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The Jane Austen Handbook

The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills From Regency England is a guide to Regency life and manners, pitched to the reader who wants something non-academic and focused on the socio-economic class that Austen wrote about most frequently. This is history-lite but it’s fun and interesting.

If you’ve read Jane Austen’s novels and want something to fill out the world for you, this is a good starter book. It’s light, with lovely illustrations. I was especially pleased to see that it includes the rules for Whist and some other games, and instructions on some of the crafts a lady would be expected to be adept at. There’s a guide to money, and clothing, and it’s all in context with the novels, so you get a good sense of how rich Darcy actually is and so forth.

The book is hard to grade because how much you like it will depend entirely on what you are looking for. There’s very little macro-history so you won’t be learning about the Napoleonic Wars or what’s happening in any countries other than England. It talks about each of Austen’s books without a ton of analysis and gives a brief biography of the author. It’s not academic, but it’s a nice light, casual supplement to the Austen world.

– Carrie S

Long before Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk published this guide to life in Regency England to the delight of Austen fans everywhere. Newly published with a revised cover, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early 19th century. Readers will discover:

• How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
• How to Ensure a Good Yearly Income
• How to Ride Sidesaddle
• How to Behave at a Dinner Party

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living.

MARGARET C. SULLIVAN is the editrix of Austenblog.com and an active member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Her favorite Jane Austen novel is Persuasion.