REVIEW: Jane Austen’s Novels, Oxford World’s Classics Edition
If you haven’t already added the Oxford World’s Classics editions to your Jane Austen library, now is a great time to do so: the six novels have recently been reissued, and Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition are all included in the Northanger Abbey volume. Classic, lovely cover art draws in the reader and the work inside is just as appealing. A variety of Austen scholars supply notes to explain each novel’s text and a related bibliography. Appendices covering rank, social class and dancing will also help better understand the world about which Jane Austen wrote. A few special appendices have been included in Mansfield Park and Persuasion: an introduction to the play Lover’s Vows; the original ending of Persuasion; and both volumes feature an appendix about Jane Austen and the Navy.
Oxford World’s Classics has also published an excellent edition of the Memoir of Jane Austen and other Family Recollections by James Edward Austen-Leigh. This edition of the Memoir includes the Austen family tree and a chronology of the family, shorter recollections by Henry Austen, Caroline Austen, and Anna Lefroy, and excerpts from family letters. Explanatory notes, other notes on the text, and a bibliography invite further exploration.
The Oxford World Classics editions are both appealing and informative for the beginner and bring a fresh, vibrant perspective on much-loved favorites to seasoned Austen fans and academics.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am
As for the new Oxford World Editions, are the intros and notes refreshed along with the cover? I just picked up a remaindered copy of the previous OW version of Northanger Abbey, which also included Lady Susan and the 2 unfinished works, and wonder if I want to spring for the new one, too.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I own the OWC 2003 edition of Northanger Abbey too, and the notes, etc. are the same.
August 9th, 2008 at 3:20 am
Sounds good. I have Penguin Classics editions of P&P and MP. I also have a big, leatherbound book called “The Best of Jane Austen” which looks lovely on the outside, but it doesn’t include an introduction or notes for any of the novels it contains (Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Emma). It might be worthwhile buying other editions of these books.
Are the new Oxford editions made of good quality paper? I’m assuming they’re paperbacks - that’s fine as long as long as they’re sturdy. If I did buy them I’d want them to last, so that I could have many years of Austen-reading out of them.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:49 am
As far as paperbacks go, I think these are pretty sturdy. The covers in particular are heavier weight and are coated; I’d guess that they (the covers) would be more spill or stain resistant than some other paperbacks. The type size looks a little larger than the older OWC editions, too.