- ISBN13: 9781594741715
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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 disco… More >>
The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World
I bought the cheapest copy of this book I could find and it hardly looks used.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book is an interesting companion book for someone who is reading Jane Austen for the first time and does not know much about the Regency period. It will clear up many incidents in the book, specially those where a character behaves contrary to the etiquette of the period. Since most of the formalities are no longer in practice, they can be very confusing to a modern reader.
People who have read most of Austen’s work or are more familiar with the Regency will quickly realize that this book is strictly tied to Austen. No other sources are sited and all examples are from Austen books.
I found this limitation very irritating. The book did not expand my views on the subject at all and did not explore any of the more subtle social tensions in the book. It quickly became a game of spot the reworked Austen quote.
Rating: 3 / 5
The book is interesting to read as it offers a lot of information on the cultural practices of Jane Austen’s day. For example, it shows you in detail with step-by-step illustrations how the people in Austen’s time would have folded a letter to mail before the use of standard envelopes. But the interpretations of Austen’s novels, which are offered here and there, are extremely basic–such as saying that Mr. Collins’s propsal to Elizabeth is comical.That’s pretty obvious! My former English professor, Dr. Ray, wrote JANE AUSTEN FOR DUMMIES [Jane Austen For Dummies (For Dummies)], and the insights she offers in that book about Austen’s novels are much more sophisticated and learned without being dry.
Rating: 3 / 5
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.
Rating: 3 / 5
Oh Dear. Well, I have something to say about this book all right.
In my opinion this book should never have been published. Where is the judgement these days? Another ‘publisher gone wild’ thinking that if its Austen-related, people will buy it.
There is very little in here that is new that you don’t already know from reading Austen’s writings themselves. It seems to be primarily one person’s digestion of what she has learned from the books with a lot of quotes or references to the books. There is very little real information added. It fails at being useful, educational, clever, or entertaining.
A better choice if you are interested in learning more about the societal context would be “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew”.
Sorry to be harsh to any author…but there it is.
Rating: 1 / 5