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"


A vintage Benson & Hedge's ad evokes a cheekier (but no less deadly) era of cigarette marketing

Sometimes an ad gets just a little too truthful for its own good.  By the time this 1972 full-pager for Benson & Hedges 100’s ran in Life magazine, smoking was widely understood to be associated with a range of serious diseases. So, sure, let’s equate using our product to jumping out of a... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-30 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


When Will Ben Lerner Admit He’s a Novelist?

In 2012, a colleague and I decided to curate an interview series for the website where we then worked; we boldly and cleverly titled said series The Future of American Fiction. Yes, imagine it in (internet) lights. Per the title, we asked a handful of young and formally or thematically... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-30 08:48:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Psst: Novelists – Steal These Screenwriting Secrets! Part 3 Query Letters

In part 3 of "steal these screenwriting secrets," we delve into marketing and query letters. In other words, these are screenwriting secrets to steal after you write and specifically related to crafting killer query letters. The post Psst: Novelists – Steal These Screenwriting Secrets! Part 3... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-09-30 01:46:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Releases Its Longlist

The 2019 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature's 15-title longlist includes seven debut novelists and was chosed from 90 submissions this year. The post DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Releases Its Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-09-27 11:30:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ebury wins Robyn Wilder's 'deeply moving' memoir at four-way auction

Ebury has won a four-way bidding war to publish journalist Robyn Wilder’s “funny, frank and deeply moving” memoir, Reasons to be Fearful. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-27 07:15:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How to Write the Book No One Wants You to Write

Sarah M. Broom’s The Yellow House is a feat—a memoir and historical narrative created amid governmental bureaucracy and resistance from some of her subjects. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-09-25 16:27:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How to Write the Book No One Wants You to Write

Sarah M. Broom’s The Yellow House is a feat—a memoir and historical narrative created amid governmental bureaucracy and resistance from some of her subjects. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-09-25 16:27:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The 10 books to read in October

Zadie Smith has a new collection of stories, and Prince’s posthumous memoir comes out. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-24 19:34:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this


David Cameron's memoir fails to top Tony Blair’s in first week sales

For the Record, the former PM’s account of his time in office sold close to 21,000 copies in its first week, behind Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, which topped 100,000Almost 21,000 people rushed out to buy a copy of David Cameron’s memoir in its first week on sale, placing it second on the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-24 14:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘Know My Name,’ a Sexual Assault Survivor Tells the World

Chanel Miller, the woman previously known as “Emily Doe,” wrote her memoir as an act of reclamation. Jennifer Weiner reviews it. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-09-24 09:00:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Huge tour for Nadiya Hussain memoir as Headline unveils 'unmissable' campaign

Headline has announced an “unmissable” campaign for Nadiya Hussain’s first memoir Finding My Voice, including a huge national theatre tour. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-23 13:51:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this


You’re on Your Way: An Interview with Jamie Mason

IF YOU ASK a group of crime novelists to list the most exciting stylists working today, Jamie Mason’s name is bound to come up. In many thrillers, the language is workmanlike — plain, even. The suspense is the point; the sentences are the delivery system. In Jamie’s books, however, the words... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-09-22 19:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


This week's L.A. book talks have Demi Moore, Jonathan Safran Foer and Annalee Newitz

What to do in L.A.: 5 book talks for the week ahead include Demi Moore discussing her memoir 'Inside Out' and Jonathan Safran Foer on 'We Are the Weather.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-09-20 20:19:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Laila Lalami, Colson Whitehead among National Book Award fiction nominees

10 novelists make the National Book Awards fiction longlist: Laila Lalami, Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Julia Phillips and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-09-20 18:20:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Climate activist Greta Thunberg has two books coming out with Penguin Press next year.

Surprising no one, climate hero Greta Thunberg, whose forthright, outspoken approach to environmental activism, will publish two books in 2020 with Penguin Press, a memoir Our House is on Fire (written with her family), and a collection of her speeches, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-20 15:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


This Week's Bestsellers: September 23, 2019

Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Testaments’ and Stephen King’s “The Institute’ are the top-selling books in the country; each moved more than 100,000 print units in its first week on sale. Other new releases include the memoir ‘The Education of an Idealist’ by Samantha Power and ‘She Said’ by... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rachael Denhollander’s Memoir Is a Searing Exposé of the Suppression of Women’s Stories

What Is a Girl Worth? is rigorous and righteous and driven both by anger and remarkable grace. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-09-18 09:45:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Soundtrack You Need for Traveling the World With Your Kids

My memoir How to Be a Family is about the year we spent traveling around the world, living in four different countries, in an attempt to get out of our East Coast parenting bubble and learn from how they do it elsewhere. When you travel with your kids for a year, you listen to a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-18 08:49:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Can of Worms Fast Tracks Holocaust Survivor's Memoir

This fall, U.K. publisher Can of Worms is publishing a memoir by an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor that it acquired this past spring at the London Book Fair from hybrid publisher White River Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Here are the 10 best lines from Vulture’s profile of “book-fluencer” Zibby Owens.

First, can we all agree that it should be “lit-fluencer”? Moving on: 1. “Gertrude Stein had time to read books. But do moms?” 2. “Owens’s dinner will be in a decidedly lower key: a gingham tablecloth, uniformed servers passing out pigs in blankets, Zibby’s kids popping in occasionally to whisper... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-17 19:31:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this