The Lost Books of Jane Austen by Janine Barchas review – how Austen's reputation has been warped

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "The Lost Books of Jane Austen by Janine Barchas review – how Austen's reputation has been warped"

The Abnormalizing of the World: A Conversation On Mental Illness

Two celebrated memoirists of mental illness—Marin Sardy, author of The Edge of Every Day: Sketches of Schizophrenia, and Sarah C. Townsend, author of Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis—discuss writing, families, and the struggle to make meaning out of madness. * Sarah Townsend:... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-01 08:47:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Hachette Books Ireland wins pathologist's memoir in six-way auction

Hachette Books Ireland has acquired former state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy's memoir in a six-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-01 00:07:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The Memoir in Essays: A Reading List

While the personal essay has enjoyed continued popularity, a book-length collection of linked essays, centered on an author’s self or life, is less common than a traditional memoir or novel. A truly successful essay collection can reveal the author processing experiences at many different points... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-29 08:47:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Ishmael Beah’s memoir revealed the realities of child soldiers. His fiction shows the humanity of homeless kids.

“Little Family” speaks to the plight of poor people in countries riddled with corruption and violence. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-28 16:54:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this

George M. Johnson's New Memoir Reminds Us That ‘All Boys Aren't Blue’

The journalist digs deep into the past in this touching debut book on sexuality, gender identity and the power of family. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2020-04-28 09:45:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Sheltering: Nina Renata Aron on Desperate Love and Codependency

On this episode of Sheltering, Nina Renata Aron speaks with Maris Kreizman about her new book, Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls, a memoir of codependency. They talk about the cultural history of love and its entanglement with suffering, particularly for women, and how hard it is to break... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-27 19:00:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Personal Space: Alia Volz’s Writing Helped Her Family Heal

This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Sari talks with Alia Volz, the author of reported, historical memoir, Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco — about being raised by colorful hippie parents who ran an illegal pot-brownie... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-23 20:00:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Hodder wins record-breaking ex-Special Forces soldier's memoir

Hodder & Stoughton has won at auction the memoir of ex-Special Forces soldier and record-breaking mountaineer Nims Purja MBE. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 14:18:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this

No-prorogation justice Lady Hale to publish memoir and guide to the law

Judge famous for ruling against Boris Johnson will recount how ‘a little girl from North Yorkshire became the most senior judge in the UK’ Lady Hale, who presided over the momentous decision to rule Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament unlawful, is set to write her memoirs, of how “a little... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-04-23 14:06:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Bodley Head signs Lady Hale memoir in two-book deal

The Bodley Head has signed the memoir of former Supreme Court president Lady Hale in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 15:33:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘It would be all right’: Novelist Susanna Moore finds solace in a sometimes troubling life story

In the memoir “Miss Aluminum,” the writer and former script reader for Jack Nicholson shares a #MeToo moment, and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Lenarduzzi wins 2020 Fitzcarraldo Editions, Mahler & LeWitt Studios Essay Prize

Thea Lenarduzzi has won this year's Fitzcarraldo Editions, Mahler and LeWitt Studios Essay Prize, for her "family memoir and social history" proposal Dandelions. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 06:21:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Lit Hub Daily: April 21, 2020

“To me, nonfiction is an act of translation, and the task for the writer is to bring dead letters to life.” Jessica Pearce Rotondi on writing the family saga of her missing uncle. | Lit Hub Memoir Joshua Sperling on the decade John Berger became an art world revolutionary. | Lit Hub Criticism ON... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-21 10:30:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Five eye-catching graphic novels that define the genre

Some of the most exciting fiction and memoir is being done in the form of graphic novels. Here are some of the very best. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-04-20 11:08:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Sopan Deb on Approaching His Own Memoir as a Journalist

Sopan Deb, a culture reporter for The New York Times, has interviewed the cast of Arrested Development, reviewed theater on Broadway, and currently reports on professional basketball. Before joining the Times, he covered Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for CBS News. He is also—I love this—a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-20 08:48:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this

From house of horrors to family home

Erica Bauermeister’s latest book is a thoughtful, entertaining memoir of the time she and her family spent renovating the mother of all fixer-uppers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 22:35:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this