Exploring Jane Austen

Jane Austen's World gives readers a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the life and times of one of England's most loved authors. Not only does it offer fascinating biographical background - her life, her family and friends, her sources, her interests and enthusiasms - but it captures her times - from great issues of politics and war to the cultural environment that helped shape her work.

One hundred and fifty years after she lived and wrote, Jane Austen has become, in the words of Variety magazine, a "worldwide mega celebrity." How did this unmarried "poor relation" from a middle-class family of clergymen come to write the passionate, witty novels about love and money that have made her one of the most popular writers of all time?

Jane Austen was a great novelist and one of the central figures of English literature, but she herself lived a quiet and uneventful life, mostly in the two Hampshire villages of Steventon and Chawton. Jon Spence's biography focuses its attention away from the wider literary and intellectual currents that informed her writing and instead concentrates on the immediate influences on her life and work.

By focusing on the woman rather than the author, George Tucker paints a new and welcome picture of Jane Austen: not the spinster recluse of previous biographies, but a vibrant, well-traveled woman who was very much a part of the world in which she lived.

Jane Austen wrote her novels in the midst of a large and sociable family. One of Jane's dearest friends, Martha Lloyd, lived with the family for many years and recorded in her "Household Book" over 100 recipes enjoyed by the Austens. A selection of this family fare, now thoroughly tested and modernized for today's cooks, is recreated here, together with some of the more sophisticated dishes which Jane and her characters would have enjoyed at balls, picnics, and supper parties.

To peruse this lovely volume is to step back in time and experience the world of Georgian and Regency Britain -- the world of Jane Austen's enduringly popular fiction. With its wealth of illustrations, many never before published, this meticulously detailed account is an essential source of background information for all students and enthusiasts of Jane Austen's books.

Ross, a London writer who has written on British history, provides what is purported to be the only general guide to the life, writings, and the Regency-era social, literary, and political world of this ever-popular novelist. The illustrations include a rare portrait of Austen.

Who would not want to sit down with Jane Austen for a cup of tea? For the first time, here is a book that shares the secrets of one of her favorite rituals. Each chapter includes a description of how tea was taken at a particular place or time of day, along with history, recipes, excerpts from Austen's novels and letters and illustrations from the time.

You've read Emma. You own Pride and Prejudice. You love Sense and Sensibility. But do you know all there is to know about Jane Austen? Find answers to questions such as: Who was the Irishman who stole her heart? Why was their affair doomed? Which Austen heroine most resembled Jane? Who were the real Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy? Why did Jane never marry?