A rare-book dealer traces the books that Austen admired. Many were by women writers who were the literary stars of their day.

By chance, Romney, a rare-books collector, comes upon a 1778 novel by a woman who turns out to have been one of Jane Austen’s favorite authors. Suddenly it occurs to Romney that perhaps her beloved ...

There are few writers who have as devoted a following as celebrated novelist Jane Austen. But is she really the “first” great English female author?

Romney vividly communicates her sometimes surprised enjoyment of the works that shaped Austen, finding them in some ways ...

An American rare-book dealer, Rebecca Romney, has managed it, by searching where Austen’s secrets lie hidden in plain sight: ...

JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend, by Rebecca Romney It is a truth universally acknowledged (at least in publishing ...

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf’ presents women whose writing Austen admired — and how modern author Rebecca Romney found them.

A chance encounter with Frances Burney's 1778 novel, Evelina, sent rare book dealer Rebecca Romney on a yearslong quest to find the women writers who influenced Jane Austen's work. One of Romney's ...

As a bookseller, Rebecca Romney usually makes a profit from satisfying other people’s curiosity. In “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf,” however, she takes us along on a self-defined quest that grew ...

"Jane Austen's Bookshelf" spotlights eight women writers, largely lost to history, who influenced the English novelist. Rare book dealer Rebecca Romney dedicates a book to the women Jane Austen ...

Shortly after it begins, Rebecca Romney’s first solo work of nonfiction ... comes upon a 1778 novel by a woman who turns out to have been one of Jane Austen’s favorite authors.