Rebecca Romney, a rare book collector and Jane Austen enthusiast, has given the world an answer to the question “If all our bookshelves are full of Jane Austen books, what filled her own shelves so long ago?” Romney discovered a variety of female writers who themselves were responsible for inspiring Austen to pick up her pen again and again. JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF is a real eye opener, a valiant and entertaining effort to ensure that these women do not get lost in the literary canon shuffle anymore.

From the BookTok girlies to the PhD candidates, every Austen fan will find here a wondrous and enjoyable historical journey to the heart of literary feminism, as well as some clues about how the rare books world works. Romney has a delightful voice; she is self-effacing, funny and quite knowledgeable. As she moves forward on her quest, readers will do the easy part --- sit back, relax, enjoy the biographies of these fantastic women and their works, and then pick up a copy of every single volume that Romney mentions for further reading heaven.

"I certainly expect that Romney’s excellent cultivation of [these writers'] life stories in JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF will build a new interest and understanding for the readers of today and the books of yesterday."

Romney uncovers eight writers who most likely will not be known beyond academic circles but whose output was on par with Austen’s relatable works: Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi and Maria Edgeworth. Romney starts her hunt by asking herself where the term “pride and prejudice” came from, revealing an answer that surprised her. It originated from Burney’s novel, CECILIA, one of the most famous books of Austen’s lifetime. In this era, more women published novels than men. However, if we were to follow general readership trends, we would see that no real dent was made in the canon by these authors. Romney’s work will change that in a significant way.

Austen was a productive reader and owned as many of the books she read as possible. There is the sense of a deep passion here, not just between Romney and Austen’s love for female-driven plotlines and passions, but for the joy of holding in one’s hand a beautiful book, full of the possibility of a literary journey that takes one away from the real-world issues every era creates. Romney gives ample space to each author here, whether she is a playwright, a poet or a novelist. These works were both commercially viable and artistically explorative, but they have been forgotten in the wealth of attention given to Austen’s enduring classics.

As an English major considering a PhD in literature, I have to say that I was flummoxed by how few of these writers are given attention in academic circles or even in the Bookstagram posts of the most deep-cutting creators. I certainly expect that Romney’s excellent cultivation of their life stories in JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF will build a new interest and understanding for the readers of today and the books of yesterday.