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40th out of 211 books
—
386 voters
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist--the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England
by
Daniel Pool
For every frustrated reader of the great nineteenth-century English novels of Austen, Trollope, Dickens, or the Brontës who has ever wondered whether a duke outranked an earl, when to yell "Tally Ho!" at a fox hunt, or how one landed in "debtor's prison," here is a "delightful reader's companion that lights up the literary dark" (The New York Times). This fascinating, live...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
April 21st 1994
by Touchstone
(first published 1993)
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Feb 22, 2008
Gail
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
the overprecise
Shelves:
victoroian-nonfiction
Sooo....wanna know who's who in the hierarchy of the Anglican church (you need this if you read Trollope, my little sweetie)? Would ya like to learn all those card games they played way back when people actually faced one another IN PERSON when playing a game? Care about old food, fashion, and social customs? Then this is the book for you. A great browser for when nothing suits and all is vile in litrachuah. I just loved this and wish I still had my copy.
Jun 13, 2008
Susan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Brit Lit
Shelves:
nonfiction-adult
It's not exactly everything one needs to know about nineteenth-century England, but it does a fine job at hitting upon most of the little knowledge gaps that can crop up for modern readers of Dickens, Hardy, Trollope, Austen, and their contemporaries. Particularly devoted readers of such Brit Lit may be surprised at how many times they are struck with a sense of dawning clarity and realization as they peruse this book---whether by the discovery of the name and rules of the card game Rawdon Crawl...more
What is a lord chancellor? What, exactly, was a pound worth? How much weight was a “stone”? Is a peer a hereditary or bestowed title? Which of society members constitutes a peerage? Give up?
This is a comprehensive—at times almost staggeringly so—look at what life was like for the highborn and lowborn living in 19th-century England. It’s mainly a sort of glossary about those parts of novels written during this time that might baffle modern day readers but which would have been obvious to people...more
This is a comprehensive—at times almost staggeringly so—look at what life was like for the highborn and lowborn living in 19th-century England. It’s mainly a sort of glossary about those parts of novels written during this time that might baffle modern day readers but which would have been obvious to people...more
"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there".- quote from novel, the Go-Betweens. The past is "foreign" enough to modern Brits, but even more so to those of us across the pond.
For anyone who has read Victorian-era British novels or watched film adaptations and been confused by some of the customs and cultural references made by the characters- this book is a godsend. The authors of these novels wrote assuming their audience would know things like social hierachy, ettiquette...more
For anyone who has read Victorian-era British novels or watched film adaptations and been confused by some of the customs and cultural references made by the characters- this book is a godsend. The authors of these novels wrote assuming their audience would know things like social hierachy, ettiquette...more
You all know my weakness for a book with Jane Austen's name in the title, so when I came across What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, the double whammy decided my reading for the week.
The book is by Daniel Pool, but it is not anything more than a reference book divided into subsections of "Public Life," "Country Life," "Private Life," etc. Each subsection has chapters that address their theme. For instance, "Private Life" has chapters about sex, marriage, clothing, pudding and evil spir...more
The book is by Daniel Pool, but it is not anything more than a reference book divided into subsections of "Public Life," "Country Life," "Private Life," etc. Each subsection has chapters that address their theme. For instance, "Private Life" has chapters about sex, marriage, clothing, pudding and evil spir...more
i love shit like this. nothing pleases me more than to know the proper table setting for a victorian outdoor tea (though you wouldn't know it to watch me eat). regardless of that, sadly, this book (which i read immediately before it) did not help me understand what the damned peasants in "the return of the native" were saying, and, then, spark notes ruined that work for me, as detailed in my review, thereof. hardy might have been proud of that sentence, tho'. but that's all to the side. if you w...more
Jan 04, 2010
Karen Powell
added it
Everything you wanted to know about nineteenth-century Englanders, but were afraid to ask. I was amazed at all the things covered in this book that I wondered about while reading Austen and Bronte, but never bothered to look up: Things like the ranking of peers, the different types of carriages, and a handy glossary of terms at the end of the book. Questions you never thought to ask, like "What did they do with their trash?" or "Where did they get their water?" are answered. I found the parts ab...more
This book is completely fascinating (this isn't something I usually say about non-fiction). It talks about daily life in England for authors like Austen, Dickens, and Eyre, with many references to their works. It is a broad overview, but also tells all the interesting bits.
For instance, when talking about the London fog, Pool writes that "ladies going to the opera at night with white shawls returned with them gray. It has been suggested that the black umbrella put in its appearance because it d...more
For instance, when talking about the London fog, Pool writes that "ladies going to the opera at night with white shawls returned with them gray. It has been suggested that the black umbrella put in its appearance because it d...more
Jan 24, 2013
Kyle Pratt
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
I recommend this handy reference for anyone who enjoys Regency or Victorian literature.
Shelves:
non-fiction
f you read Regency or Victorian literature this is a reference you will want close at hand. Both Interesting and fun to read, the author says he wanted to "answer some of the questions that nag any half-curious reader of the great nineteenth-century English novels." He does just that. This book is meant as an overview, or introduction, to the period not an in-depth reference. You will not find lengthy discussions of what Jane Austen might have eaten, but there are several sections on foods and d...more
I've been reading this with my recent attempts at catching up on Victorian classics, and it has been a marvelous companion piece so far. Most of the webpages out there which provide notes for Victorian classics tend to focus more on themes or symbolism, which might be useful for people who are being tested in a class on the material, but doesn't help at all when the sort of questions I'm having about the material as a casual reader are more along the lines of "What sort of courtship/marriage sys...more
Dec 20, 2011
Huma Rashid
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
21st-century,
19th-century,
culture,
england,
fashion,
history,
nonfiction,
politics,
proletariat,
writing
A really thorough, well-researched, probing look at the nineteenth century, framed in the context of famous fin de siecle books, like Wuthering Heights, Far From the Madding Crowd, the words of Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Barchester Towers, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and so much more.
You'll learn about the life of the nobility and the aristocrats, and then the gentry. You'll learn the naming conventions, the rules of Whist, the professions of the day, how the poor lived, how...more
You'll learn about the life of the nobility and the aristocrats, and then the gentry. You'll learn the naming conventions, the rules of Whist, the professions of the day, how the poor lived, how...more
Interesting and informative. A fair amount of this information I have picked up on my own over decades of reading English novels of earlier centuries, but it was good to get a firmer grasp on what was actually involved in being presented at court and the niceties of how one left one’s calling card and so forth. I liked how the author illustrated many of his explanations by quoting literature of the period, though I did occasionally wonder why he used the same few novels over and over—Tess, Wuthe...more
Today’s Non-Fiction post is on “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist--the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England” by Daniel Pool. It is 416 pages long, including a glossary for terms, a bibliography, and an index. It is published by Simon & Schuster in 1993. The cover is very colorful with pictures of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens each on one side of the cover. The intended reader is someone who wants to understand more about the 19th century and to...more
This book was one of the most peculiar finds I have ever had at a used book store. I was originally drawn to the title, which I thought was really amusing, but once I started reading, I also really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job of making facts seem more like a story, perhaps because some of them are so far away from the norm today. The book is designed as a guide to reading Victorian-era literature (which I must confess I do enjoy), but can be read by those who haven't read ever...more
Pool looks at everyday life in 19th century England. Everything from card games to fox hunting to orphanages. His goal in writing this book is to illuminate some of the cultural mysteries of the era for the reader of 19th century novels, which he does with a sense of irony and wit.
The book is composed in two parts. In Part I he describes everyday life, using quotes from popular 19th century novels to illuminate his descriptions. In Part II he includes an in-depth glossary (somewhere in the range...more
The book is composed in two parts. In Part I he describes everyday life, using quotes from popular 19th century novels to illuminate his descriptions. In Part II he includes an in-depth glossary (somewhere in the range...more
Anyone who has lived or spent a number of years in England and is reasonably well-read will find few surprises in this book, but the detail and the entertaining writing and illustrations make it worth reading. I recommend this book to all those who enjoy Austen, Brontë, Dickens, Gaskell, Thackeray and Victorian England in general.
Surprises for me were discovering that half of America (along with China) apparently forbids first cousin marriage and that marriage banns are unknown in the USA.
[I hat...more
Surprises for me were discovering that half of America (along with China) apparently forbids first cousin marriage and that marriage banns are unknown in the USA.
[I hat...more
I like what I read so far in this book; however, I haven't yet finished it, and unfortunately must move on to something else. For me, this is less a book to read from cover to cover and more of a reference to use when reading 19th C. English fiction. Or, dare I say it, a book to keep in the bathroom to read a little at a time.
More encyclopedical than I thought. The chapter explaining British money left me more confused than I ever was. I must still use contex to determine monetary amounts. The rest is a charming collection of just the sort of information that a 21st century American, mike myself, would want to know about when reading just the sort of books I have always liked to read. I shall probably always keep this one around and place somewhere between Austen and Dickens on my shelves, they are the only writers'...more
A very informative and fact-packed book about English life in the nineteenth century. I learned a lot that I didn't know and was reminded of more that I had forgotten.
I'm giving this book only four stars because, while the content is great, the information isn't always organised in the best possible way. Often Pool mentions something without explaining it fully. Sometimes, if you're lucky, that thing will pop up in a later chapter where it will get a proper explanation, but often it's never expl...more
I'm giving this book only four stars because, while the content is great, the information isn't always organised in the best possible way. Often Pool mentions something without explaining it fully. Sometimes, if you're lucky, that thing will pop up in a later chapter where it will get a proper explanation, but often it's never expl...more
This is a lovely reference for lovers of 19th century English fiction. Dickens, Austen, Hardy, and the other great novelists had no idea their works would be so long-lasting, and made references that their contemporaneous readers would catch or understand, whereas we 21st century readers are left in the dark. This book attempts to fill in the gaps so that we understand more fully what's going on. I found it quite fascinating to learn about all facets of English life, from the very public (Englis...more
This is a light yet fairly comprehensive guide to the many things mentioned in 19th century English literature, so you can keep track of which duties where had by which servant and how much you could buy on a widow's annuity. This is one of those books I enjoyed because it reminded me that I already picked up most of this stuff through many years of exposure. I found it slightly odd, though, that the examples given were all from the same pool -- Austen and Dickens, mostly, and a little Trollope...more
This book is a gem! It is meant as a reference book for those reading works of fiction written in/about victorian times, but I also enjoyed it as something (mostly) very interesting to read a chapter or section at a time - just pick something interesting out of the Table of Contents and read away. Or go to the very extensive Glossary to find the explanation of a word or term that has been driving you crazy in that novel you're reading.
I had fun reading this, and some sections were a lot more int...more
I had fun reading this, and some sections were a lot more int...more
Dec 04, 2009
Nic
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of victorian lit, anyone who writes steampunk, history buffs
Shelves:
nonfiction
This should be 4.5 stars, really. A fantastic book. I mostly picked it up to help with worldbuilding for my fantasy writing, but it's extremely readable, sometimes funny, and always fascinating. It's apparently intended as a desk reference for people who like reading Victorian fiction, and I'm sure it would be excellent for that, but it's also just neat. I even read the entire glossary and enjoyed it all.
I don't write steampunk, but anyone who does should absolutely read this book. In fact, it's...more
I don't write steampunk, but anyone who does should absolutely read this book. In fact, it's...more
Have you ever wondered what it meant in Pride and Prejudice that the estate was entailed? Or how about all those diseases prevalent in Victorian writings, ague or consumption for example - what do we know them as? And all those poor orphans running around begging throughout the novels - are they just a literary device or were orphans really that common?
If you have ever wondered about these or other questions while reading 19th century novels, then this book is for you. It's a surprisingly easy...more
If you have ever wondered about these or other questions while reading 19th century novels, then this book is for you. It's a surprisingly easy...more
This book helps solve so many of the mystery sentences we gloss over in 19th Century fiction because we really don't know the underlying meanings: for instance, we have no modern context of the lady of the house's not being "at home" to her guests, and we don't understand the implicit significance of Mrs. So-and-So's leaving the calling card of a prominent guest in full view in the parlor (so that other guests understand that she is associated with 'persons of rank').
If you find yourself readin...more
If you find yourself readin...more
Excellent book! Very refreshing after reading so many dry history books that do nothing but list names, dates, and events. This book really shows you what it was like to live in 19th Century Great Britain, from the peasants to the upper class. It covers food, clothes, entertainment, customs, jobs, and pretty much anything relating to everyday life in this era. As a bonus, there is a glossary at the end of the book which gives detailed definitions of all the antiquated terms you might come across...more
I read this book as research for a steampunk roleplaying game that some friends and I are designing. It fit the bill perfectly.
If you're looking for a very accessible, well written summary of 19th century Britain look no further.
The page count is overstated really because the first 255 pages are the main text, divided up into chapters that describe institutions, social classes, earning a living, and so on. The second half of the book is made up of a glossary of period terms. I suppose you could...more
If you're looking for a very accessible, well written summary of 19th century Britain look no further.
The page count is overstated really because the first 255 pages are the main text, divided up into chapters that describe institutions, social classes, earning a living, and so on. The second half of the book is made up of a glossary of period terms. I suppose you could...more
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England is good for a reference book, but not so much for a pleasure read. Honestly, I only read the first section; reading a glossary didn't appeal to me. The information in the first section was interesting, if a bit repetitive for someone reading straight through. The grammar mistakes were distracting, though.
At times, this book was immensely entertaining. I enjoyed learning about the private lives of the 19th century Britons the best, but a good deal of the other information (where people ranked would be seated, for instance) was dully written. The descriptions of the carriages were hard to follow, and illustrations of the different types would have been a major help. However, there is a lot of information in here that is useful, especially for someone reading a lot of fiction from the time periods...more
A mostly engrossing primer on the background details of England in the 1800s, geared towards the reader of literature. Pool does a great job of including countless examples from the pages of the big authors (Austen, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, Trollope and the Brontës), often explaining the significance of some passage that I had blithely passed over in my ignorance. The least interesting aspect was the lengthy description of titles and ranks--though obviously a big deal to the Victorians--, and most...more
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Daniel Pool has spent most of his adult life teaching and practicing law in New York City. His first book, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew (Simon & Schuster, 1993) has sold more than 80,000 copies. It was an alternate selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, QualityPaperback Book Club, and the History Book Club, as is his second book, Dickens' Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered...more
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30 de Nov 09:28