'Everything a reader could desire: wit, passion, mystery, brilliant detective work, a love of rare books, a deep dive into literary history and, best of all, the restoration of reputation for a group of great women authors whose names should never have been forgotten' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
Publishing to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth.
It all started with a book that made me curious.
When rare books dealer Rebecca Romney found an emerald clothbound edition of Evelina by Frances Burney, she was happy to discover that she'd stumbled across a novel by one of Jane Austen's favourite authors. Inspired by the connection between the two writers, she returned to Austen's books with a new lens, picking out clues sprinkled throughout her works that pointed to the writers she had admired.
Austen read William Shakespeare, John Milton, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Richardson, all authors Rebecca had read. But Austen also read Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth, all authors Romney hadn't. These female writers all sat proudly on Austen's bookshelf, but have disappeared from ours.
Romney became fascinated with these writers and wanted to answer three important questions: What were the stories behind the lives of these women? Why have they disappeared from our bookshelves? Who wrote them out of history? She had a mission, an obligation: she needed to collect Jane Austen's bookshelf.

- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Information
Subtopic
Literary BiographiesIndex
LiteratureTable of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Jane Austen (1775–1817)
- Chapter Two: Frances Burney (1752–1840)
- Chapter Three: Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823)
- Chapter Four: Charlotte Lennox (c. 1729–1804)
- Chapter Five: Hannah More (1745–1833)
- Chapter Six: Charlotte Smith (1749–1806)
- Chapter Seven: Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821)
- Chapter Eight: Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (1741–1821)
- Chapter Nine: Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849)
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Appendix: Selected Books from the Jane Austen Bookshelf
- Bibliography
- Notes
- Index
- About the Author
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Yes, you can access Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.