Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always, allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more.

“a perfect project, a perfect book” —Lit Hub

“[Romney] brings to the works the distinctive insights of a rare-book dealer and finds clues to her mysteries in the physical books themselves… an excellent introduction to Austen’s favorite novelists.” —The Wall Street Journal

“[A] gem of passionate criticism.… Jane Austen’s Bookshelf stirred some emotions of my own. My penciled exhortations in the margins, some of excitement or communion, others of irritation, are in a way a response to Romney’s invitation to join in her intellectual tussling. It may be how new canons are formed; it’s certainly how enthusiasms are shared.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A thrilling journey of adventure and self-discovery… On the one hand, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf is about the women who influenced Austen. But it is much more than that. It is a meditation on reading and writing, on honesty and self-discovery — and on what books can teach us, if we let them.” —The Washington Post

”Romney’s book is as sharp an examination of the 'great forgetting' of female writers as you could wish for, uncowed by big-name critics, buoyed instead by the instincts of a single reader trusting her honest enjoyment over dusty tradition.” —The Guardian

“A powerful, page-turning journey… More than a literary excavation, this book is a feminist manifesto on who gets to shape our canon [and] a revelation for anyone who’s ever wondered who’s missing from the traditional literary landscape. This book practically demands that we rethink our shelves, ask who got left behind, and make space for voices that dared to speak up in a world that preferred them silent.” —BUST Magazine

"A can't miss for Austen fans and literary lovers alike.” —Town & Country

“Romney has chosen the perfect project to showcase her curatorial and research prowess, as well as her specialty in illuminating how the study of bookshelves can greatly inform our knowledge of historical figures or events. And who better to turn this perspective towards than Jane Austen, the architect of much of our modern literary culture? It’s a perfect project, a perfect book." —LitHub

“[An] astute inquiry… Incisively dissecting how Austen’s forebears got written out of the English canon [and] makes a vehement case that Austen’s influences are major talents in their own right. This is a must for Janeites.” —Publishers Weekly

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Austen wasn’t a lone genius. She wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers—and clues about those women, and the exceptional books they wrote, are sprinkled like breadcrumbs throughout Austen’s work. Every character in Northanger Abbey who isn’t a boor sings the praises of Ann Radcliffe. The play that causes such a stir in Mansfield Park is a real one by the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald. In fact, the phrase “pride and prejudice” came from Frances Burney’s second novel Cecilia. The women that populated Jane Austen’s bookshelf profoundly influenced her work; Austen looked up to them, passionately discussed their books with her friends, and used an appreciation of their books as a litmus test for whether someone had good taste. So where had these women gone? Why hadn’t Romney—despite her training—ever read them? Or, in some cases, even heard of them? And why were they no longer embraced as part of the wider literary canon?

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth—and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today.

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"What a wonderful book! JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF has everything a reader could desire: wit, passion, mystery, brilliant detective work, a love of rare books, a deep dive into literary history — and, best of all — the restoration of reputation for a group of great women authors whose names should never have been forgotten. I loved this book, and it will live on my own shelf forever." —Elizabeth Gilbert, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things

"This is a perfect read for Women's History Month, because there are so many women authors whose stories have been lost.” —Emma Straub, The TODAY Show

“Intimate, informative, and fun, Romney takes us on a journey through her personal book collection and into the world of Austen, where we quickly learn there's so much more than meets the eye. This is an essential read forfans of Austen and the Regency and a guide to the women writers who make the era so irresistible.” – Bea Hodges-Koch, author of Mad and Bad and co-owner of The Ripped Bodice

"When it came to Jane Austen, literary critics closed the window. Rebecca Romney throws the door wide open to provide a wonderfully fresh perspective. Powered by a graceful, engaging style, intelligence, wit and the heart of a passionate collector, Jane Austen's Bookshelf sweeps the reader along on a remarkable literary investigation that is both a journey of discovery and a work of insightful history. I loved this book. It is now on my personal bookshelf." -- Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author of Shattering Dawn

"Rebecca Romney takes a cannon to the canon, tracing the history of the women writers who paved the way for Jane Austen. These overlooked authors struggled against debt, deadbeat husbands, horrific pregnancies, class prejudice, and the widespread idea that women couldn't and shouldn't write. Romney brings them vividly to life and makes the compelling case that they defined the modern English novel. Jane Austen's Bookshelf is a captivating narrative that weaves together history, feminism, and the enduring power of literature to move readers across centuries." -- Amy Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Plants

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf will encourage you to look beyond assigned reading lists, question who decides what belongs there, and build your very own collection of favorite novels.