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Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners
"Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners "is a light-hearted, insightful handbook written as if intended for her original Regency Era readers, and illustrated throughout with beautiful watercolors. When Anna, Jane Austen's young niece, sent her a novel for ""literary comment," Jane loved everything about it, except its utter disregard for the manners of the day. The resulting...more
ebook, 144 pages
Published
December 3rd 2008
by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
(first published October 2nd 2006)
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Please don't tell my mom that I'm actually reading about etiquette. I especially don't want her to know how much I'm enjoying it. It's so much more pleasant to aspire to good manners at the insistance of one's own inclination rather than to be cajoled into it.
This elegant little book uses the subject of manners and good behavior as the fabric upon which threads of example from Jane Austen's life and writings are embroidered. It is illustrated with adorable watercolor sketches, and includes a ti...more
This elegant little book uses the subject of manners and good behavior as the fabric upon which threads of example from Jane Austen's life and writings are embroidered. It is illustrated with adorable watercolor sketches, and includes a ti...more
The ones that I've been following my posts frequently already know that I am doing this school essay called EE (extended essay) about a topic related to Jane Austen. At this point my research question is: What was the role of dance during the time and life of Jane Austen and how does it affect the relationships and plot of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Emma? Because of this essay, I ordered several different books related to Jane Austen and dance (you can see the other books from my late...more
Nov 23, 2009
Sweetman Sweetman
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
not really
Recommended to Sweetman by:
a young lady who knows I love Jane Austen
I have trouble with people who think they can write in the voice of Jane Austen. I avoid at all costs those awful pieces of trash like "Mr. Darcy's Daughters" and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" because there is one Jane Austen and all others are most certainly NOT Jane Austen.
Aside from the gall thinking they possess the talents and inimitable style of Miss Austen, which they most assuredly don't, the nerve of trying to stand on the shoulders of this giant is quite overstepping any author's...more
Aside from the gall thinking they possess the talents and inimitable style of Miss Austen, which they most assuredly don't, the nerve of trying to stand on the shoulders of this giant is quite overstepping any author's...more
This book didn't go as in-depth as I had hoped, but it was still a great read. Since it was very focused on Miss Jane Austen's works, there were some historical details that were not touched upon, but it was enough of a primer for anyone interested in that time period. Even after all this time, I actually learned things I didn't know, and the book showed me some of the more intricate niceties that I didn't pick up when reading the original works. I am an avid reader of Regency romance novels, an...more
While this book is definitely NOT anything remarkable, it's a fun and fast little read that goes through a lot of Austen's stories to give examples of "manners" as well as using Austen's own personal letters to her sister and friends. It read to me kind of like a paper I would have written in a British Lit. class in college. Nothing extraordinary by any means. Still, it was a fun read to pick up when I had literally one minute or two to myself (the chapters/sections were incredibly short). The i...more
Aug 27, 2009
Meredith (Austenesque Reviews)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
jane-austen
If you have read Jane Austen, seen Jane Austen movies, you probably know that the manners and social customs they had back then are so very different from ours today. This book is a guide that explains how to have good manners if you ever find yourself in Jane Austen's World. Furthermore, this book could serve as a guide to writing a novel that takes place during regency time. In addition, if you are curious about the customs and social behaviors in Jane Austen's books, this book will help to cl...more
If you are a Janeite, this is a very insightful compilation of regency mores and etiquette to guide you along and show you how Jane perceived the world and how her writing commented upon it. That is one of the many things that Austen is credited with, that her books are studies in the society of the time, and give us now a view of a kinder, more genteel period.
Since the Austen Canon, unlike the Dickens Canon, provides a look at a very well to do part of society, mostly that of perhaps the lower...more
Since the Austen Canon, unlike the Dickens Canon, provides a look at a very well to do part of society, mostly that of perhaps the lower...more
Aug 19, 2010
Rebecca Huston
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
any fan of Jane Austen
A very fun, funny, look at manners and etiquette as shown in Jane Austen's novels. I heartily recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of the series or curious about what was considered to be good manners in Regency Society. It's also one of the better books on the topic. And then there are the illustrations!
For a more complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_29742...
For a more complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_29742...
This book is described as "little" because it is. It is the same size one of Austen's original volumes. It provides the rules of etiquette for every imaginable social situation. If a lady were to refuse a request to dance, she would have to refuse all others. A little help with some of the more obscure definitions would have helped (e.g., battledore), but a fun and interesting read.
Dec 07, 2012
Readitnweep
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
austen,
non-fiction
What a handy book for those of us who plan to write a early 18th century historical novel but are sure never to complete one. Seriously, this is well put together and cheerfully written in a cheeky, Austen-esque tone which I quite liked. This is a book I'll keep on the shelf to refer to - just in case I do write that historical. Stranger things have happened.
Well done!
Well done!
I had high hopes for this book but was rather disappointed unfortunately. I expected to get more from it. However, it's just stating examples from Jane Austen's novels and connecting them but without much further explanation. I thought I would be able to learn something new by reading this. Another thing that bothered me really was that I couldn't see if it was meant to be viewed as if we were in the Regency period or the rules could/should apply in the 21st century.
Lovely, little book about the manners and etiquette during Jane's Regency period. The excerpts from Austen's letters add to the information being presented, as well as illustrative examples from her novels. This guide helped to explain some of the finer points and traditions featured throughout the novels. Very fine, indeed!
For those wishing to enter, or understand, the Authoress's social world as depicted in her novels, certain guiding rules may be of assistance.
How to refuse a proposal of marriage; who should lead off the dancing at a country-house ball; how to address someone correctly; what to wear for a morning walk... Today such social niceties are largely forgotten or ignored, but they underpin all of Jane Austen's timeless novels and are exp0lored and dealt with in this highly original book.
~~from the back...more
How to refuse a proposal of marriage; who should lead off the dancing at a country-house ball; how to address someone correctly; what to wear for a morning walk... Today such social niceties are largely forgotten or ignored, but they underpin all of Jane Austen's timeless novels and are exp0lored and dealt with in this highly original book.
~~from the back...more
This was a surprisingly fast read, and a fun little book that references all of Miss Jane Austen's works in lessons about good manners. A friend got it for me in advance of a party we're having to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the printing of Pride & Prejudice, but now I just want to read all of the books again!
I just started this last night and only read about 10 pages, but it is utterly fascinating. Even as an Austen addict, I didn't realize just how complicated some of the manners and rules of "polite society" really were.
Another cute little book about the manners necessary during Jane Austen's time period. I know we romanticize the past, but I do wonder if people didn't have more genuine manners than we have/use today. :)
This was a light and fun read that puts some of Jane Austen's characters' bad behavior into context with examples from the books and Miss Jane's own letters.
"Manners are, indeed, the foundation of a civilised society." Oh man, if only the ignorant and moronic would read this...!
This is a very fun overview of society's rule during Jane Austen's time. Quick, easy read, very informative.
An excellent and entertaining, if ahort, introduction to the manners of Jane Austin's novels and world.
This is a cute little book that brings added insight to the social interactions in Austen's books.
We shall see what this turns out to be. :)
What a fun easy read. I didn't realize how much Jane Austen researched while writing her books. There are scenes used as examples in this commentary (reads like a Master's program comparitive essay)that I thought were meaningless but actually are there to prove a point about a person/society. It's a fun way to rehatch all her books without having to read them - you just get a few of the best quotes from all her books!
Austen fans will love this guide to proper etiquette such as how a lady should be addressed (more complicated than you might think), how to treat servants, and how to relate to a gentlemen. It draws on examples from Austen's work and her real life using her letters. A great gift idea for any Janeite.
*laughs* This 'Guide' is fantastic if you just want to brush up on some etiquette - or have a regency ball to attend in the next week or so and want to have everything perfect by then. ;D An entertaining read...as it IS all about etiquette! What better than to do it the Jane Austen way!?
I thought it was pretty good, though most of the "manners" apply to Miss Jane Austens time, versus ours, EX: ball room dancing! All the same, I did learn that to call "Miss" Jane Austen, Jane, or Miss Austen, would be incredibly rude if she lived now!:) Oh how thing have changed......
A fun way to explore the manners and peculiarities of Jane Austen's day. Who knew that tea was so expensive that the lady of the house kept it locked up in her tea service? The book itself is delightfully designed with illustrations and a built-in ribbon bookmark. A fun read!
Aug 09, 2010
Miss Clark
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
anglo-phile,
history-culture
A very informative and useful book, full of the customs of the time. I liked it because it gave practical information that both illuminated issues in Regency books and gave details that authors writing Regency historical novels should know as some basic social guidelines.
I really liked this book! It's comparable to A Jane Austen Handbook, which is great. I'd recommend this book if you wish you could travel back in time to an era of civility and true manners. It's a very quick read, can be read in a single sitting definitely.
This was a lovely little book. I learned a great deal about the social customs and standards of Jane Austen's era and I loved how the author used examples from Austen's novels to highlight how they are shown throughout. I would highly recommend this book
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As a finalist in Vogue talent contest, Ross won a job on Vogue and joined the magazine after graduating from London University.
She left the magazine two years later to write full time, and her publications include a biography of The Winter Queen (1979) and Beaton in Vogue (1986).
She is married to medieval historian and writer James Chambers; and her interests include history and fencing. She lives...more
More about Josephine Ross...
She left the magazine two years later to write full time, and her publications include a biography of The Winter Queen (1979) and Beaton in Vogue (1986).
She is married to medieval historian and writer James Chambers; and her interests include history and fencing. She lives...more
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Jun 15, 2012 08:52pm