Jane Austen's Little Instruction Book [Hardcover]

Jane Austen (Author), Sophia Bedford-Pierce (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Peter Pauper Press; illustrated edition edition (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880886935
• ISBN-13: 978-0880886932
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,535,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Though the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she began a novel called "The First Impressions" an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father's retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote Persuasion and revised Northanger Abby, Her last work, Sandition, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of Northanger Abby and Persuasion in 1818.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Badly Done, March 17, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: Jane Austen's Little Instruction Book (Hardcover)

Jane Austen is among my favorite authors, and I had hoped this book would highlight some of my favorite quotes. Unfortunately, it did nothing of the sort. Many of the quotes seemed to have no other purpose than to fill up space on the page. One page, for example, says only "In a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society" (Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice). At least in that particular example the quote was attributed to the correct person. There are some where this is not the case, for example "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment." This quote is incorrectly attributed to Miss Elizabeth Bennet instead of to Mr. Darcy. Another example is Henry Tilney's discussion with Catherine Morland on the relationship between dancing and marriage; that quote is incorrectly attributed to John Thorpe. The quality of this book is not equal to its cost; don't waste your money on it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute collection of her movie quotes, September 1, 2004

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Sweet Girl (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane Austen's Little Instruction Book (Hardcover)

There are a few good things in here. But it wasn't what I expected it to be. I thought it would be more than a collection of quotes from her books. Why not just read the books or watch the movies? Still, there were some very good quotes in here.