Jane Austen's Bookshelf

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

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 shed stumbled across a novel by one of Jane Austens favourite authors. Inspired by the connection between the two writers, she returned to Austens 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 hadnt. These female writers all sat proudly on Austens 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 Austens bookshelf.