A review by sarahrosebooks
The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World by Margaret C. Sullivan

3.0

I picked this book up years ago, after reading one of the author's fanfiction pieces - the one set towards the end of Northanger Abbey where Catherine and Henry correspond via letters while waiting for his father to give his blessing. I wanted to know more about the time during which Austen's novels were set, so I purchased this book.

Really, this is just drawn from the books themselves, and perhaps from Austen's letters and the biography her nephew wrote. But a lot of it I could recognise as being drawn from particular works. I don't think it was particularly groundbreaking or that it provided a very great insight into society at the time. But, it did collect a lot of information together and give context to some of the novels, so it is not entirely pointless. It's also written in a fun, enjoyable way, and I liked the author's slightly sarcastic tone.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but didn't get a great deal out of it. It did make me want to finish reading all of Jane Austen's novels, though.