Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England by Roy And Lesley Adkins
Jane Austen, arguably the greatest novelist of the English language, lived from 1775 to 1817. Her fiction focuses on the gentry and aristocracy, and her heroines are young women looking for love. Yet the comfortable, tranquil country that she brilliantly devised is a complete contrast to the England in which she actually lived. For twenty-nine of Jane Austen's forty-one years, the country was embroiled in war. Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England explores the real England of that time. Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly portray fascinating aspects of the daily lives of ordinary people, from forced marriages and the sale of wives in marketplaces to boys and girls working down mines or as chimney sweeps, this book eavesdrops on the daily chore of fetching water, the horror of ghosts and witches, Saint Monday, bull baiting, sedan chairs, highwaymen, the stench of corpses swinging on roadside gibbets and the horrors of surgery without anaesthetics. Giving a voice to these forgotten people and revealing how they worked, played and struggled to survive, Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England is an authoritative and gripping account that is sometimes humorous, often shocking, but always entertaining.
Scholarly but accessible. . a must for anyone who wants a peek under Mr Darcy's wet shirt * Daily Mail *
A lively and impressionistic guide to the age, enjoyable for those entirely new to the subject, but also for the better informed, who will not only discover new facts in its wealth of material, but appreciate the immediacy and flavour of its eye-witness accounts -- Rosemary Goring * Sunday Herald *
In reconstructing the lives of ordinary people in Georgian England, Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly evoke the ways in which wealth and poverty coexisted ... This excellent book reminds us that Georgian England was as remote and alien to a modern sensibility as the Roman Empire -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
a comprehensive survey of daily life in the time of Jane Austen, full of nuggets of surprising information ... a fine book for browsing -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail *
Jane Austen's England provides a richly detailed portrait ... As this immensely useful and informative book makes clear, Regency England was no laughing matter -- Jonathan Yardley * Washington Post *
The authors provide a fascinating view of daily life in Britain during the late Georgian and Regency eras ... an excellent read, with each chapter offering a treasury of insights into the lives of Austen's contemporaries, both rich and poor -- Carmela Ciuraru * USA Today *
This encyclopedic and entertaining volume will suit readers who daydream about going back in time to walk alongside literary figures such as Austen ... While familiarity with her work will surely enhance reader delight, knowledge of the primary sources isn't necessary ... readers will appreciate its exciting sweep * Publishers Weekly *
For fans of Austen and English history, a deeply informative picture of Regency life * Kirkus Reviews *
A lively and impressionistic guide to the age, enjoyable for those entirely new to the subject, but also for the better informed, who will not only discover new facts in its wealth of material, but appreciate the immediacy and flavour of its eye-witness accounts -- Rosemary Goring * Sunday Herald *
In reconstructing the lives of ordinary people in Georgian England, Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly evoke the ways in which wealth and poverty coexisted ... This excellent book reminds us that Georgian England was as remote and alien to a modern sensibility as the Roman Empire -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
a comprehensive survey of daily life in the time of Jane Austen, full of nuggets of surprising information ... a fine book for browsing -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail *
Jane Austen's England provides a richly detailed portrait ... As this immensely useful and informative book makes clear, Regency England was no laughing matter -- Jonathan Yardley * Washington Post *
The authors provide a fascinating view of daily life in Britain during the late Georgian and Regency eras ... an excellent read, with each chapter offering a treasury of insights into the lives of Austen's contemporaries, both rich and poor -- Carmela Ciuraru * USA Today *
This encyclopedic and entertaining volume will suit readers who daydream about going back in time to walk alongside literary figures such as Austen ... While familiarity with her work will surely enhance reader delight, knowledge of the primary sources isn't necessary ... readers will appreciate its exciting sweep * Publishers Weekly *
For fans of Austen and English history, a deeply informative picture of Regency life * Kirkus Reviews *
Roy and Lesley Adkins are husband-and-wife historians and authors of widely acclaimed books on naval and social history, including Jack Tar, Trafalgar, The War for All the Oceans and Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England, which have been translated into seventeen languages. They are Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Historical Society, as well as Members of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. They live in Devon. See www.adkinshistory.com
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781408703960 |
| ISBN 10 | 1408703963 |
| Title | Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England |
| Author | Roy And Lesley Adkins |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Year published | 2013-06-06 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |