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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I usually struggle with nonfiction but I *devoured* this book. It perfectly combined with my love for Austen, literature by women, and rare books. Rebecca Romney expertly weaved together the stories of each of these authors who inspired Austen together with her collecting of their books and her research and tying everything back to literary canon (and why and how women often fall out of canon). This book was such a treat to read and it felt like I was sitting down with Romney, chatting over a cup (or many cups) of tea.
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Fascinating!!! This was a perfect introduction to prominent 18th and 19th-century women writers — and why we know shunt them in favor of Austen, always Austen — and made me desperate to read their books. (Yes, including Belinda, which I've started and stopped before…) Romney's research is clearly both wide and deep, and her love for the search makes me just as excited to do my own investigating; her aim, of course, in writing this book. The audiobook is fantastic — I could feel Romney's rage at certain moments, and hear her laughter at witty lines at others — but I now need a hard copy to mark up and take note from. Let the journey begin!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Death of parent, Colonisation
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
informative
inspiring
I loved this so much. The author is a rare book dealer who loves Jane Austen, and she got interested in finding out more about the authors Austen liked and had on her own bookshelves. She focuses on 8 different female writers who were writing novels before or during Austen's time, most of which she really admired. For each author, we get a biography, a description of her most famous books, and most interestingly for me, an exploration of why these women are no longer in the canon of classics while Austen is. She also describes her search for meaningful editions of these books, giving so much insight into the industry of publishing and rare book dealing.
I loved all those parts of the book, but one of my main takeaways was about collecting books, and how to create a meaningful collection for yourself. She's very intentional in the way she chose a theme and started to build her collection of books, and seems to truly appreciate each one she was able to find. I don't think I'll ever collect rare or old books, because that's not really where my interests lie, but I did see myself in her a bit in the way I love finding good deals on used books. Then there's the way she talked about individual copies of books as physical objects, and how they say so much about history and their previous owners. This book truly just felt like it was written for me, and was exactly what I wanted.
I loved all those parts of the book, but one of my main takeaways was about collecting books, and how to create a meaningful collection for yourself. She's very intentional in the way she chose a theme and started to build her collection of books, and seems to truly appreciate each one she was able to find. I don't think I'll ever collect rare or old books, because that's not really where my interests lie, but I did see myself in her a bit in the way I love finding good deals on used books. Then there's the way she talked about individual copies of books as physical objects, and how they say so much about history and their previous owners. This book truly just felt like it was written for me, and was exactly what I wanted.