Customer Reviews

8 Books in 1, Jane Austen's Complete Novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Love and Friendship

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Definitely worth buying. You get all of Jane Austen's novels, including "Lady Susan", and also thrown in is "Love and Friendship" (a story that Jane Austen wrote when she was 15).

The book itself is a large format - bigger than a normal paperback, but a little smaller than letter size - so there aren't too many pages, which means the book isn't too heavy. The paper quality is good, and the binding is very solid - I've been bending the cover back so I can hold it in one hand, and it's survived my mistreatment fine. :)

About the novels themselves there's not much that I need to say - if you don't know them already then there's plenty of places you can find out about them! If you've seen one of the Jane Austen movies, or the TV series of Pride and Prejudice, and you want to read the books, then this is a great place to start.

I'd recommend beginning with Pride and Prejudice and then reading Emma and then maybe Northanger Abbey or Persuasion - although Sense and Sensibility was the first published (and so it's at the front of this book), I don't think you should read it first, it's less approachable than some of the others. Emma is the real masterpiece, in my opinion.

Re the review below - OK, so the layout's in two columns, but then so is the Complete Works of Shakespeare that I own, and the same for Chaucer. It's normal for 'complete works' editions like these to be laid out in more than one column - otherwise the book would be much too thick!

The print size is slightly smaller than for a standard book - it's about the same as for a newspaper, so if you're OK reading a newspaper, then you should be fine with this book.

A really good value edition, and well worth buying.

I ordered this book online thinking it would be cool to have all books in one book so to speak. I was disappointed, each page is split into 2 in the middle, it was not fun reading, and i actually returned it.

This is a nice and simple collection if you haven't read many or any of Austen's works. However I don't think it is best you can buy. I would (personally) recommend buying each book individually as it is easier to read them as paperbacks - this does end up being a slightly larger size than is comfortable to read - both psychologically and physically.

I would recommend buying a collection that included the fragment of Sanditon which was her last work she began before her death rather than the juvenalia which is in here

I also think it is nicer to buy all her Juvenalia in one volume. It sits quite nicely like that. There are some brilliant pieces, her history of England is short and funny, Lesley Castle - an early story, a great read in itself and sits nicely next to Lady Susan. Oxford do a great volume of her juvenile fiction.

It just seems an incomplete collection here, but if you don't have access to anything else it will do in a pinch - Austen's writings are wonderful!

The paperback book is large, heavy and has small two-column type per page. It is not suitable for reading. The type also runs into the binding making it very hard to read without pressing book down. Not what I wanted.

I think it is great to have all Jane Austen novels in one copy. It's not heavy to carry and quiet easy to handle. But I think print size gives trouble, the letters are small. There are two colomns in one page and it hurts the eye. On the other hand, it is a good price and cover is also strong. If you would like to have all Jane Austen novels, I think this book makes a good choice.

Of course the reputation of these novels by Jane Austen is well-known. I enjoyed all these classic novels very much.
This book is especially nice because it contains 8 novels in one book. It is lightweight paperback, and easy to carry around. The printers did not waste any space...they left only a very small margin on each page, used a small font (no problem, though, for my reading glasses!), and began each novel on the very next page after the previous one ends. No "fluff", very little white space.

I do not recommend this book based soley on the miniscule size of it's print.
I have read Austen's books before and wanted the whole collection. I am unable to read this one without a magnifying glass because the print is the size of the worst phone book you have ever tried to read. I intend to get a new collection, this time with readable print. What a mistake this one was!!

Good for long airplane journeys - not too heavy, plenty to read on multiple long-haul flights.

The type is very small. It is more comfortable to read a book printed as an individual book. I should have thought this through before ordering a book with all 8 books in one. On the other hand, if you just want to take one book with you, you have 8 to read and only have to carry one. So, for that reason, it's quite a bargain.