Chrissie Whitley's Reviews > Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend

3.5 stars

Being a huge Jane Austen fan, and, at times, having the inclination to read the books she mentions — specifically those in Northanger Abbey — I thought this would be a wonderful dive into the women authors who influenced and shaped Austen's own work. And it does do that. But honestly, and this is mostly on me, I wanted more biography and less book collecting. I understand and often love when the author of a nonfiction book like this includes a good deal of their intertwining personal journey, but somehow this one seemed to drag too often for too long a time. I could barely get settled into each author's life and work without Romney's interruptions. The balance was a little too tilting towards this book's author rather than the titular authors themselves.

That being said — I not only love that this book exists, and sheds a good deal of light on Austen as a reader and inspired author, but also allows present day readers and Janeites to get the opportunity to construct a Jane Austen's Bookshelf TBR.

Also, if you're at all interested in book collecting as a hobby (or future side hustle), this might be the very book to inspire you to begin.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.