A deliciously original study of the cheap editions of Pride and Prejudice and other novels – ignored by literary scholars – casts new light on her readershipJane Austen aficionados think that they know the story of their favourite author’s posthumous dis-appearance and then re-emergence. For half a century after she died in 1817, her books were little known or read. A few discriminating admirers such as George Henry Lewes and Lord Macaulay kept the flame of her reputation burning, but most novelists and novel readers were oblivious to her. Then, in 1869, her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh published a memoir about her and the public got interested. Her novels started being republished and widely read. She has never looked back.Janine Barchas’s The Lost Books of Jane Austen puts us right. Her book about books is a beautifully illustrated exploration, indeed compendium, of the popular editions of Austen’s novels that have appeared over the last two centuries. This includes those decades when Austen was supposedly lost from sight. The first chapter is a “vignette” on a copy of Sense and Sensibility, published in 1851 for George Routledge’s Railway Library (books suitable for reading on the train). It cost one shilling and was bought for the 13-year-old Gertrude Wallace, the youngest daughter of a Plymouth naval officer. It is the first of many examples of cheap and popular editions of Austen’s work that kept it alive for ordinary readers and that literary scholars have... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-11 07:30:31 UTC ]
Culture Street mural for Grenfell Tower, with poem by Ben Okri, North Kensington, London, image courtesy of IranWire and #PaintTheChange. London-based writer Malu Halasa canvasses the Middle Eastern and North African culture scene in London,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-04-19 19:22:28 UTC ]
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The author of the memoir Blow Your House Down talks about secrecy, accountability, and resisting happy endings. Continue reading at Guernica
[ Guernica | 2021-04-19 13:00:21 UTC ]
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What am I supposed to do with autofiction? Where is it shelved, literally and mentally? Is it memoir or fiction? Pick a lane. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-04-16 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Pamela Dorman buys a debut novel by a longtime Knopf editor, Holt signs a memoir by Ronnie Spector, Hanya Yanagihara re-ups with Doubleday, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Manga makes its mark: 'My Hero Academia, Vol. 27' by Kohei Horikoshi is the #6 book in the country. Plus chef Erin French's memoir finds its way onto our hardcover nonfiction list, and we spy Flynn Berry in hardcover fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Barack Obama and filmmaker Ava DuVernay will discuss the former president's memoir "A Promised Land" April 21 in a livestreamed event for the L.A. Times Community Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-16 01:25:03 UTC ]
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Brittany Higgins' forthcoming memoir will allow her to tell her story in her own words. She'll join a group of strong women who've done just that. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-04-15 03:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has acquired a book by journalist Alix Sharkey exploring his experience growing up with a brother now imprisoned for the murder of teenager Danielle Jones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-13 19:59:28 UTC ]
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An excerpt from Fifty Sounds, a memoir by Polly Barton, translator of Aoko Matsuda and Kikuko Tsumura. The post Uwaa: the sound of the feeling that cannot be spoken appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2021-04-13 02:08:24 UTC ]
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“On the House” is an anecdote-rich memoir by the former speaker of the House that fails to give readers the whole picture. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-09 13:05:40 UTC ]
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The memoir “I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust” chronicles one family’s struggles and victories. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-04-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
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There are as many different kinds of memoirs as there are novels, maybe more. The public-figure memoir. The witnessing-history memoir. The survivor’s memoir. The addiction memoir. The let-me-set-the-record-straight memoir. The travel memoir. The memoir about one specific family member. The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-09 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelists no longer shy away from tough issues readers are facing such as mental illness, racial inequity, sexual harassment and abuse, trafficking, and domestic violence. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
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Ex-vice-president is first of Trump circle to snag lucrative dealSimon & Schuster to pay $3-4m for two booksMike Pence has signed a two-book deal for his memoir that is reported to be worth millions of dollars, making him one of the first of former president Donald Trump’s inner circle to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-07 22:02:58 UTC ]
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Richard Thompson's new memoir, "Beeswing," was written with journalist Scott Timberg, who died before the book was completed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-06 15:45:19 UTC ]
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On Translation Browsing a Copenhagen airport bookstore, a translator picks up a book. The journey between that impulse and his eventual translation of the memoir into English was both emotional and serendipitous. In the summer of 2016 I was passing... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-04-06 13:12:22 UTC ]
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Last year, when New York City was the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in America, Bradley Tusk and Howard Wolfson decided to create a new annual award, the Gotham Book Prize, as part of an effort to “honor New York City and support the novelists who best captured the spirit of our city,” as... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 13:00:34 UTC ]
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Erik Hoel on the joy of growing up in an indie bookstore—and with his badass single mom, who opened The Jabberwocky in 1972 when she was 23 years old. | Lit Hub Memoir “You may have noticed that anger is making a comeback for women.” Gina Frangello on rage and infidelity. | Lit Hub “These […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 09:30:32 UTC ]
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In “Blow Your House Down,” Gina Frangello examines her experience of loss, lust, pain and longing with angry intensity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-06 09:00:21 UTC ]
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