Jane Austen's Bookshelf

For the Reader Who Has Always Suspected There Were More Women on Austen's Shelf Than History Let On

Jane Austen read Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth, and more. These women sat proudly on her bookshelf — she referenced them, borrowed from them, was shaped by them. And then, somehow, they disappeared from ours.

Rare books dealer Rebecca Romney found an emerald clothbound copy of Burney's Evelina and couldn't let it go. What followed was a literary detective story: tracing the clues Austen left throughout her novels back to the women writers she admired, then asking why those writers had been written out of history. Jane Austen's Bookshelf is the result — part memoir, part literary history, part act of restoration. Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth.

"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." — Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Details

• Traces the women writers who inspired Jane Austen and disappeared from literary history
• By Rebecca Romney, rare books dealer and author of Printer's Error
• Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth
• Paperback, published 2026

Perfect For

• The Austen devotee who has read everything she wrote and wants to know what she was reading
• A gift for the reader who believes the literary canon has some explaining to do
• Anyone who loves rare books, literary history, and a good detective story