Reading Austen in America

Review by Choice Review

This is not a book about Jane Austen, but a series of soundings about Austen's reception in the US. Wells (Goucher College) devotes chapters to tracing the "biographies" of the six known copies of the first Austen novel published in the US (Emma, in 1916; two of the six copies Wells has discovered); the passionate Janeitism of Anna Quincy and Eliza Susan Quincy of Boston, whose father was introduced to the novelist by Chief Justice John Marshall and Justice Joseph Story (Anna actually visited Austen's admiral brother Francis in England, though her record of his reminiscences adds nothing of moment to the historical record); the concerns of another Janeite, the Countess of Dalhousie, living in Canada; and the relations of two passionate mid-20th-century collectors--David Gilson, author of the first substantial bibliography of Jane Austen (A Bibliography of Jane Austen, 1982), and Alberta Burke of Baltimore. This is a book for scholars of American literary history, not of Austen--or, if of Austen, those who want every scrap of information, no matter how inconsequential. Summing Up: Recommended. With the above proviso. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Douglas Lane Patey, Smith College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Austenites and bibliophiles will enjoy this survey from Wells (Everybody's Jane) of the early American response to Jane Austen. Wells begins by describing the publication of the 1816 Philadelphia edition of Emma, Austen's first novel to be published in the U.S. and the only one published here during her lifetime. Mathew Carey, a prominent Philadelphia printer and bookseller, left no record of his reasoning behind putting out the book, but Wells suggests that Carey's voracious appetite as a reader and habit of importing English books were responsible for putting Austen on his radar. Details about early American publishing make up a great deal of the book's early sections and provide fascinating insight into the reading habits of the country. Particularly striking is the choice made, in later editions of Emma, to strike out moments where God's name is taken in vain. Later on, Wells profiles various contemporary North American readers of Austen known to us today, including Lady Dalhousie, a well-regarded botanist married to Canada's governor general, and the Quincy sisters of Boston, who corresponded with Austen's surviving family after her death. While Wells's argument about the influence of American readers on Austen's international success could be stronger, there's still much to delight in throughout this book. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Review by Library Journal Review

Wells (Elizabeth Connolly Todd Distinguished Associate Professor of English, Goucher Coll.; Everybody's Jane) found herself fascinated by Goucher College's copy of the 1816 Philadelphia printing of Jane Austen's Emma. There were only four known surviving copies, but Wells discovered another two. The 1816 Emma was the only book of Austen's published in America during her lifetime. Wells traces the history of the six surviving copies and what American readers thought of Austen at the time. Emma was not well received; many found it not to their taste. We learn about early American publishing, bookselling, circulating libraries, and the private libraries and reading habits of the likes of the wealthy du Pont sisters, who reportedly owned a copy of this early volume. Wells states that she is attempting to write for both an academic and general audience, but the style is more scholarly than not. The narrative is crisp and clear with little jargon, yet the examination of minute details and minimal narrative might not be appealing to casual Austen fans. VERDICT With useful notes, appendixes, and fascinating photos, this book is sure to appeal to Jane Austen Society of North America members, students, academics, and anyone interested in a case study of early American publishing and readers.-Stefanie Hollmichel, Univ. of St. Thomas Law Lib., Minneapolis © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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