Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury, by Rebecca Dickson.Now available at Barnes & Noble for the astonishing price of $19.98 (only $16.98 if you are a member), this elegant book, which I purchased with a holiday gift card looks and feels like a blog between covers. Opening this book is like clicking on Jane Austen's World, Austen Prose, or Jane Austen Sequels, where you can learn tidbits about Jane's life, annotations about the regency period and her novels, and read critiques, quotes, and sayings about her family and friends in relatively short and easy-to-read essays.
Moreover, this coffee table book is beautifully designed and offers pull outs of Jane's letters, portraits, and other memorabilia. If you know of a Jane fan in your family who feels uncomfortable surfing the web (hint: mother or grandmother), then this might be the perfect gift for a birthday or Valentine's day.
Did I gush enough to convince you? Good. At Amazon.com used copies of this book go for almost twice the price. Also recommended for gift buying by Austen Prose - Vic
