One of Jane Austen's most charming youthful 'novels' in miniature, presented in a deluxe illustrated edition with Leon Steinmetz's gorgeous black and dark red illustrations. Most people think Jane Austen wrote only six novels, though very short ones, while still a young girl. She was only 12 or 13 when she wrote The Beautifull Cassandra, an irreverent and humorous little masterpiece. Weighing in at 465 occasionally misspelled words, it is a complete and perfect novel-in-miniature, made up of a dedication to her older sister Cassandra and 12 chapters, each consisting of a sentence or two. Narrating the slightly criminal adventures of the 16 year old title character, the novel gives us Austen's most irrepressible heroine, who, after stealing a hat, leaves her mother's shop to flounce around London, eating ice cream (without paying), taking coach rides (without paying), and encountering handsome young ladies and gentlemen (without speaking) - all to return home hours later with whispered joy: 'This is a day well spent.' Austen fans will love the strong-willed Cassandra who can eat six ice creams and then refuse to pay for them! Special import from Princeton University Press, 72 page landscape softback, illus.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.

George and Cassandra Austen came from markedly different backgrounds so social class and the tensions it can cause played a part in Jane Austen's life even before her birth in 1775. George possessed 'a most exquisite taste in every species of literature'. Here are extraordinary aspects of Austen's life, work and legacy in this collection of stories and trivia from her unassuming family origins, secret life and loves, and intriguing tales behind the literary and screen adaptations of her works. Covers the Austen family's long tenure at Steventon until the Rectory was finally destroyed by floods, Jane's juvenile parody History of England, the lifelong attachment between sisters Jane and Cassandra, notorious cousin Eliza, the Tom Lefroy affair and a foretaste of Pride and Prejudice, problems with publishers, Jane's 'marriage', gold chains and topaz crosses as gifts from a little brother, Jane's aunt put in prison for theft and shocking news of the move to Bath. A close confidante falls from her horse and suddenly dies, the Austen brothers avert a financial crisis, the final move to Chawton, Mansfield Park pioneers the theme of meritocracy, John Murray publishes Emma which has considerable impact with Scott's adulatory review, here are insights into her remarkable novels and their characters, the changing reception to the novels over the years and her sweeping legacy today. A fascinating collection, 144pp, well illustrated with photos and line art.

The Upstart Crow, Shakespeare's heyday in theatreland, final stage performance, retirement speech, Philip Henslowe the Elizabethan impresario, Ben Jonson, the birth of London's Globe Theatre and its rebuilding, stage costumes in Elizabethan England, make-up concoctions some harmless others not, memorials to Shakespeare, his characters, mysteries of his portrait, priceless First Folio, and his stellar legacy, here is a chronology of Shakespeare's plays, possible models for the comic character, the 'lost' plays, hellraisers. Also public scandals, toe-curling homage and Star Trek littered with Shakespeare references, and in popular songs and novels, plus the historical settings for Shakespeare's plays, insights into his most famous characters, tales from the theatres around the globe in a rich concoction of stories and trivia. 144pp, woodcut illus.

From his literary beginnings and the background of the Doyle family, his mentor and model for Holmes Dr Joseph Bell, the doctor who sets up practice that wants to write, here are the literary detectives that came before him. Read about A Study in Scarlet and how Sherlock Holmes was born in Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, appearance, character and background, numbers and complications, the search for 221b, the follow up novels, the Strand Magazine, the first great illustrator Sidney Paget, big brother Mycroft, the long-suffering landlady Mrs Hudson, Scotland Yard, great quotations, plots, parodies, stage productions, scholarships, spiritualism, mystery stories and the enduring appeal - the life and work of Sherlock Holmes is celebrated in this collection of stories and trivia. With stories of John Watson to James Moriarty, bad habits, baffling powers of deduction, here is everything about the timeless detective celebrated in 144 very well illustrated pages.