Cathryn Michon

This book contains some very bare bones biographical details about Jane Austen along with some lovely modern-day drawings of Regency ladies and gentleman. Otherwise, this book is just a collection of quotes from Jane’s oeuvre (including her six completed novels, fragments, juvenilia, and letters) but is nothing new in substance itself. The quotes are grouped by subjects (i.e., men and women, social life, etc.) and then further subcategorized (i.e., “men … good” and “… and bad” under men and women). The headings for each quote are the biggest addition here and are sometimes humorous such as “on the enduring charms of bimbos,” although sometimes dated as in “on predicting the sad state of affairs for Miss Parker-Bowles.” Still, at the end of the day, this is just a book of quotes you’ve probably read numerous times before if you’re an Austen fan and while it was an entertaining enough read, I wouldn’t recommend anyone spend their hard-earned money on this one.… (mais)