another book really helped to keep it fresh and interesting everytime! They were so easy to read, and you just fall in love with the charecters. You will feel so compelled to read them over and over again!

Great novel set.
I never really got Jane Austen when I was young, but now find something new to reveal itself about her in all her heroines.Must read!

Lotta Jane!
I got this after seeing Jane Austen Book Club. Because of the size, I couldn't carry it too many places, but have enjoyed reading when I am in the mood for Jane! Great for my library!

A beautifully presented volume
Jane Austen is Jane Austen--no surprises here :)

What I do wish to say, is this: this is a beautifully bound and presented book.

It's a good quality paperback (nice thick cover), with beautiful rough-cut/uneven edges to the pages, and a very pretty cover, and it looks lovely on the shelf and in the hand. It opens beautifully (without the stiffness you sometimes find in very large books).

Although not overly bulky for such a large collection, it achieves this by having long pages with a lot of text. This is only my only reservation--and it's slight: if you have difficulty with very full/long pages, perhaps this edition is not for you. There is still enough space to leave it readable, but still, it's a consideration. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A Hard Read
Of all of the books by Jane Austen this was my least favorite.The central character is not likeable and you can't sympathasize with her.It is a long and tedious book and it was constantly set aside to read something else when a new book arrived.If you are truly a fan of the 18th century period writings yes go ahead and read it but Pride and Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Northlanger Abbey are far better reading.

one of Austen's better books
I've been a fan of Austen for 20 years and this is one of my favorites. It can appear to be a little stilted due to the time period it was written in, but the story is timeless and that's why movies keep getting made with it as a base story.

Interesting character study
Emma Woodhouse is priviledged.Very priviledged.She comes from the richest, most important family in her small town.Everyone looks up to her, including her indulgent governess and even more indulgent papa.The theme of her life, from the time she was small, has always been "Emma knows best". Emma takes this to heart when she takes an interest in young Harriet Smith, the beautiful, empty-headed daughter of, well, someone.The book follows Emma's misadventures as she tries to marry Harriet off to the local parson and meddles in the lives of her friends and neighbors, eventually learning that perhaps she doesn't always know best.

This is, I think, one of Jane Austen's less popular works, perhaps because there isn't a great deal of romance in it.It is, as I titled the review, more of a character study, as well as a study of society at that time.On first reading, I didn't care for the book or for Emma's self-centered goodness.After reading it again, I grew to enjoy the book as much if not more than her more popular works, like Pride and Prejudice.The wit is sharp as usual (and maybe slightly more ascerbic), and more thought seems to have been put into the secondary characters.Definitely worth a read.

Great
Wonderful! All the Austin books that I have read have been superb. She really draws you into the character's lives. The way she ties all the pieces together to end the story is interesting.

It's a classic.
The book has been around since the 1700's and is still loved.What else is there to say? ... Read more

Product Description
Why are we so fascinated with Jane Austen’s novels? Why is Austen so universally beloved? The essayists in this volume offer their thoughts on the delightful puzzle of Austen’s popularity. Classic and contemporary writers—novelists, essayists, journalists, scholars, and a filmmaker—discuss the tricks and treasures of Austen’s novels, from her witty dialogue, to the arc and sweep of her story lines, to her prescriptions for life and love.

Virginia Woolf examines Austen’s maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed had she lived another twenty years, while Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever. From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Amy Bloom, each writer reflects on Austen’s place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Something to Dip Into
This compilation of 33 authors' views of Jane Austen isn't something to simply sit down and plow through.It is better used as a dictionary of Jane Austen criticism.

Most of the names won't be immediately familiar, but there is work by Eudora Welty, E. M. Foster, C. S. Lewis, and Virginia Woolf.(I'm particularly grateful for the inclusion of the C. S. Lewis' essay.)

Overall, a good source of constructive thought concerning Jane Austen and her work.Not something to read at once, but certainly good for the occasional read.

How Do We Love Jane Austen?Let Us Count the Ways...
OVERVIEW:
A Truth Universally Acknowledged is a collection of essays from literary scholars, contemporary authors, literature professors, critics, novelists, playwrights, and academics, to name a few.Some of these writers are men and others are women, some are at the beginning of their career and others are at their apex, some lived during the nineteenth century while others are alive during the twenty-first century.In their individual essays each writer ponders, analyzes, evaluates, explains or enumerates the reasons why they read, reread, and admire the novels Jane Austen.Some do it very formally with a lot of academic jargon while others casually praise, celebrate, or defend their love for Jane Austen.The essays range from three pages to thirteen pages in length and cover all six of Jane Austen's major novels including several of her minor works as well.

MY READING EXPERIENCE:
I read this compilation over the span of three months, reading two to three essays a week.I decided to put a post-it on each essay's first page, so I could leave myself some notes reminding me the themes and topics addressed in each essay.In addition, I found it helpful to give each essay a rating on a scale of 1-5, 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest.Here is a breakdown for each rating: 5 stars (seven essays),4 stars (thirteen essays),3 stars (nine essays), and2 stars (four essays).
My average rating was: 3.69

MY ASSESSMENT:
Some of my favorite essays were ones that brought new understanding and insight to Jane Austen's novels.I greatly enjoyed C. S. Lewis's analysis and comparison of various Austen heroines, and how he illustrated the similarities in Catherine's, Marianne's, Elizabeth's, and Emma's periods of disillusionment and periods of awakening.In addition, I took pleasure in A. S. Byatt's and Ignès Sodré's conversation about Mansfield Park and family relationships.Moreover, I was delighted with Donald Greene's systematic rebuttal of Jane Austen's so-called "limitations."

However, there were some essays that weren't as enlightening and at times felt a little on the heavy and pedantic side.In addition, some writers seemed to focus a bit too much on themselves and not enough on Jane Austen.I was a little disappointed with one writer's narrow observation of Edmund and Fanny as odious prigs, and I didn't care for another writer's argument that Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland are incompatible and their future happiness improbable!

While some may grumble about some of the essays in here being old and outdated, I found that aspect pleasing and I am delighted to have all these essays conveniently located in one tome.However, I would have enjoyed a little bit more diversity amongst the writers, perhaps including writers from different cultures and countries would have added more variety.(Jane Austen is all over the globe!)Furthermore,some of the essays were a little too similar to each other and felt a bit too redundant.There seemed to be an abundance of essays on Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park, but not very much said about Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility.

CONCLUSION:
A Truth Universally Acknowledged is wonderful compilation that can be appreciated by die-hard Janeites and new Austen admirers alike.You don't have to be an Austen scholar to enjoy this novel!I recommend this anthology for any Jane Austen fan who is interested in delving into some critical or scholarly work.

Austenesque Reviews

Personal, academic, light, probing, insightful......
Why do readers like Jane Austen? Many reasons exist. Some readers are drawn to her focus on romance and courtship, others to her comedy or craft, or to her portrayal of the lost world of early 19th century England. Others like myself are especially appreciative of the values that imbue her writing, and how her characters develop through reflection, self-confrontation and commitment to their own principles, eventually earning the reward of their chosen partner.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged is a diverse collection of 33 essays about Jane Austen's novels, by writers of the past and present. Included are such notables as Eudora Welty, C.S. Lewis, Virginia Woolf and Jay McInerney, as well as such lesser-known authors as Rebecca Mead, Brian Southam and Susannah Todd. Many essays focus on specific novels. Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility receive the least attention, whereas Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Persuasion each merit half a dozen essays.

The tone and approach vary - scholarly, light, personal, literary, psychologically probing and insightful. Although few readers will relate to all essays, most are likely to discover a number which are particularly meaningful to them.

My own attraction to Jane Austen is most related to her portrayal of heroines of integrity. Elizabeth, Catherine, Emma and Marianne are spirited and gregarious. Although imperfect, they are capable of facing themselves and learning from their mistakes. Elinor, Fanny and Anne, on the other hand, are less spirited, more self-controlled, and long suffering. Yet Austen honors them, rewarding not only humble self-recognition, but also patience and enduring love.

Inevitably, the essays which I most appreciate in this volume are ones which focus on the internal values and development of Austen's heroines - values which I believe are not celebrated enough by our 21st century society. My favorite essayist? C.S. Lewis, particularly for his discussion of passages of awakening and self-recognition in four heroines. "All four heroines, painfully though with various degrees of pain, discover that they have making mistakes both about themselves and the world in which they live," wrote Lewis. "All their DATA have to be reinterpreted."

Another favorite is James Collins, who in "Fanny was Right" insightfully discusses the three other heroines, Fanny, Eleanor and Anne, and their struggle "to live with integrity in the corrupt world." A lesson of Austen, says Collins, is that "it is possible to have moderation and deep feelings, good dinners and good poetry."

Likewise, I enjoyed Donald Greene's essay which defended Austen against critics who found her writing to lack passion or be irrelevant today. "She values honesty, decency, clear-sightedness, emotional responsiveness in whatever class they occur," Donald Greene wrote. According to Greene, her heroines combine reason and passion; her novels DO concern such very real and universal issues as death, sex, war, poverty, religion (morality) and guilt. "Jane Austen is one of the great portrayers of guilt -" says Greene, " - guilt and its consequences in the way of misery; guilt and its redemption by remorse, self-examination, acquisition of new insight, expiation."

Of course I did not relate to all the essays in this collection. I disagreed with Susannah Carson's judgment of the Catherine/Henry romance, and was annoyed by Kingsley Amis's description of Fanny Price and Edmund as "morally detestable." According to Amis, Fanny wears "a cloak of cringing self-abasement" disguising the fact that she is a hypocritical "monster of complacency and pride."

Some writers here even committed the sacrilege of viewing Darcy as an arrogant bore. Others such as E.M. Forster and Janet Todd seemed to me to have little to say, whereas Brian Southam was too academic, and Amy Heckerling's essay on Emma and Clueless was inane.

In conclusion: Most readers of Jane Austen, especially those who have read at least half of her novels, are likely to appreciate A Truth Universally Acknowledged. Some essays will delight and enlighten; others will bore or antagonize. At least we have a wide variety, reflecting the fact that Austen appeals to readers of many temperaments and speaks to us on many levels. What more can we ask for or reasonably expect in such a collection of essays about Jane Austen's writing?

A Truth Universally Acknowledge
My initial thought was that if one enjoys reading Austen, then the question as to why we enjoy her work is probably already known.Yet, this is the type of ponderance in which most literature classes are dedicated.Clearly, aside from simply reading Austen, it is sometimes helpful to disect certain portions to better understand the delicacies of the craft.I recommend this volume to any student of literature, creative writing, or siimply for the love of Austen.

The real Jane Austen Book Club!
I have just indulged in a week of Jane Austen.It's so good for the soul; I really should make it an annual tradition.I read one of the six original novels, a contemporary update of one of the novels, watched cinematic adaptations, and finally delved into this wonderful book of literary criticism.I'd been holding off, wanting to be just a bit more steeped in Janeism before I tackled it.I've been so looking forward to diving in based merely on the wildly distinguished list of contributors.

There are renowned literary critics like Harold Bloom and Lionel Trilling, academicians like John Wiltshire and Janet Todd, classic novelists like Eudora Welty and Somerset Maugham, and contemporary novelists like A.S. Byatt and Jay McInerney.There's even a token filmmaker, Amy Heckerling!There is no hyperbole at all in the assertion that these are 33 (34, really) great writers.One name is more impressive than the next, and I've barely scratched the surface.

Based on the diversity of the contributors, you would be correct in suspecting the diversity of the essays in this collection.Some deal with the author herself, or the time in which she lived, others the entirety of her work, and some focus on a single novel.My first thought was to read the more general essays first and to then focus on the contributions specific to a novel after I had just read or re-read it, so that the particulars were very fresh in my mind.Now that I've been reading the essays, Austen's work, and the work of others inspired by Austen at roughly the same time, I don't believe my approach need be that rigid.Reading some of the essays on Emma while still reading the novel gave me great insights that I might not have come to or appreciated on my own.

I'm refraining, in this review, from pulling out quotes from the essays, but only because I wouldn't know where to start.There hasn't been one yet that wasn't infinitely quotable.Where's a highlighter when you need one?Some of the essays are more academic in tone than others (many have endnotes), but they are all smartly-written, challenging, and elucidating on this eminently worthy subject.This collection of essays will surely become a cherished reference I delve into over and over as I continue to enjoy Ms. Austen's timeless works the rest of my life. ... Read more

Product Description
Providing detailed and absorbing accounts of Jane Austen's friendships and travels, Tomalin shatters the myth of the novelist as a sheltered and homebound spinster whose knowledge of the world was limited to the view from a Hampshire village. of illustrations.Amazon.com Review
The author of Pride andPrejudice, Persuasion, andother comedies of manners gets a biography similar in tone to her ownbooks: intelligent but not intellectual, witty without beingnasty. Claire Tomalin, author of four previous biographies ofnotable British women, treats Jane Austen (1775-1817) with the respecther genius deserves. Tomalin eschews gossip and speculation in favorof a sober account of the writer's life that nonetheless sparkles withsly humor. Perceptive analyses of each of Austen's novels, withautobiographical links suggested but never insisted upon, add to thevalue of Jane Austen: A Life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

A Miracle
Since "Jane Austen: A Life" is the first biography I've read on Jane Austen I can't really compare it to other books. I will say that Claire Tomalin seems to have great insight and also a carefree imagination. She often explains what she thinks happened even though the evidence is scarce. While entertaining throughout, the book can become a bit complex at times. So many people in Jane Austen's life are introduced that it becomes almost more about her relatives and acquaintances for pages at a time.

It is evident from this book that Jane Austen led far from a boring existence. As you read about her life you can see where she got the inspiration for her novels. To be honest, you will enjoy this book more if you have already seen most of the movie adaptations or have read most of the novels. The novels are discussed at length.

Claire Tomalin laments the fact that most of Jane Austen's letters were destroyed by her family. But she makes good use of the letters she does find useful. She has woven together a compelling story from facts and fantasy. There are lots of intriguing tidbits
about Jane Austen's life but the most shocking things are about her neighbors! Since she moved many times in her life it is amazing that she kept all her novels safe from harm as they could have easily been misplaced. The fact that they survived and were published is truly a miracle.

~ The Rebecca Review

Jane Austen: A Life
I must admit that biographies can sometimes put me to sleep.(That undoubtedly says more about me than it does about any biography.)But I found this book to be highly readable--even entertaining--and thought it provided valuable background information about Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors.I'm not a scholar (obviously!), so I can't debate any of the biographer's interpretations. Those questions are left to better minds.I just know that I would recommend this bookto anyone who likes Jane Austen and wants to begin learning more about her life.

A good read
Noticing that one review was very caustic of this book, I would like to say that I thought it was very well written - especially considering that there is very little documentation to go on. I found the author's explanation of child-rearing, at that time, very interesting. I did not feel that she was trying to put it into perspective to "today's standards", as one reviewer wrote.

What was really fascinating, to me, was the difference in what her family lifestyle was like - compared to what her books portrayed. I realize books and plots are just that - but the lives and atmosphere was definitely not as "dark" as a lot of her own was. Just fascinating.

I think she would have been an interesting person to have met because I came away with the impression that she wasn't really the "private" person her brothers and other family made her out to be. Sounds like she had quite a wit - biting at that.

Anyway, thanks to the author for writing this and doing a great job with little documentation.

Definite Choice
A book with a panaroma view and lots of details about not only Jane herself, but also her direct family (sometimes even including her neighbours and her parents' cousins). Found it extremely useful in learning about Jane's experience as a woman living in the Georgian England. A page-turner indeed! Strongly recommend it!

A Dramatic Life of Jane Austen...
1997's "Jane Austen: A Life" is Claire Tomalin's highly readable, even dramatic account of the life of the popular romance novelist.Jane Austen left little for her future biographers beyond her published novels and some surviving letters and manuscripts.Tomalin addresses Jane in the context of her large and interesting family and their Hampshire friends and relatives.The result doesn't necessarily add a great deal to our limited store of knowledge about Jane Austen; it does provide some interesting insights into her context, and should bury forever any concerns about the source of Austen's acute understanding of human nature or the material for her novels.

The good news about "Jane Austen: A Life" is that Claire Tomalin is a gifted writer and her book will be a page-turner for many fans.Tomalin has done her extensive research.In addition, Tomalin is not shy about speculating when it comes to the signficant gaps in our knowledge of Austen's life.Her speculation is generally reasonable and plausible, and almost always fascinating to read.It is less clear how much of the book is reasonable inference from the limited record and how much edges toward historical fiction.

Tomalin includes her own literary criticism on Jane Austen's various works. This criticism is frankly hit or miss.Her comments on "Lady Susan" highlight its unusual leading character.Her analysis of the novel fragment "The Watson" explains why Jane Austen never finished it.However, she unfairly slights one of the main characters in "Sense and Sensibility", misreads the fate of Mr. Wickham and Lydia in "Pride and Prejudice", and perhaps misses the point of "Mansfield Park."Readers familiar with Jane Austen's novels can draw their own conclusions.

Jane Austen is as vivid as Claire Tomalin can make her in this biography, a clever, acutely observant woman who must on occasion have been a little intimidating in person.She is very much a family person, at the beck and call of brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews all her life.We come to appreciation for how difficult Austen's life was after her father died.Her failure to marry lfet her, her spinster sister Cassandra, and her widowed mother in genteel poverty, dependent on support from her brothers and with few choices about where and how they would live.Unfortunately, Jane's writing did not begin to produce real income before her early death in 1817.

"Jane Austen: A Life" is highly recommended as an interesting, even dramatic biography.The book includes an excellent selection of portraits of Jane Austen's family members.It is perhaps ironic that the one verified portrait of Jane Austen in life was said by her family to be inadequate, just as the person behind the novels continues to be elusive to biographers and fans alike.
... Read more

Product Description
Explains Austen's methods, motivations, and morals

The fun and easy way(r) to understand and enjoy Jane Austen

Want to know more about Jane Austen? This friendly guide gives the scoop on her life, works, and lasting impact on our culture. It chronicles the events of her brief life, examines each of her novels, and looks at why her stories - of women and marriage, class and money, scandal and hypocrisy, emotion and satire - still have meaning for us today.

Discover
* Why Austen is so popular
* The impact on manners, courtships, and dating
* Love and life in Austen's world
* Her life and key influences
* Her most memorable characters ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Lighthearted Reference
If I have to sit and read a reference book about history, please at least make it interesting and enjoyable.Jane Austen for Dummies does just that.It's informative, well written, has a touch of humor, and weaves Austen's characters in and out of the manners and times of the day.In any event, if you want simple explanations as to Austen's life, the political times, mannerisms, homes, marriage, courting, and every other aspect of the world you often wish you could be part of, it's an enjoyable read.All I can say, is I certainly understand now why it was so important for a woman to marry well!Love and marriage seemed to be the one thing that made the world go around.

Excellent Austen Resource
As a former student of Dr. Ray's, I have long wished that I could call her up at odd hours to ask her about something she said in class.With this book, I no longer have to wish, nor do I have to wake her from sleep.In this guide I found all the fantastic information that Dr. Ray shared with us in the two classes I took about Austen all laid out nicely in easy to digest sections.For years I told my friends that Dr. Ray knew Ms. Austen better than Ms. Austen knew herself, and while that may not be entirely true, it captures the amount of information you will find about Ms. Austen, her world, and her stories.I would highly recommend this for the Austen student, fan, and newcomer.

Wonderful reference of Jane Austen
ane Austen For Dummies by Joan Klingel Ray, PhD, Grade: A

I loved this reference book! The author did such a great job on explaining the things of Austen.

Here are the sections:

Part I: Getting to Know Jane Austen, Lady and Novelist

This part introduces Jane Austen and the era she lived/history of what was going on at that time in her world, and authors that inspired Austen in her writing.

Part II: Austen Observes Ladies and Gentleman

We learn all about dancing, courtship, and the business of marrying (along with some other tidbits). I loved this section! There's been so many things I haven't understood about her books and now I do!

Part III: Living Life in Jane's World

This section talks about women's limited roles and rights during her time, what being a gentleman entailed for men, home life, manners, and religion. This section really gets to the heart of the thoughts and ideas of her characters, the roles they played and why.

Part IV: Enjoying Austen and Her Influence Today

This section talks about reading her books with new insight. She also mentions the various adaptations of her novels to the stage, screen, and television and talks of authors who've been inspired by Austen.

Part V:The Part of Tens

She gives bounteous lists of places to visit, Jane Austen books to read, and her favorite Austen literary characters!

She packs so much information and yet makes it very readable and enjoyable. Plus she repeats many things so you don't forget what you've learned! This is one I will be putting on my to-buy list for quick reference as I reread all of her novels again!!!

What you need to learn about Jane Austen
I generally do not like the "For Dummies" book series, but I had already read two disappointing biographies on Jane Austen and this book seem to have a lot of good reviews so I bought it.First let me clarify, this is not a biography but rather an very fascinating look into the Jane Austen's world.The book is very well organized and well written book that lets you understand where Jane Austen was coming from when she wrote her famous novels.You will learn about the social mores of the day, the places Jane grew up and visited, the people she in her social circle and other things that influence her writings. This is a great book for a beginner or someone who has seen the movies based on Jane Austen's novels and wants to learn more about that time period in which she wrote.I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Great read!
I only have two Austen novels under my belt, but I decided to read this book to help my understanding of the world and manners of her novels: the significance of dancing, the rules of talking to each other, how people courted and decided to marry, even the etiquette of letter-writing, and much, much more! It was so helpful, and as much as it is a helpful book, it is a really enjoyable read as well. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

great freebie!
This was a great free edition of the book.Not my favorite Austen, but a lovely read.

Great author
This is not my favorite Austen (that would be P&P, closely followed by S&S), but it is a good read.

Great because it's Austen, but still not her best.
I enjoyed this book because I love Jane Austen's style and eloquence.It was not my favorite though.The main character was not as likeable as her other female leads.Also, I could never get past the fact that the romantic connection was between two cousins who grew up as essentially brother and sister.If you are not going to read all the Austen books, I would skip this one and read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility instead.

mansfields my name dont ware it out
the name of the book is what caught my eye because my last name is Mansfield and was happy to find out it was a pretty good book :)

Everybody likes to go their own way
Even the best authors in the world sometimes put out something that... well, isn't up to their usual standards. For Jane Austen, that book was "Mansfield Park" -- her prose is typically excellent, and she weaves a memorable story about a poor young lady in the middle of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. But put bluntly, Fanny Price lacks the depth and complexity of Austen's other heroines.

As a young girl, Fanny Price was sent from her poor family to live with her wealth relatives, the Bertrams, and was raised along with her four cousins Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia.

Despite being regarded only little better than a servant (especially by the fawning, cheap Mrs. Norris), Fanny is pretty happy -- especially since Edmund is kind and supportive of her at all times. But then the charming, fashionable Crawford sibilings arrive in the neighborhood, sparking off some love triangles (particularly between Maria and Henry Crawford, even though she's already engaged.

And the whole thing becomes even more confused when Henry becomes intrigued by Fanny's refusal to be charmed by him as the others are. But when she rejects his proposal, she ends up banished from her beloved Mansfield Park... right before a devastating scandal and a perilous illness strikes the Bertram family. Does Fanny still have a chance at love and the family she's always been with?

The biggest problem with "Mansfield Park" is Fanny Price -- even Austen's own mother didn't like her. She's a very flat, virtuously dull heroine for this story; unlike Austen's other heroines she doesn't have much personality growth or a personal flaw to overcome. And despite being the protagonist, Fanny seems more like a spectator on the outskirts of the plot until the second half (when she has a small but pivotal part to play in the story).

Fortunately she's the only real flaw in this book. Austen's stately, vivid prose is full of deliciously witty moments (Aunt Norris "consoled herself for the loss of her husband by considering that she could do very well without him"), some tastefully-handled scandal, and a delicate house-of-romantic-cards that comes crashing down to ruin people's lives (and improve others). And she inserts some pointed commentary on people who care more about society's opinions than on morality.

And the other characters in the book are pretty fascinating as well -- especially since Edmund, despite being a virtuous clergyman-in-training, is an intelligent and strong-willed man. The Bertrams are a rather dysfunctional family with a stern patriarch, a fluttery ethereal mother, a playboy heir and a couple of spoiled girls -- Maria in particular develops a crush on Henry, but doesn't bother to break off her engagement until it's too late. And the Crawfords are all flash and sparkle: a pair of charming, shallow people who are essentially hollow.

"Mansfield Park" suffers from a rather insipid heroine, but the rest of the book is vintage Austen -- lies, romance, scandal and a dance of manners and society. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (18)

perfect!
I love this book. I have always been an Austen fan and I felt I knew what was happening in the stories pretty well, but after reading this book, I have been able to pick up on so many more wonderful little details that really open up the stories and the characters so much more. It's very worth while to read, and the writing is very witty and funny. Something Jane would have laughed at too, I'm sure. Lots of fun all around. Perfect for any devoted Autstenian.

a fun read
If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll find this book fun and educational. This is a fun peek into the life and customs of the era of Jane Austen. It's a great gift idea too.

Interesting
This book is described as "little" because it is. It is the same size one of Austen's original volumes. It provides the rules of etiquette for every imaginable social situation. If a lady were to refuse a request to dance, she would have to refuse all others. A little help with some of the more obscure definitions would have helped (e.g., battledore), but a fun and interesting read.

Austen's Worlds but not the full Regency
If you are a Janeite, this is a very insightful compilation of regency mores and etiquette to guide you along and show you how Jane perceived the world and how her writing commented upon it. That is one of the many things that Austen is credited with, that her books are studies in the society of the time, and give us now a view of a kinder, more genteel period.

Since the Austen Canon, unlike the Dickens Canon, provides a look at a very well to do part of society, mostly that of perhaps the lower upper class, which Jane was a member of, we do not see often the picture of the vast majority of England, nor do we get a sliver of the Regency other then through Jane's wishes for it.

Here we have to then focus on what the book's title tells us. Jane Austen's Guide. Not a Guide to the Regency, or even the entire Ton, for where Mr. Darcy is of the first quality, and we become intimate with him in Pride and Prejudice, Jane gives us the Ton as she wants it to be. Not always as it was. And by extension so does our authoress.

If we can put aside that the book does not dwell on the true Regency era, but on the world that Jane created for us to read two hundred years later, then we have a pretty little world and the description of it is well done. Excerpts from the book abound and small drawings that help uncover more of the detail of what is being talked of.

The book is a useful resource to get a glimpse of the period, but I would not take the book as anything other then Jane's fantasy world. It is not the entirety of the Regency World, nor is it even a solid glimpse of the world that Jane lived in. It is the world she wrote of and we do not even know if that was the world she ascribed to.

A entertaining light read
Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners is a good nice entertaining read right before bedtime. This book is small and sturdy, and the attached ribbon bookmark was a nice surprise. The colored illustrations are beautiful and great accompaniments to the text.This guide is written as a set of rules of decorum on how to behave like a Regency lady/gentleman.The writing is humorous and not dry, and Ross usually provides an example/quote from one of Jane Austen's novels to illustrate a particular rule.

An avid scholar of Jane Austen's novels or the Regency period will probably find this book old and boring with no new/original information because most of the rules can be gleaned directly from the behaviors of the characters in Austen's novels.However, for the typical Austen fan who just can't get enough of the Regency period just for fun, this is a nice little book in a beautiful package that summarizes all the little odd behaviors/mannerisms of the characters you see in the novels.This book will make a nice gift for a Jane Austen fan.

One thing to note is that the cover shown on Amazon for the hardcover version is not the same as the one I received.The cover of my hardcover version is actually the paperback version shown on Amazon with a lady in a blue ball gown dancing with a gentleman. ... Read more

Product Description

When a modern woman goes back to Jane Austen's time, she needs to know…

Customer Reviews (20)

Light Hearted Romp
Combining time travel, ghosts, regency romance, spies, and Jane Austen.What more could you ask?Fun read.

fun goofy Austen-ish romance
This is the first book I've read by this author.At first I was nonplussed by the ghosts and time trsvel devices; it all seemed rather awkward and flimsy.But as we left the realm of the outlandishly unlikely and our heroine, LA costume designer Eleanor Pottinger, entered Regency Hampshire, the story became quite charming. Characters were interesting, dialogue was enjoyable, and the book was fun.There are several explicit scenes, just in case you don't want to be taken by surprise; this is the story of a 21st century woman finding a reasonable facsimile of Darcy, so there is some uninhibited passion.If you're a purist or a prude, stay clear.If you enjoy romps and romance, and Jane Austen in many forms, you'll likely enjoy this breezy well-penned romance.There are a couple of scenes wherein Eleanor converses with Dear Jane; these are not magical, but they are enjoyable.I would read others by this author.

Jane Austen Would NOT have written X-rated love scenes.....
This book was tantalizingly disappointing because the main character is likable, the time travel & transition was actually believable, but why did the author have to insert very detailed details of sex every few chapters? This is something that, to quote the book's title Jane Austen most definitely would NOT do. And this author didn't have to do it either as the story could have stood on its own and would have reflected a quality novel rather than a cheap sex novel with some Jane Austen info thrown in.Or she could have been more subtle and not zoomed in on every sexual detail.

The main character happens to be a Jane Austen devotee and a costume designer, so when she zaps into Jane Austen's time she does a decent job of staying in regency dialogue, she observes others around her for tips as to decorum at dinner, and I learned interesting details about bathing and food choices duringthat time.There is also a spying who-dun-it in the story.The main character seems intelligent, reasonable, considerate, and is described in a way that is believable ....except all of a suddent she seems to becomes someone else, and that someone else must have her amorous "needs" satisfied.Really, I don't need to know what "his" hand did to make her nipple harden. I know what sex is, and I don't need to learn exactly what order what body parts were "slapping together" or when the "milky fluid" was seen and where. The level of detail was beyond anything I had ever read in a novel.It wasn't violent, or disgusting....it just really wasn't necessary and brought the book into another genre. One minute you are wondering who is passing on secrets in the oak tree an the next....back to the bedroom. There was so much detail and effort describing the physical interactions of the 2 main charcters, yet the plot was glossed over, and few details were devoted to who the bad guy was or why---the identity and reasoning behind the bad guy was blurted out in one or two pages---completely without any background in the plot. Had the plot been as well described as the sex scenes, it would have been a worthwile read with an unfortunate inclusion of sex scenes. The author has the talent to have done this, but apparently she feels that her readers are more interested in what positions main characters prefer when they are having sex than in a true plot. To have her talent, and to waste it in this way: a lost opportunity for the author and anyone who spends their time on this book.There are so many better regency books---try "Incognito" or "Mr. Malcolm's List" both by Suzanne Allain or "Frederica" by Georgette Heyer.

Couldn't put it down!
I read this book in just a few days and took it everywhere with me!I much prefer the regency Shermont to the modern day Wright though!My one complaint is all the typos in the book!

Not perfect, but fun!
In college I knew a few girls who were part of the Jane Austen book club on campus and I would sometimes hear them muttering `What Would Jane Do?' in certain situations. I was always amused by this since Jane lived a century and half before, how would she know what to do in our modern era? Oddly enough this book proved one thing to me--despite the superficial changes, society itself hasn't really progressed.

Eleanor was a very likable character to me. As were the two ghost sisters, or even their not-so-ghostly living selves. Shermont...he's described as being a womanizer and rake, but I really don't think he was any worse then any other man. Despite his wariness where Eleanor is concerned (the timing is a little too perfect of her arrival, she would evade questions and always seemed to be hiding something, in other words she was acting very suspicious) I have to admit Shermont was surprisingly fair-minded with her.

The book has a lot of misunderstandings and misdirection. From the ghost sisters' and their uncertainty about what happened the night of the duel to Shermont's mission to find the Napoleonic spy events seem to spiral out of control quickly for poor Eleanor. I do find it very amusing later on when she has to choose between hot sex or Jane Austen (I truly don't think I could have chosen).

The resolution was better then I thought it would be--too often it seems like time travel romances ignore changing history by uprooting a character to the past or present, but in this case it worked out wonderfully.

I really do enjoy Laurie Brown's romances (I previously read One Hundred Years to Reform a Rake, which was another time travel romance, but the heroine had the terrible decision of loving the Ghost man or his live self and feeling like she betrayed both at once) and look forward to future books! ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not your typical Austen
This short story is certainly not your typical Austen depicting a heroine's romance and then a happy ending.This story is in the form of letters, which was handled well, but I think limits Austen's story telling ability. In Lady Susan the heroine is in fact a manipulative villain with no redeeming qualities and I found myself frustrated with the other characters reactions to her schemes.I also thought the letter format limited character development and had this been in the form of her more traditional novels it might have been a very interesting story with a meddling mother and her daughter becoming our heroine. Worth a read but if you're a fan of Austen's novels this is quite a change of pace.

Short but Sweet
This book is so witty it cracks me up everytime.I love that it is written in the form of letters to various people from various people.Best of all, we get to hear what Lady Susan is really thinking.Who doesn't like a great villian? ... Read more

Product Description
Jane Austen published her first novel in 1811, but today she's more popular than ever. Film adaptations of her books are nominated for Academy Awards. Chick lit bestsellers are based on her plots. And a new biopic of Austen herself Becoming Jane arrives in theaters this spring.

For all those readers who dream about living in Regency England, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early nineteenth century. You'll discover:
How to Become an Accomplished Lady
How to Run a Great House
How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
How to Throw a Dinner Party
How to Choose and Buy Clothing

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Fun For Janenites!!
I know this book is not necessary and never expected a detailed educated manual on Regency England.What I received was exactly what I wanted: A good easy read that was entertaining and, at times, even funny!I was entertained from beginning to the end and even found some new information that helped me to better understand Miss Austen's life.For Jane Austen fans this is a great way to entertain your mind but do not expect a book that is majorly educational!!

A Treasure!
Have you ever dreamed about living in Jane Austen's world and wondered what she might do under certain circumstances? How to dress? How to pay a morning call? How to attend a ball? How to run a house? How to throw a dinner party?

Well, now there's a darling little book called,"The Jane Austen Handbook, A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World" by Margaret C. Sullivan. It is absolutely the cutest little thing and just full of Victorian information, all 224 pages.

I can't even begin to tell you all the information that's in this very sweet and pretty book. There's just too much to mention. But I do highly recommend it to all Austen fans. It's a book you should not be without if you want to really understand her works and life.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give this little jewel a 10+. If you are thinking about buying it, don't hesitate! You will be thrilled!!

Janeites of the world unite !
For those who are great fans of Jane Austen, this book is for you.Not only is it very informative but extremely humorous.This book will give many book clubs or Jane Austen groups several items to discuss or research.I have just started reading it but have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Perfect for Reading in Bits and Pieces
I received this lovely little gem of a book as a b-day present and had the best time savoring it a bit at a time. I liked best that all the inside jokes (i.e., phrases lifted from Austen's works) were just there--not pointed to via quotes or italics or parenthetical devices--but just there to be spotted and enjoyed. This is definitely a book for fans of Austen's prose and wit, especially since Sullivan adds her own brand of wit and sometimes her recommendations for "How to..." are so practical they're funny.

I learned some stuff too--for example, Sullivan's aside about port being passed to the left prompted a delve into our online OED to discover the etymology of the word "port," which was a fun little exercise on its own. I liked having the rules of the major card games at my fingertips, and I finally learned what a Cotillion dance is.I also thought Sullivan's summary of Austen's life was quite nicely done.

I expect to keep this book handy so that I can pick it and amuse myself whenever the mood strikes. It is a gem.

Could have been better
You can't really say too terribly much about a replica etiquette manual for the Regency period of England. I did enjoy the book, and it provided some interesting insights for me into the life and time of Regency England. As a historical romance novelist concentrating in this particular era, it was a useful tool but not my favorite research book thus far. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Not my style but my sister loved it!
My sister loves Jane Austen and was beyond excited to get this from me for Christmas.She loves it!!

FYI, these books are not normal sized books.They are little.I didn't realize that from the ad posted here.My sister doesn't mind though.

Jane Austen 6 book boxed set
Lovely collection!Looks just as pictured and all of my favorites.A TRUE collector's set.

Very cute
Even the box has cloth on it. There is also a ribbon on the box to aid in taking books out of the box. The books are adorable, small, and high-quality. They have thick gold-leafing, and the pages are bright and white without being flimsy. The art inside is enjoyable. The set is worth the price, and it much cheaper than buying them separately.

Just what she wanted
I bought this for a gift.It was exactly what she wanted and was delivered very quickly.

Jane Austen Boxed Set
Wonderful set. Smaller than expected, and with this, print size small, but overall a beautiful piece. ... Read more

Product Description
Jon Spence's fascinating biography paints an intimate portrait of Jane Austen. "Becoming Jane Austen" gives the fullest account we have of her falling in love with the charming young Irishman Tom Lefroy, a relationship that was more serious and enduring than previously believed and one that had a profound effect upon her life and her art. The elegant narrative examines Austen's other emotional attachments, building a picture of her world as she herself perceived and experienced it. It is a world familiar to us from her novels, but in "Becoming Jane Austen", Jane herself is the heroine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

reads like a family tree
I am a jane fan, this book reads like a family tree.Some parts are interesting, but not like i thought it would be.

Seeking her fortune....
BECOMING JANE AUSTEN by Jon Spence is the biography upon which the 2007 film was based. I must admit that while I disliked the film at first, I have since come to appreciate it after viewing it on cable television innumerable times. The movie Becoming Jane captures the poignancy of the great author's first and only love which would haunt her life and novels until her death at the age of forty-one. The book, however, fleshes out the depth of the influence which the clever, charming Irishman Tom Lefroy had upon Jane's psyche. Taken from upon an exhaustive study of the letters and writings of Jane Austen and her family and friends, much of what the author concludes about Jane's emotions and her relationship with Tom is speculation, but intelligent speculation.

I am impressed by how the constant theme of money arises throughout the book. How vital it was for a young lady to have some kind of a fortune or dowry in order to marry well, unless a wealthy man chose to marry her for love alone. Without a fortune and an offer of marriage, a young woman would have to earn her own living, either as a governess or a teacher or by learning a trade. Jane chose to earn an income by her writings. While earlier portrayals of Jane present her as a lady of leisure writing for pleasure and the good of humanity, Jon Spence meticulously shows that Jane took on writing not just for love of her craft but as a business venture. While she never enjoyed the full pecuniary reward of her labors during her lifetime, the legacy Jane left to the body of English literature is surely beyond price.

Biographical fact. Not like the movie.
Spence gets Austen's life to us in a dry, factual way. The movie took these facts, put them in a blender, embellished, and made a wonderful flick. However, if you wanted to get this book as a read of the movie, you're out of luck. Hollywood SHOULD get their facts straight. I don't blame Spence for that. He just lucked out that someone took his book, gave him money, meanwhile making a lovely (if quite fictitious) 'based on' biography.

Best Bio of Jane Austen
A life-long Jane Austen fan, and one who re-reads her books frequently, I have also read several of the most noted Jane Austen biographies, and have found this to be by far the best, most thorough, most intriguing. Spence, a Professor of English literature, clearly spent a great deal of time as a detective, readng family letters, diaries, and published memoirs of family members.He does not beat the reader over the head with "Jane Austen as a proto-feminist" as some biographies have done; but he also recognizes and make clear the female perspective in that era, the Regency era of England.Woman were not yet as overly protected and made to appear as childlike as they would be in the upcoming Victorian age, but for a woman of a genteel family, as Austen was, it was expected she would marry, or if not, she would spend her life living with her parents or after their deaths with married siblings, and being of help to her large extended family.Instead, Austen seems to have accepted her "spinster" status at quite a young age, and aside from fulfilling all the duties of the spinster aunt in a very large family, she also began, from childhood on, to write quite seriously.The publication of her first book, under the the name of "anonymous", caused a great stir, became a hugely popular book, and soon her anonymity was destroyed and she became an early celebrity.This biography presents her in the context of her time and in her role within her large extended family--other biographies have,in my opinion, seemed to present her as a postmodern woman writer would be seen, that is, as an individual, with freedom and the ability to make choices.Austen was typical of her times, and was outwardly conventional and self-effacing.Her later celebrity, as Spence points out, coming shortly before her early death, led to several relatives writing memoirs about their famous relative. Unfortunately,most of these were written in Victorian times with a Victorian view, and made every attempt,consciously or not,to present Austen as the Victorian female ideal that she never was.A worthwhile biography to read, for anyone who loves Austen's works, and one which is well researched, veryreadable, and without an agenda.
NOTE: a movie was made of this book---please avoid it.

Good background reading for the Jane Austen fan
This is an accessible biography of Jane Austen for the general reader, but the author includes a lot of genealogical information, maybe more than one needs,about Jane's parents, grandparents, cousins, etc.In addition there's the story of Jane's own romance with Tom Lefroy, which is the centerpiece of the movie Becoming Jane.The movie has some incidents in it that are not in this book; for example, in the movie, Jane elopes with Tom and then changes her mind and goes home.Apparently that didn't really happen. In reality, she waited for him for three years while he was in law school and he didn't come back to marry her.

Jane had two more marriage proposals, one of which she briefly accepted before changing her mind.Apparently at some point she decided she did not really want to be married at all, and she devoted herself seriously to the craft of being a writer.This was, however, some time after she had already published Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice, both of which were written when she was quite young.

After finding out from this book that Jane wrote Mansfield Park and Persuasion later in life, as an "older" and more experienced woman, I was inspired to read them again. They are a bit darker than her earlier works.That used to put me off, but now I understand that they are this way because of her greater understanding of the often tragic situation of women in her time.She was apparently particularly upset at the way her brothers repeatedly impregnated their poor wives, so that the women gave birth every 18 months or so, and then finally died of exhaustion.One gets the impression that she was rather glad she never married.

Another interesting thing I learned from this book was that Jane Austen hated cities and could only work well on her writing in the country. I know the feeling.Learning this about her made me feel better about the fact that I think I work better at my projects in the quiet and isolation of the country.I had always thought that was something weird about me. ... Read more

Product Description
Excellent compilation of Jane Austen's letters.Amazon.com Review
Jane Austen famously labeled her literary ambit a "littlebit (two inches wide) of ivory." Luckily, her personal travelsand those of her family were slightly more extensive, otherwise weshould be without her letters. Not only should every Janeite possessthem, but also every connoisseur of correspondence. Austen's wit isubiquitous--even though some protest it edges into waspishness. E. M.Forster, for example, described the letters between Austen and herbeloved sister, Cassandra, as "the whinnying of harpies."

On September 18, 1796, she tells Cassandra, "What dreadful Hotweather we have!--It keeps one in a continual state of Inelegance.--IfMiss Pearson should return with me, pray be careful not to expect toomuch Beauty..." The dashes and capitalization alone make one longfor the days before stylistic rules had so cemented. As for thesentiments! Austen paces her monologues to perfection, making thecomic and ironic most out of the smallest incidents. Still, herfrustration does occasionally emerge. "I am forced to beabusive," she implodes to Cassandra, "for want of a subject,having nothing really to say." Jane Austen has more than enoughto say for lovers of literature and the cultural pinprick. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Incomplete
There are letters that were in the original publication of the same name, that are not present in this edition.

Get the Deirdre Le Faye Edition Instead
I originally bought this volume thinking it was the edited full volume of letters.Instead, it was a small volume with a very poor binding that did not have any notations.Spend the extra money and get the edited volume of letters by Deirdre Le Faye (which is the third edition of the volumes of letters originally edited by R. W. Chapman).That volume includes notations/footnotes on all the letters and a biographical and topographical index. Fortunately since the book binding was defective and there were colored stains on several pages, Amazon took this back and gave me a refund.I bought the Le Faye letters used through Amazon for about the same price.

Careful What You Order
I would like to mention that this page is quite misleading.This book is not at all the same as the one labeled "Jane Austen's Letters (Paperback)" for $19.79, which is what I thought I had ordered.In fact, that was the page that I had originally gone to when I added it to my cart so how I ended up with this is beyond me.When I removed this from the box I was baffled, as I clearly recalled a color cover and that it had been described as being over 600 pages.

This book has a cheap cover and poor binding, and is only 112 pages long.It includes only the bare bones of her correspondence; that is, her letters to others.Letters to her or explanations of what events were occurring at the time the letters were written are completely absent.

A word of warning: double check what ends up in your cart when ordering.I added the $19.79 "Jane Austen's Letters (Paperback)" to my cart from that page, but was charged for and received this cheap, flimsy little book.Looking at the pages for the books, it seems that the same reviews appear on both of them, and that they are considered one and the same.The "look inside" feature on the cheaper version even redirects you to a preview of the more expensive 600+ page version.Apparently these books are considered one and the same but let me assure you, they aren't!

I will now have to go back and buy the edition I thought I had ordered.However, I will be using Barnes and Noble.com this time to ensure that I get what I order.

Poor Quality
THis compilation of Austen's letters is very poorly bound. The quality of paper, binding and cover is just terrible. I bought it as a gift and was too embarassed to actually give it to the recipient.

Are these two different books?
Being one of those who received this book only to be completely disappointed when the pages fell out, I turned to the Amazon reviews to see if others were disappointed as well.Having read the reviews, I am completley confused.I think these are two different books!My book is 112 pages, has no bibliography, no editor's notes, nothing outside of the letters themselves.I can't even find an editor's name!It is published by Pavilion Press, Philadelphia in 2003.

As I read the reviews of people who love the book, they describe a completely different book.

What gives? ... Read more

Product Description
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a nice Jewish widower must be in want of a wife.

Jane Austen centered her classic novels around "three or four families in a country village." So does Paula Marantz Cohen in this witty twist on Pride and Prejudice---except this time the "village" is Boca Raton, Florida.
Eligible men are scarce in Boca.When good-hearted meddler Carol Newman learns that the wealthy and personable Norman Grafstein has lost his wife, she resolves to marry him off to her lonely mother-in-law, May.Even May's sharp-tongued friend Flo approves of Norman---although Norman's best friend Stan, a cynical professor, keeps getting under Flo's skin.
Will May and Norman eventually find happiness?Will Flo succumb to the charms of the suavely cosmopolitan Mel Shirmer?Misunderstandings abound until love conquers both pride and prejudice in this perceptive, engaging comedy of manners.


Complications and misunderstandings abound in this romantic and perceptive comedy of manners.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Jane Austin in Boca
Very funny. It makes fun of those of us living in Florida. So much rings true.

Modern humor for an old classic
What a fun book!

The basis of the book is the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice.Take that and set in a Boca retirement community with rather stereotype elderly Jewish ladies playing the lead roles and you've got Jane Austen in Boca.

The writing is great, and the story moves well.It's a quick read and it will have you laughing all the way through... even more so if you happen to have a parent or relative who is a retiree living in Boca.

Delightful retelling of Pride & Prejudice in an Unexpected Setting
It just goes to show that a timeless plot (the story of Pride & Prejudice) can be taken into a completely different context and become the ground of a totally delightful book.

The society of retirees in Florida is not one I know, nor would I normally find a novel about them interesting, but I loved this book. It's witty, the characters are delightful, every one of them, and the portrayal of the closed society of Boca is a great parallel to Regency England.

I loved it from beginning to end.

Once again proof Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is timeless
Jane Austen in Boca is a testament that Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is timeless.Using Austen's tried and true P&P formula, Cohen successfully translates the original into a witty, modern story of a little retirment community in Boca Raton.I was hesitant to pick this up, having read many P&P adaptions and assuming I wouldnt really find anything of interest-- having nothing in common with Jewish retirees.Was I ever pleasantly surprised out how quickly I become immersed in the personalities and telling of this tale?!The principal characters are charming and loveable.And quite amusing to puzzle out who plays which JA canon character.I'm sorry it took me so long to buy it.Sure, the ending is predictable but if you know P&P, would you be satisfied with any other?Happy to own! and delighted to recommend.

Hilarious
If you know anyone over 60 that lives in Florida, you can relate to this novel.Short, funny-- a good read! ... Read more

Product Description
When Charlotte Lucas married Mr. Collins in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she believed herself to be fortunate indeed. Her nuptials gained her a comfortable home and financial security. If she acquired these things at the expense of true love, it did not matter one whit. To Charlotte, love in marriage was nothing more than a pleasant coincidence.

As the years of her marriage dragged by, Charlotte began to question her idea of love as she suffered continual embarrassment at her husband's simpering and fawning manners. When Mr. Collins dies, finally relieving everyone of his tedious conversation, she must work feverishly to secure her income and home. She gives no further thought to the prospect of love until her flighty sister Maria begs her to act as her chaperone in place of their ailing parents. Hoping to prevent Maria from also entering an unhappy union, Charlotte agrees, and they are quickly thrust into a world of country dances, dinner parties, and marriageable gentlemen.

But when an unprincipled gentleman compromises Charlotte's reputation, her romantic thoughts disappear at the prospect of losing her independence. As she struggles to extricate herself from her slander, her situation reveals both the nature of each gentleman and of true love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Absolutely Fabulous Read
I've just finished Becton's wonderful continuation novel and absolutely loved it!It was entirely riveting and pulled me in to a world where all disbelief was suspended indeed!I love the transformation of both main heroines and i am officially in love with Mr...well, I don't want to be a spoiler.I can't wait for another one (or ten) from Ms. Becton!

Lovely continuation of Charlotte's story
I have always had a special place in my heart for Charlotte Collins (formerly Lucas) from Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It is so easy to compare her to Elizabeth, to applaud Elizabeth's rejection of Mr. Collins, and lament Charlotte's persuing of him. After all, who would want to be married to someone like Mr. Collins? The reader often feels dissapointed in Charlotte, and that her weakness highlights Elizabeth's strength. I have never felt dissapointed in Charlotte, but I have felt desperately sorry for her in many ways. To compare her, and her choices and options, to Elizabeth is unfair. As few choices as Lizzie has, Charlotte has even fewer. For one thing she is significantly older, with less family support, and probably an even more shaky financial future if she didn't marry. Charlotte is forced to make the realistic choice, and while we recognize it was realistic we have no real hope for her future happiness.

Which is why I am so excited to see a continuation of Charlotte's story that gives her a chance at that happiness! Jennifer Becton's beautifully written novel is both believable and satisfying. While Darcy and Elizabeth make brief appearances, Becton remains focused on Charlotte's life and circumstances, turning her successfully into a true romantic heroine. After Mr. Collin's untimely demise Charlotte faces widowhood with the same seemingly unflappable calm that she faced her marriage. As Charlotte enters society again, this time as a chaperone to her younger, unmarried sister, she begins to realize that there might yet be a life for her beyond what she had imagined for herself. She even attracts the attention of two very different men . . . but are these men scoundrels or heroes? You will just have to read the book yourself to find out! And I highly suggest that you do!

Becton's writing style is lovely, her novel is obviously very well researched, and, in my opinion, seamlessly weaves a new story strand into the rich tapestry of Austen's characters. The final scene rates high on the "tingle" factor, which is an important requirement for all romantic novels.

Jennifer Becton's "Charlotte Collins"
I had a tad few misgivings about reading a (boring) historical novel. I love novels...usually contemporary novels that I can relate to. But I knew Jennifer, and I knew her passion, and therefore, I knew I had to read this one. I felt a bit "lost at sea" since I have to admit (hanging my head in shame) that I have never read Pride and Prejudice. I wasn't sure that I could pick up on a continuation of a historical novel I had never read. Well...I was wrong!!! From the first couple of pages I was engrossed. Jen's research and historical correctness left me amazed; but bored? Not a chance!!! I was immediately taken up in the lives of Charlotte and her sister, Maria, and Jen did an excellent job describing their day to day lives and the period from which she was writing. As pages quickly turned, I was caught up in lives that I had never experienced or read about, but ones in which I was totally engrossed.

I urge other contemporary fiction readers, as well as those fans of Jane Austen, to read this novel. I don't think you will be disappointed. I am waiting for the sequel of a full length book on Maria and (???) Well...I guess you'll have to read the book to figure it out.

Hey Jen, has anyone secured the movie rights yet???

Plain and Proper Charlotte Finds Love!
"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar before-hand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always contrive to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life." - Chapter 6 Pride and Prejudice

What a bleak and unromantic view of marriage Charlotte Lucas had!Did marriage to Mr. Collins refute or support her conviction?Did seeing the blissful and affectionate marriages of her dear friends Jane and Elizabeth Bennet alter Charlotte's opinion on marital felicity?Is love and happiness in marriage more important than financial security and a home of your own?

In Jennifer Becton's beautiful Pride and Prejudice sequel, Charlotte Collins receives the opportunity for a second chance in love.After seven exasperating and tedious years of marriage, Mr. Collins passes away in an unfortunate carriage accident.Charlotte, now in her mid-thirties, enjoys a life of independence and solitude as she lives off the jointure Mr. Collins begrudgingly set up for her.Charlotte's peace and quiet is soon interrupted when her younger sister Maria becomes a permanent house guest and coerces Charlotte into being her chaperone.Charlotte finds herself revisiting the world of balls, beaus, and romance as she assists Maria in finding a felicitous match.It soon becomes apparent though, that Maria is not the only one who has romance on the mind...

We don't encounter all our old friends from Pride and Prejudice since the story focuses extensively on the lives of Charlotte and Maria, but Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, and Lady Catherine all make a brief appearance.Nonetheless, we are introduced to several new, original, and well-defined suitors in this tale.Mr. Card is a wealthy young man with a strong regard for Maria Lucas, but does Maria think of him as more than a friend?Mr. Whitfield and his uncle Mr. Benjamin Basford are Americans touring the continent, and both of them seem to take pleasure in the company of Maria and Charlotte.However, ever proper and practical Charlotte takes an instant dislike to Mr. Basford's inappropriate familiarity and lax manners.Lastly, we are introduced to a Mr. Edgington, a distant bachelor relative of Lady Catherine's who seems develop an intense and fervent interest in Charlotte.It was a pleasure to meet all these intriguing and brilliantly developed new characters.

I absolutely love it when an author takes a secondary Austen character, brings them to the forefront, and transforms them into an admirable hero or heroine.What a delight it was to read a novel that centered on these two diverse sisters who were previously only minor characters!One aspect of this novel I took great pleasure in was discovering the parallels between Charlotte and Maria and the Dashwood sisters.With a head full of romantic notions and her blatant disregard for society's standards, Maria Lucas reminded me very much of Marianne, and Charlotte's sensible levelheadedness and realistic disposition made me think of Elinor.There are other subtle nods to Jane Austen's novels to be found in this tale, such as Charlotte being blinded by her prejudices and Maria displaying, very publicly, her feelings for a certain gentleman.My only tiny quibble about this novel is that Maria, whom I guess to be in twenties now, was a little too flighty and heedless for her age.I felt she was sometimes a little too much like Lydia Bennet.

Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Becton is a deeply satisfying and captivating read.If you have desired a better fate for Charlotte Collins or are intrigued by the idea of her becoming a heroine, then this is the novel for you!I am completely enamored with the romantic and tender love story in this novel, and I dearly hope that this is only the beginning of Ms. Becton's Austenesque writing career!

Austenesque Reviews

Wonderful read!
What an enjoyable and wonderful foray into the world created by Jane Austen, filled with some familiar characters as well as many new ones from the mind of Jennifer Becton.You fall in love with the characters and begin to feel a true affinity for them as you make your way through the book. ... Read more

Product Description

For every frustrated reader of the great nineteenth-century English novels of Austen, Trollope, Dickens, or the Brontës who has ever wondered whether a duke outranked an earl, when to yell "Tally Ho!" at a fox hunt, or how one landed in "debtor's prison," here is a "delightful reader's companion that lights up the literary dark" (The New York Times).

This fascinating, lively guide clarifies the sometimes bizarre maze of rules, regulations, and customs that governed everyday life in Victorian England. Author Daniel Pool provides countless intriguing details (did you know that the "plums" in Christmas plum pudding were actually raisins?) on the Church of England, sex, Parliament, dinner parties, country house visiting, and a host of other aspects of nineteenth-century English life -- both "upstairs" and "downstairs."

An illuminating glossary gives at a glance the meaning and significance of terms ranging from "ague" to "wainscoting," the specifics of the currency system, and a lively host of other details and curiosities of the day. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (77)

Great background reference
I have been reading novels set in Victorian England and had been puzzled by some of the references and words peculiar to that age.This book was essential to my understanding of the society mores, taboos, and rules.It greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the books of Anne Perry.Reading this reference was enjoyable, and the glossary was the biggest help when reading the Anne Perry novels.Well worth the price.

Outstanding 130 page glossary makes this a worthwhile purchase, main reading text just average
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew
One of my favorite authors is Jane Austen (especially Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey).I also enjoy North and South by Elizabeth Gaskins, and several other novels set in (and written in) the 1800s.Of course, much that the 19th-century British author shares of life in that time and place is mentioned very matter-of-factly and without much explanation, as their readers wouldn't have needed it. But, often the modern reader misses nuances, and the reading experience is richer if they can understand these details better, thus, my interest in this book.

On the whole, this book gives a good overview of many facets of life in 19th-century England, while maintaining a conversational style and sharing quotes and examples from many novels of the day.There are explanations on a wide array of topics from British currency to social status to debt to occupations to transportation to clothing, etc; these are relatively brief but, in general,decent overviews.

There were some topics that I felt were covered rather inadequately.British monarchs during this time merited only 1/4 page, which allowed only a mere listing of the dates of their reign, and the sharing of the brief fact that George III was insane for his last 10 years and his son served as prince regent.I thought that there should have been at least a 1-paragraph overview of each ruler.The clothing section had some nice information, but almost all in written form.Additional sketches (there is only one of a crinoline) would have helped to make this subject matter clearly, especially for those who are more visual.

For those who do enjoy 19th-century novels, the main part of the book is good to sit down and read sometime to give a broader overview.The portion of the book likely to be most useful while reading is the glossary.It is a whopping 135 pages with almost any term the reader may be unfamiliar with and a brief explanation.A few examples:

"armoire--A big clothes cupboard that was either freestanding or set into the wall."

"crush hat--So called because that was what one could do to it.Also called an opera hat or Gibus.There were springs inside so that when one wore it to the opera one could remove it and fold it up flat."

"housewife (pronounced "huzzif")--A small case for carrying around little clothes-mending items like needles and thread.Sometimes spelled "huswife."

"packet--A ship carrying mail regularly from one place to another and also, sometimes passengers."

"sweetmeat--A sweetmeat was a candy, particularly a candied fruit, although also a hard, fruit-flavored candy."


I'd give the main reading portion of the book 3.5 stars and am not sure whether I'd round up or down.But the glossary takes this up to 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5, as it makes the book into an invaluable reference to have on hand while reading 19th century British literature. There is also a helpful 9-page bibliography for those interested in further reading on 19th-century Britain, as well as a 13-page index.I would definitely recommend this book.

Wonderful history book!
As a huge fan of Victorian literature as well as Victorian history, I must say that this is one of the best accounts of history I've ever read. Entertaining as well as accurate information make for a great book! As a high school student, I bought this book to supplement my textbook in AP European History, and it had some great info on the social trends of the 19th century. Great, and highly recommended!

What We Once Knew...
It is easy to forget, in reading the novels of Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, that their characters inhabited a world almost 200 years removed from our own world of prepackaged food, mechanical aids, and information technology.Daniel Pool's delightful "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew" is a fascinating attempt to close the knowledge gap about the facts of daily life in 19th Century England.

In a series of short topical essays and an extended glossary of key terms, Pool examines some relevant facts about the 19th Century.He starts with the basics of currency, the calendar, and measurements, then moves on to the public world with its hierarchies, classes, and customs.He discusses transportation, country living, and the private details of everyday living.This book is not exhaustive in its coverage, but it was certainly both enlightening and entertaining to this Jane Austen fan.

"What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew" is very highly recommended to Brit Lit fans, who can enjoy reading it straight through or using it as a reference for t19th Century terms and conditions no longer obvious to 21st Century readers.

Interesting, but uncited information (sometimes wrong!)
An interesting book, but the author doesn't tell us where any of the information comes from. I don't know how many inaccuracies crept in, but I was more than startled when he explained that a mangle - the hand-cranked squeezer that was used for removing excess water before hanging up your hand-washed laundry - was in fact used after IRONING to make your clothing super flat. I don't think so..... ... Read more

Product Description
Austen's last novel is the crowning achievement of her matchless career. Her heroine, Anne Elliot, a woman of integrity, breeding and great depth of emotion, stands in stark contrast to the brutality and hypocrisy of Regency England. Includes a new Introduction by Margaret Drabble, famed novelist and editor of The Oxford Companion to the English Language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book, and in great condition even though it was used.
I can't stop reading this book andthe fact that it has kind of an old english doesn't seem to bother me at all.

Great Quality
Not only did I receive my purchase in a timely manner, but I also found the book to be in excellent condition and exactly what I asked for. Thanks!

Norton does it again
This review is for the Norton Critical Edition of Persuasion, and has two parts: a review of Persuasion itself, and a review of Norton Content.

No educated person disputes Austen's contribution to the literary world. While her particular craft may not be palatable to all types (whose is?), I maintain that of all Austen's works, Persuasion is the one to hold the most appeal to those unfamiliar with her literature. It could be a `gateway drug', introducing the reader to Austen, or it could be a delightful `one-book stand'; whichever way works for the reader.

Concealed within Regency trappings is a universal story: there is a `mythic' quality to it in the sense that C.S. Lewis defines myth. The story reaches through space and time to grab the heart and attention of the reader, compelling her both on and deeper. When the novel opens, Anne Elliot faces the prospect of meeting once again a man with whom she was compelled to break off an engagement nearly eight years prior. While relatively little outward action takes place, Austen builds tension through Anne's inner conflict. Peripheral issues, such as the nature of the change in social systems in this turbulent time in Britain and the place of women in society, serve as complementary fare that highlights the mounting dilemma that Anne faces. In Austen style, the resolution and denouement are highly satisfying and truly ingenious, and the reader is left with meaty material to savor for days to come.

The Norton contribution to Persuasion is indispensable. Though I was previously familiar with Persuasion, a favorite professor of mine introduced me to the commentary and contributions within this edition. The preface lays out a road map of sorts for the rest of the book. Included immediately after the conclusion of the novel is the original ending-something that even the non-lit majors in my class found interesting. A fabulous selection of backgrounds and contexts follows, with items such as Henry Austen's "Biographical Notice of the Author", and a selection from Richard Whateley's "Review of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion", entitled "A New Style of Novel".

Additionally, modern critical commentary is included from Austen scholars Marilyn Butler, Ann Astell, Claudia Johnson, and others. Appearing at the end are a helpful chronology and selected bibliography. Patricia Meyer Spacks did a fabulous and much appreciated job in editing and pulling the work together. This edition is highly recommended, both within the classroom, and without.

--The Medieval Chick
... Read more

Product Description
"This book is a worthy addition to the Austen fan's library" Publishers Weekly

Contains rarely seen archive material and special photography of locations still in existence today

With a wealth of fascinating details about Jane Austen's life and times, this book brings to life the world of her novels which have given rise to a spate of films and television dramas: the film,Sense and Sensibility, was a major Oscar winner in 1998; Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, was a huge box office success in 1996; most recently Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley was released.

Austen scholar Deirdre Le Faye first gives a meticulously researched overview of the period, from foreign affairs to social ranks, from fashion to sanitation. She goes on to consider each novel individually, explaining in detail its action, its setting, the reaction of public and critics and Jane's own feeling about it. The lavish illustrations, many never seen before, allow the reader to visualize the places and people of the novels.This book is essential reading for students of literature and of social history, and for all Jane Austen enthusiasts who want to gain a new insight into her work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Get some insight into Austen novels
I have been an Austen fan for a while, but never sought out much information about the author herself until more recently. I enrolled in a Jane Austen class at my university and decided I ought to read up ahead of time. After perusing the shelves at B&N, I purchased this book, and am very pleased with it.

The writing reads more like prose than a resource book, and is thus very enjoyable to read. In addition, it has some beautiful images, including maps, Regency interiors, art from the period, household items, etc. But most importantly, the information in the book is valuable, interesting, and very useful. I found that, upon rereading the novels for the class, the experience was both informed and enriched by this book. I highly recommend it, both as a student of Austen as well as a fan!

Nice but a bit lightweight
The book is titled "Jane Austen:The World Of Her Novels" but I thought there was a bit too much "Jane Austen" and "her novels" and not enough of "the world".

It starts out with a mostly biographical description of Jane and her family. This is interesting, and relevant (because most of her novels were about people very much like Jane and her family). Then there is a section that describes more of the customs and life of the day. I found this to be very interesting. Best part of the book. But also, the shortest. Finally a full half of the book was taken up by an in-depth look at each novel. The author stayed away from literary criticism and discussed things like what the characters would have worn or what the local industry would have been like. This was interesting, but not really what I was expecting. And it was also a little redundant, because so much of it was similar from novel to novel.

Furthermore, as in her novels, very little of the world was shown outside of the circles Jane moved in and wrote about. I was looking for more context, but it was missing. However, what was covered was covered well.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I'm glad I checked it out from the library rather than having purchased it as a reference.

A lot of regency romance writers should start right here!
This is not a particularly scholarly work.There are no footnotes to give the source of the author's information which I would have liked to see.However, as a nice, easy-to-read description of life in the period in which Jane Austen lived, I've not seen anything better.The author discusses clothing, transport, food, homes, furnishings, currency, incomes, social groupings, occupations and pastimes, the army, the navy, health, wealth and the war in the background.Very well done in a few short pages and it's a good summary of a lot of the more in-depth reading I have done over many years.It would be an excellent place for many of the writers of the so-called New Regency Trash being discussed on one of the boards here to start.Enough basic information to write a good work of fiction I should think!And, although brief, the author's short summaries of the novels was a quick refresher for some of the novels I haven't read for a number of years.The book is beautifully illustrated and this paperback edition is printed on quality paper.A very nice read.

Very prompt delivery, great condition
I've just dipped into this and find it both informative and easy to read last thing at night.As a research source, it will be valuable.

Welcome to Jane Austen's World....
2002's "Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels" is author Diedre Le Faye's highly enjoyable survey of the world of romance writer Jane Austen's beloved stories.Austen's novels continue to be popular because her characters are so true to life.However, as Le Faye tellingly notes, the modern reader misses at least some aspects of the novels because we lack understanding of the Georgian and Regency England context in which they occur.

Jane Austen left behind only a limited footprint for future biographers: her six completed novels, a few incomplete or juvenile manuscripts, and some surviving letters to family and friends.A few relatives captured further details in memoirs or comments.To expand this limited quantity of information, Le Faye investigates Austen's immediate and extended family, the places she lived or may reasonably have traveled to, the customs and fashions of the day, the class system, and such mundane details as food, clothing, and sanitation.

The effect of this, the first half of the book, is to help us better appreciate the novels.In "Pride and Prejudice", the reader can understand why Mr. Darcy's refusal to dance with Elizabeth Bennet at their first meeting was so exceptionally rude, and why Elizabeth could not respond directly to Darcy's letter.In "Emma", the reader learns why her attempts to interest Mr. Elton in Harriet Smith were likely to be understood as Emma's interest in him, thus adding a comical sense of impending disaster to Mr. Elton's eventual marriage proposal to a shocked Emma.In "Sense and Sensibility", we learn why a man could not break an engagement to a woman (although the woman could).Thus, when Edward Feres stood by his prior engagement to Lucy Steele in the face of the opposition of his family, Jane Austen's contemporaries understood this as a noble action, an interpretation less obvious to the modern reader.

The second half of the book is an extended review of Jane Austen's novels in the order in which they may have been written.Readers already familiar with Jane Austen's work can skim her gentle literary criticism for some interesting details about the writing of each novel.An example is the startling recollection by one of Jane's nieces that Jane's sister Cassandra advocated for an alternate ending to "Mansfield Park" in which Fanny agreed to marry Henry Crawford.Another example is the likelihood that Jane's brother and literary agent Henry actually selected the titles of her two posthumously published novels, "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey".

A few small cautions are in order.Le Faye's discussion of Jane's life mixes mentions of Jane Austen's fictional characters and the members of her real life family in a way that may be confusing to readers new to her work.Le Faye may be overconfident in her speculations about some real life locations as the basis for their fictional counterparts in the novels.The offerings of period portraits as representative of characters in the novels may be helpful to new readers; Jane Austen fans likely already have a mental picture of those characters.

This delightful book is highly recommended to fans of the Jane Austen novels and those looking for some social insight into the world of Georgian and Regency England. ... Read more

Product Description

"For Reading Jane Austen, to those who love her, is like mounting with wings as eagles: we cannot tire."
-G.B. Stern

Customer Reviews (1)

Jane is my essential life companion...
The Jane Austen Companion to Life is a delightful, beautifully illustrated little tome. It makes me smile each time I open it. The characters come alive through the lovely drawings, and I often open it just for a fresh perspective to start a new day. Just what I expected. I highly recommend it to Austenites! ... Read more

Product Description
When New York artist Eliza Knight buys an old vanity table one lazy Sunday afternoon, she has no idea of its history. Tucked away behind the mirror are two letters. One is sealed; the other, dated May 1810, is addressed to 'Dearest Jane' from 'F. Darcy' - as in Fitzwilliam Darcy, the fictional hero of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". Could one of literature's most compelling characters been a real person? More intriguing still, scientific research testing proves that the second, sealed letter was written by Jane herself. Caught between the routine of her present life and these incredible discoveries from the past, Eliza decides to look deeper and is drawn to a majestic, 200-year-old estate in Virginia's breathtaking Shenandoah Valley. There she meets the man who may hold the answer to this extraordinary puzzle. Now, as the real story of Fitzwilliam Darcy unfolds, Eliza finds her life has become a modern-day romance, one that perhaps only Jane herself could have written. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Predictable and self-indulgent, but fun
This book is predictable (even with the "twists"), but enjoyable as long as you take it for what it is and don't try to be too serious about it. I found the author to be very self-indulgent, but I don't think she pretended to be anything else.

creative fantasy
Less of a historical read than a fantasy.Ms. ORourke lets our mind wander with additional possibilities for finding our true love. Keep imagining the possibilities.

a fun & entertaining novel
As an English teacher I enjoyed the Jane Austen angle. The book had great descriptions and a fun, entertaining story.It was hard to put down!

Fast, fun, female read
If you've read or seen the Jane Austen books/movies, you will like this witty, suspense-driven story about Jane Austen. Contemporary and historical alternating settings make for an enjoyable story. If you do not know Mr. Darcy and the other Jane Austen characters, you'll still enjoy the novel, but you may not get the references to Austen's novels. Fast, fun, female read for all Jane Austen's fans and new readers.

Better than expected
I really hope that if this book is republished, the cover gets redesigned from the one I had on my copy (white cover, published January 2009).A friend of mine loaned this to me over a year ago and I just never wanted to pick it up since the cover gave the impression that this is a bodice-ripper (which I usually avoid at all costs).I really trust my friend and was feeling guilty that I had kept it so long so I decided to give it a try just to be able to return it to her.

Once I started reading it, to my surprise, I really enjoyed it.While definitely a romance novel, there is actually a good story here with intriguing twists and turns.Upon purchasing an antique vanity table, our main character, Eliza Knight, discovers two letters behind the mirror that appear to be correspondence between Jane Austen and F. Darcy.As she attempts to verify their authenticity, an unbelievable story emerges and makes her wonder if Austen's Fitzwilliam Darcy is an actual person.

Not literary fiction, but much better than the cover implies.A fun, enjoyable read that is perfect when in the mood for that sort of novel.
... Read more