"A major new work by Janine Barchas, an outstanding critic both of Jane Austen and of book history. The Lost Books of Jane Austen is cogent and persuasive." Peter Sabor, McGill University, editor of The Cambridge Companion to "Emma"
"This ferociously researched book proves that a fresh set of methods can teach us something new about even this much-studied author. Barchas's innovatively defined evidence base steers a middle course between traditional interest in letters, diaries, and published criticism as sources of reception history, and the interest in kitsch collectibles and fan fiction that began several decades ago." Leah Price, Harvard University, author of How to Do Things with Books in Victorian Britain
"Before Jane Austen was great, she was popular, Janine Barchas contends in this original, often audacious study. Thanks to Barchas's tremendous talents as book historian and book sleuth, we have new tools with which to assess that popularity and a new model of how to write reception history." Deidre Shauna Lynch, Harvard University, author of Loving Literature: A Cultural History
"In this groundbreaking, exquisitely researched, and stunningly illustrated book, Janine Barchas uncovers the unsung and ordinary editionsthe 'lost' booksthat profoundly shaped Austen's afterlife and evolving literary reputation. The Lost Books of Jane Austen proves once and for all that accounts of the once-forgotten Austen, the elite Austen, and the chick-lit Austen are perfectly partial. It's absolutely delightful to discover, thanks to Barchas, all that we've missed." Devoney Looser, Arizona State University, author of The Making of Jane Austen
"Janine Barchas's new book makes a fascinating breakthrough in print history, opening up a fresh 'everyday' history of publishing and reading that goes far beyond elite publishers and libraries. Her visually resplendent study is based on an innovative research method in which Ebay auctions and private collections count as much as any traditional print archive. A scholarly performance not to be missed." Jon Klancher, Carnegie Mellon University, author of Transfiguring the Arts and Sciences: Knowledge and Cultural Institutions in the Romantic Age
"Janine Barchas demonstrates that literary works are canonized not by first editions, but by cheap reprints. She has tracked down tattered Victorian volumes of Jane Austen, the ephemeral publications through which Austen reached a mass audience. This is a strikingly innovative approach to the history of reading, which illuminates how popular books become Great Books." Jonathan Rose, Drew University, author of The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes
"Barchas is indeed the ultimate Austen book hunter, and we are the grateful recipients of her obsession." Austenprose - A Jane Austen Blog
