Jane Austen's Christmas | 
 enlarge | Author: Maria Hubert
Publisher: Sutton Publishing
Category: Book
Buy New: $31.15
New (1) Used (5) from $12.90
Rating:  2 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.3
ISBN: 075091307X
Dewey Decimal Number: 394.2663094209033
EAN: 9780750913072
Publication Date: November 25, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From the almost dismissive references in Jane Austen's novels, one could be forgiven for thinking that Christmas in Georgian England was a somewhat dismal affair. To the contrary, Miss Austen would have known elaborate house parties and fancy dress balls. The Mummers would surely have attended her home in Hampshire, as would the Waits, encouraging "good Christians" to "awake" on Christmas morning. She is also known to have enjoyed Christmas pudding, still then a fairly new dish, loved by the Georgian monarchy and copied by many families at the time. Readers will discover the little-known story of how "Emma" came to be dedicated to the Prince Regent, and how the Austen family entertainment was almost ruined one year because of the prudishness of a country cousin. The elaborate Christmas seasons enjoyed by Jane's sisters at brother Edward's home in Kent contrast with those of the Georgian parson, Rev William Holland, among whose parishioners Christmas was but a poor affair. In this text, readers can experience Christmas in the later Georgian period, as described by many of Austen's contemporaries, including Robert Southey, John Clare and Sir Walter Scott; and play the very games and charades that the Austens themselves enjoyed and wrote. Or try some of the authentic recipes from her own kitchen - perhaps the festive rice pudding, a gloriously rich dessert. And read poems and songs of the festive season, and learn of parlour theatricals in the Christmas holidays. The observations of an Englishman's Christmas as seen through the eyes of a contemporary American writer, Washington Irving, provide an eye-witness account of how an outsider viewed a Georgian Christmas. Contemporary engravings and sketches illustrate the customs and traditions of the day, alongside portraits of the Austen family.
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| Customer Reviews:
Great historical content July 17, 2001
Jesse Petersen (Illinois)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a terrific accounting of the Christmas season in Georgian England, gleaned from many original sources, including ones directly from Austen herself. Be aware that this book does mostly refer to the middle class and their celebrations and cannot neccesarily be attributed to upper class or lower class life. But if you are doing research for a book or just reading about this incredible era for fun, this is a good starting point and will entertain as well as inform.
Interesting Look at Christmas in Georgian Times February 4, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Jane Austen's Christmas provides detailed insight into the Christmas celebrations of Austen's day. Passages from her books, diaries and letters from her own family, and journals and pieces from other writers are compiled together to give the reader a historical (rather than literary) perspective of the Christmas holiday. My one disappointment with the book was that all the pieces by Austen herself were excerpts from her novels, all of which I'd read already; but overall, it's a good book for Austen enthusiasts wanting to know more about the traditions of her day.
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