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Summary: What Jane Austen ate and Charles Dickens knew
Review: This book is exactly what I always needed! It is very entertaining while at the same time equally informative. I discovered this book in the classroom of my sister-in-law who is a teacher. Once you start reading it's very hard to put down.
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Summary: A "must-own" for all history buffs
Review: This book is way beyond terrific! I have thumbed through it (researching facts for my own book) and enthusiastically read every page over and over again that I have literally worn out my copy. If you are a fan of the Jane Austen-Charles Dickens era I highly recommend you buy this book. History buffs will delight in learning many of the interesting facets of a forgotten time.
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Summary: A Superb Insight into Life in Jane Austen's Times
Review: This book provides a very pleasant companion for any novel of the period. The glosary offers period definitions of a wide range of words from "abigail" to "yeoman" that is extremely interesting and useful to the devotee of period literature. Chapters on various facets of life from "Currency" through "Death and other Grave Matters" put one in touch with the daily life and concerns of the people of the day in a way few history books do. The quotes from period novels used as examples to explain historical phenomena make the examples clear with a pleasant, highly readable style. Highly recommended for anyone who does or intends to read any fiction or non-fiction of the period or who just wants to know how their great-great grandparents lived.
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Summary: Excellent resource for understanding 1800's England
Review: This book should be required reading for anyone interested in 19th century English literature, or even films made of this time period. At the very least, you will come away from it VERY THANKFUL you do not live in that time period. Unless you were in good society, your life would have been miserable and hard. I'm sure I would have been a scullerymaid!
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Summary: Fun and informative
Review: This is a great book about everyday lives of people in the Regency and Victorian times. It tells what people lived in, and how they lived, what they wore, what they ate and how they cooked it. It tells how they got around and what they did for fun. It also tells about their calender, which is of course different from ours. It makes you realize that their way of life was very different from ours, and that they weren't just modern people in old clothing. It isn't of course a scholarly book, but it doesn't look like it's meant to be.
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Summary: Excellent if taken with a grain of salt.
Review: This is a nice, well written overview of some of the cultural idiosyncracies of 18th century England. It covers most of the essential subjects such as currency, inheritance laws and customs and the different sorts of horse drawn carriage.On some subjects it can be a little inaccurate, particularly for the later part of the time period, but for most people they will learn a lot about the time. I now keep it close and reread a section every now and then (I still find it hard to remember exactly what a barouche is.) I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys 18th century literature and wants to understand more about the time.
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Summary: A great book on ninteenth century England!
Review: This is a truly great book, and has so much information on Ninteenth Century England, and the way of life then. It's very interesting and at the same time fun to read. Each chapter covers a different topic and is informative in a fun way. It also contains a great glossary in the back of the book. It's well worth getting for anyone interested in this era or in history in general for that matter. Daniel Pool did a great job in writng it and putting it all together.
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Summary: An essential book for anyone who read Victorian novels
Review: This is an excellent book for anyone who has read a book by Austin, Dickens or anyone who lived in the 19th century. I always wondered what the rules were regarding balls, country parties and the like. The rules of the various card games and the names of the various maladies and foods have always mystified me and this book helped enormously.
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Summary: enjoyable, not too rigorous.
Review: this is light & fun summer beach house reading. especially recommended for those who watch the A & E Pride & Prejudice with an almost cultic regularity.
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Summary: Enriches understanding of Regency and Victorian authors
Review: This was a very enjoyable book. The background it provides helps me to understand the social contexts and the way of life of the folks Austen and Dickens (and their many fellow writers) wrote about. The book is a series of small essays that offer insight into a specific topic. These essays are grouped into helpful sections such as The Public World, The Private World, and The Grim World. They are all entertaining and help those of us who know little of those times to get a handle on some basic notions. The one caution I would offer is that a century is a long time. Fashion, technology, politics, and everything else changes many times over the decades. However, these essays seem focused on those things that would offer the most confusion to the modern reader. Just be sure to keep a close regard on the time period the specific essay is covering and match that to the period not only of the author but the period that Dickens or Austen or whomever is writing about. This is an lively, entertaining, and informative book. But it is not foolproof. Enjoy it responsibly and you will benefit from this book every time you read a Regency or Victorian author.
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