AUSTEN COUNTRY

by Tom Howard

"In tracing her life and writing, and the places associated with them, Tom Howard manages to add a modern topographical dimension. With the aid of magnificent photography, the reader is introduced to what can still be seen, despite the lapse of two centuries, of the life, the towns and the countryside that Jane Austen knew."

Genres: Nonfiction, Jane Austen, Biography, Travel, British Literature, History

80 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 1995

About the author

Pseudonym for John Howard Reid.

Reviews

[Courtney Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, in its own kind, a short picture book for adult enthusiasts of Jane Austen, giving plates of the sights and places that Jane herself would have viewed and appreciated in her own time. It shows the many grand homes that she would have visited and some of the scenery of the cities and towns in which she lived. It does, at times border on dry reading, but is livened up with extracts of Janes own novels and some of her many letters written to her sister over the years describing events or feelings, making the photos come alive as one imagines the impact they had on Jane herself two hundred years ago. There are photos of locales that she based her fictional places on and photos of the idyllic countryside that she grew up in, the bustle of cities like Bath in which she lived and even shares photos of Winchester, where Jane lived out her last days.

More for the aficionado than the casual fan.

[Sally Cathcart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Hardy wrote a brief biography of Jane Austen including all the places where she lived and the influences of each place on her writings. The book includes great paintings and photographs of different houses and places in Jane Austen’s life.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of Austen's life with photos of all her various homes and places she visited in her life.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lushly illustrated coffee-table book showing and describing the various locales where Jane Austen spent her life. The book includes a synopsis of her life, as well as quotations from her books.

[LibbyZally · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like reading the classics, wanting to know where stories came from, then this is the book for you.

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book to read. It has pictures along with sections for Bath, Southampton, Visits, Winchester etc. It has bits and pieces of Jane’s life and some of her letters.