Reviews - Jane Austen's Bookshelf

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Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney

389 reviews for:

I like the premise of this book, that it is important to understand that Jane Austen stands on the shoulders of the women writers before her. I appreciated the author's passion for collecting rare books, but that part didn't really appeal to me.

jazzy0205's review against another edition

5.0

funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

This is a true gem! I was so excited to read this book, I LOVE LOVE Jane Austen. This is a fantastic book for lovers of Jane Austen, history, literature, and collectors. Having chapters focus on other women writers that Jane Austen enjoyed, learning about new ones and ones you might have passed by (Charlotte Lennox is also a writer I love). Jane Austen is still my favorite though. I loved hearing Rebecca Romney's personal stories and insights, as well as her expertise. And getting little insider tidbits on what makes books collectible and things to look for. The best thing about this book is that it isn't drab and boring. It's facts and history, yes, but there is humor and wit. It's like sitting at a book club and having a discussion with a few drinks going around. I can't say enough how great this book is and how glad I am it was written. It was a book I didn't know I needed.

mcr1955's review against another edition

5.0

A must read for any Jane Austen lover.... the author is a rare book collector and dealer and becomes interested in the female authors whom Austen read and was influenced by. Romney chooses 8 authors to focus on and includes biographical detail and analysis of their works. She completely smashes the myth that Jane Austen was the first and best female novelist and instead paints a moving picture of Austen as just one branch of a literary tree. At some points, the author includes a few too many details about the rare book trade for my taste, but this is a very small quibble.

elixierbroth's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 17%

I picked it up just to read the Fanny Burney chapter - it would be baller if Story Graph added a 'read chapter' option as I had no intention at the time of reading more.
It was a great read and it was really interesting to hear from the point of view of a rare book collector. I didn't know about Rebecca Romney's early modern romance collection before this and intend to find out more!
She took an angle on the Burney v Austen arguement that I agree with completley, that they are unfairly compared, as if we can only have one great woman writer a century!
I also enjoyed her take on Evelina's England actually displaying it's danger as opposed to most of Austen's work where it's implied.