Imatge de l'autor

Janine Barchas

Autor/a de The Lost Books of Jane Austen

7+ obres 106 Membres 4 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Janine Barchas is an associate professor of English at the University of Texas, Austin. She is the author of Graphic Design, Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel.
Crèdit de la imatge: UT Austin

Obres de Janine Barchas

Obres associades

Persuasions 35: The Jane Austen Journal (2013) (2013) — Col·laborador — 5 exemplars
Book History (Volume 16) — Col·laborador — 2 exemplars

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Ressenyes

Gorgeously illustrated book about different editions of Austen, mostly cheap and therefore uncollected by traditional institutions, punctuated by attempts to trace the history of the owners of specific books, like the girl who received a copy as a reward for good performance in her 19th century school and then died shortly thereafter of illness. It’s mostly an obsessive look into the different ways cheap books were published, along with some incredible covers as publishers tried to figure out how best to sell Austen—the Gothic, Harlequin-esque and trippy 60s covers are my favorites.… (més)
2 vota
Marcat
rivkat | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Jun 2, 2020 |
A refreshing look at the publication of Jane Austen's novels over the past two centuries, and the uses to which they have been put. I have tended to think of books as their texts, but Janine Barchas has demonstrated that there is so much more to it than that.
 
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Roarer | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Mar 5, 2020 |
There was a time when books weren’t so readily available. When owning a book or books was a sign of wealth. Fortunately printing methods changed and books became more affordable but as with everything affordable is always relative. The Lost Books of Jane Austen explores the publishing of Ms. Austen’s novels and how they secured her reputation. It wasn’t due to those fancy leather bound books found in the libraries in big manor houses but rather due to the paperboard or “pulp” books published and available to the mass population.

The book is a fascinating look at not only the books and their myriad covers and editions – and the covers are works of art in some cases and in others they look like the illustrated equivalent of a tabloid photo – but also of the owners. Using geneological records Ms. Barchas traces the ownership of several books to tell the books’ stories. It’s truly interesting to learn how a book passed from hand to hand and how important it was even if it was an inexpensive paperboard novel.

This book would be perfect for anyone who loves Jane Austen and her novels. It would make an excellent gift for any Austen lover on your list.
… (més)
 
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BooksCooksLooks | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Dec 10, 2019 |
Barchas looks at the works of Jane Austen in light of their historical context and posits that Austen used the names of many prominent families to make statements or parodies in her own fiction. According to Barchas, Austen also made used of her geographic knowledge to poke fun at her characters or make additional commentary. Barchas goes on to argue that because Austen's books became popular many years after her death, most critics did not pick up at these nuances previously.

In many ways this book reminded of Jane Austen, Secret Radical, in which another literary critic tries to make sweeping changes to the way Austen's novels are currently read by glomming on to small facts and trying to make them bigger than they are. (I did review that book elsewhere on LibraryThing if you are looking for more details.) As with that book, I appreciated the author here doing so much work in revealing details about Austen's milieu. I also think some of her theories have some validity. However, I feel like she runs with a train of thought and keeps going well beyond the track.

For instance, a big part of Barchas's argument is that Austen used the names of celebrity families of her day in her fiction to make social commentary. While Barchas does list some of those names and points out to where Austen uses them, I don't think she quite succeeds in arguing that Austen is making a grander point in their usage. Barchas herself even says "All these tantalizing coincidences and near overlaps may be nothing more than inevitable historical coincidence." Barchas quickly tries to dismiss this, but I think it rings more true than her 'proof' that Austen consciously chose both first and last names to signify a specific family or scandal. (The fact that Austen uses a name like "Mary" for three wildly different characters in three distinct novels would alone be suggestive that she did not think her audience was making specific connections to real-world personages. That Austen may have had her own personal laugh at some of her name selections I do whole-heartedly believe.)

As it was written by an academic, this book does read often like a term paper, with phrases to the effect of 'in this chapter, I will show how....' filled in with a thesis. Nevertheless, I found it read fairly quickly once you got into the swing of it. The historical aspects really were riveting; for example, I thought the chapter on the Hell-fire Club was so good that I read bits about the infamous club aloud to others. It certainly was interesting to see Austen's novels in relation to her time's scandals and stories, but again I emphasis that I think Barchas overextended her hand to make more out these snippets than was there.

Super fans of Austen, literary criticism, and/or history will get at least something out of this book.
… (més)
½
 
Marcat
sweetiegherkin | Nov 30, 2019 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
7
També de
3
Membres
106
Popularitat
#181,887
Valoració
½ 4.4
Ressenyes
4
ISBN
10

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