Izzie (semi-hiatus) McFussy's Reviews > Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend

3.5⭐️ This was more of a, “Good for you read,” than a good read.

What I Liked
📺 The author was Rebecca Romney, from Pawn Stars. Her writing style matched her personality on the show which was likable and impressively knowledgeable.
📚In the past I had a minor brush with an ephemera fair and antiquarian books. It brought back fond memories. *pats copy of Louis Kornitzer’s The Pearl Trader*
🤓 Enjoyed learning about the works and successes of Austen’s predecessors/contemporaries. Tagged several for future reading.

What Did Not Click
Rebecca devoted a chapter to Austen and eight other authors. I liked the bios and the descriptions of what they wrote. What became tedious was reading why, unlike Austen, the authors did not last the test of time.
Top three reasons on the board were:
🛎️ They didn’t have family members who released letters and diaries after their death to perpetuate their popularity.
🛎️ They were women who were at the mercy of male critics.
🛎️ They were women. You can fill in the blanks. It brought home how badly women were treated with virtually no recourse back then. I might not be able to read an HR the same way again.

While the book clocks in at 460 pages, without the Acknowledgment, Notes etc, it’s closer to 320.