Dear Readers,
Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was as fabulous and unforgettable as mine. One of my favorite holiday gifts was a gift certificate from Barnes & Noble, which helped me to complete all six annotations by Harvard University Press of Jane Austen’s best known novels. I quickly purchased Northanger Abbey, which I’ve been perusing since receiving it a few days ago.
Susan J. Wolfson, professor in the Department of English at Princeton University, edited this edition, which has an extensive 60-page introduction. The book’s format follows the five other annotations – Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion – with Jane Austen’s text in the center and the annotated commentary placed on the far right on uneven pages or far left on even pages. Descriptive images of Bath, a poste chaise, or fashions of the day provide a visual punch to this annotation, as do the well-chosen images in the other books.
Two-page spread of pages 112 & 113 of Northanger Abbey, annotated edition.
For readers who were lucky enough to receive gift cards for books, I cannot recommend these gorgeous hard-cover books enough.
More on the topic:
- The Jane Austen Annotated Editions: Harvard University Press (includes information about all six editions)
- This blog’s reviews of the Harvard University Press’s annotated editions of Jane Austen’s Novels: Click here
Jane Austen's World 