The Poetry of Jane Austen and the Austen Family [Paperback]

David Selwyn (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

As in many households in the late eighteenth century, writing verses was a pastime with the Austen family, and the composition of ingenious riddles and charades provided a source of lively entertainment. This volume of verses by Jane Austen and her family contains all the known poems by Jane herself as well as a selection of work by her mother, her sister Cassandra, four of her brothers, her uncle James, her nieces Anna and Fanny, her nephew James Edward and other relatives. David Selwyn provides an introduction and full explanatory notes; his transcriptions, taken from autograph manuscripts or from the earliest copies, are precise in terms of spelling punctuation and layout.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Given the continuing popularity of her novels, these two publications will be of particular interest to new and longtime aficionados of Austen. In her biography, historian Myer dispels the wholly sweet and kind image of Austen as presented in family memoirs by showing evidence of Austen's human frailties and speculating about others. Drawing from family papers and letters and accounts from friends and acquaintances, Myer provides details of not only how Austen looked physically but of her flirtations, dancing, frustrations, etc. Myer focuses primarily on members of the close-knit Austen family. In this context, Myer easily and naturally melds Austen's life and writings, providing speculative conclusions with which readers may not always agree. Editor Selwyn, in association with the Jane Austen Society, has scrupulously prepared a poetry collection representing over 50 pieces of verse written by three generations of the Austen family, including ingenious riddles and charades written for family entertainment. Organized by author, the work includes a complete collection of poems by Jane Austen, although Selwyn notes that it was her brother James who was the most prolific and gifted poet. Selwyn, who took the texts from autograph manuscripts or from the earliest known manuscripts, provides detailed explanatory and textual notes plus a bibliography of original manuscript sources at the end of the collection. Both the biography and the poetry collection are recommended for academic libraries.?Jeris Cassel, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New Brunswick, N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Noun Verse by Caroline Mary Craven Austen
Charades (1) by Cassandra Elizabeth Austen
Charades (2) by Cassandra Elizabeth Austen
Word Game (1) by Cassandra Elizabeth Austen
Word Game (2) by Cassandra Elizabeth Austen
Charade by Charles John Austen
Charade by Francis William Austen
Charade by Henry Thomas Austen
Godmersham, The Temple Of Delight by Henry Thomas Austen
Address To Tyger On His Stealing The Author's Steak by James Austen
Charade by James Austen
Epilogue To The Sultan by James Austen
To Edward On The Death Of His First Pony by James Austen
Tyger's Letter To Caroline by James Austen
Venta! Within Thy Sacred Fane by James Austen
'alas! Poor Brag, Thou Boastful Game!' by Jane Austen
Between Session And Session by Jane Austen
Epitaph by Jane Austen
I've A Pain In My Head by Jane Austen
In Measured Verse I'll Now Rehearse by Jane Austen
Lines by Jane Austen
Lines Supposed To Have Been Sent To An Uncivil Dress Maker by Jane Austen
My Dearest Frank by Jane Austen
Ode To Pity by Jane Austen
On Sir Home Popham's Sentence - 1807 by Jane Austen
On The Marriage Of Miss Camilla Wallop & The Rev. Wake by Jane Austen
On The Marriage Of Mr. Gell Of East Bourn To Miss Gill by Jane Austen
Riddle (1) by Jane Austen
Riddle (2) by Jane Austen
Riddle (3) by Jane Austen
Song (1) by Jane Austen
Song (2) by Jane Austen
Song (3) by Jane Austen
Song (4) by Jane Austen
Song (5) by Jane Austen
'this Little Bag' by Jane Austen
To Martha by Jane Austen
To Miss -; Charade by Jane Austen
To Miss Bigg, Previous To Her Marriage by Jane Austen
To Miss Bigg, Previous To Her Marriage - Not Sent by Jane Austen
To The Memory Of Mrs. Lefroy, Who Died On My Birthday by Jane Austen
Verses To Rhyme With 'rose' (1) by Jane Austen
Verses To Rhyme With 'rose' (2) by Jane Austen
Verses To Rhyme With 'rose' (3) by Jane Austen
When Stretch'd On One's Bed by Jane Austen
Written At Winchester On Tuessay The 15th July 1817 by Jane Austen
On Reading A Letter by Jane Anna Elizabeth Austen
Dialogue Between Death And Mrs. Austen by Mary Austen
Epistle To G. East, Esq. by Mary Austen
Fables: 1 by Mary Austen
Fables: 2 by Mary Austen
Fables: 3 by Mary Austen
The Humble Petition Of Rd. Buller & W. Goodenough by Mary Austen
I Hope, My Anna, You'll Believe by Mary Austen
I Send You Here A List Of All by Mary Austen
Miss Green's Reply by Mary Austen
A Receipt For A Pudding by Mary Austen
Riddle (1) by Mary Austen
Riddle (2) by Mary Austen
Riddle (3) by Mary Austen
Riddle (4) by Mary Austen
Riddle (5) by Mary Austen
Riddle (6) by Mary Austen
Riddle (7) by Mary Austen
Riddle (8) by Mary Austen
Riddle (9) by Mary Austen
To F. S. Who Accused The Author Of Partiality ... by Mary Austen
Verses To Rhyme With 'rose' by Mary Austen
Dirt & Slime by James Edward Austen-leigh
Lines Addressed To His Father On ... Present Of A Knife by James Edward Austen-leigh
To Miss J. Austen by James Edward Austen-leigh
To Anna Eliza Austen by Fanny Knight
George Knight To His Dog Pincher by George Knight
Word Game (1) by George Knight
Word Game (2) by George Knight
On Capt. Foote's Marriage With Miss Patton by James Leigh Perrot
Riddle (1) by James Leigh Perrot
Riddle (2) by James Leigh Perrot
Riddle (3) by James Leigh Perrot
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877455805
• ISBN-13: 978-0877455806
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,092,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)