“Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly evoke the ways in which wealth and poverty coexisted. “The Adkins have magnificently covered the social and cultural history of this period with well-structured prose and a sound attention for detail.” Readers will appreciate its exciting sweep.” “This encyclopedic and entertaining volume will suite readers who daydream about going back in time to walk alongside literary figures such as Austen. an excellent read, with each chapter offering a treasury of insights into the lives of Austen’s contemporaries, both rich and poor.” “As this immensely useful and informative book makes clear, Regency England was no laughing matter.” And for Janeites? It’s an essential guide to getting your Austenian life accurate to the last detail.” “This is fascinating reading for any classical fiction or history enthusiast. As in their bestselling book Nelson’s Trafalgar, Roy and Lesley Adkins have drawn upon a wide array of contemporary sources to chart the daily lives of both the gentry and the commoners, providing a vivid cultural snapshot of not only how people worked and played, but how they struggled to survive. Jane Austen’s England offers a fascinating new view of the great novelist’s time, in a wide-ranging and richly detailed social history of English culture. Yet the milieu Austen presents is only one aspect of the England in which she lived, a time of war, unrest, and dramatic changes in the country’s physical and social landscape. Nearly two centuries after her death, Jane Austen remains the most cherished of all novelists in the English language, incomparable in the wit, warmth, and insight with which she depicts her characters and life. An authoritative account of everyday life in Regency England, the backdrop of Austen’s beloved novels, from the authors of the forthcoming Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History (March 2018)

Jane Austen's England by Roy A. Adkins