However, I would also like to make a recommendation. After returning the book, I was still looking for collection of Austen's works and happened to find a 1995 hardcover edition of this exact book by Grammercy. The edition costs five dollars more but the quality is ten times better. The book has a faux leather cover with gold trimmed pages and a ribbon bookmark. The paper quality in thin but polished, smoother and more refined. The binding is very durable and I have noticed no deterioration yet after a week of use.

If I had to a chance to redo my purchases, I would have skipped this edition completely and ordered the 1995 edition. If your interested in this edition, it can be found using search under ISBN # 0517147688


A must have in any collection, small or large!   March 24, 1998
 123 out of 139 found this review helpful

Why do people still go on reading, quoting and making films about the novels of Jane Austen, a stay at home maiden lady who wrote her books almost two hundred years ago? An easy answer might be the romance and simplicity of the Austen age, where the most important news of the day was the arrival next door of a young, eligible bachelor. It was a world in which overheard conversations at a country dance, the imprudent behavior of a girl at a picnic, or a public snub in the village square would utterly change the course of your life. But this easy answer doesn't really explain the broad appeal of Jane Austen's novels. Her world is so unlike our own, that there simply must be more to it than romance. The fact is, that in spite of her limited experience, Jane Austen writes with tremendous wit, charm and perception. She appeals to the modern reader because she never minces words. She gets right into the heart of her characters, strips away the veneer of social grace, and makes shrewd observations about love, marriage, pride, snobbery, money and manners. Her opening sentences are a key to the clean, crisp writing you can expect from Austen. Take, for example, the character description that begins EMMA: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence, and had lived nearly twenty one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." It is the brilliant use of the word 'seemed' that tips us off for the events that follow. In one sentence, Austen has given us a character who is spoiled, self assured and intelligent, and we can hardly wait to find out what is going to 'distress or vex her' in the following pages! Or what about the opening sentence of her most famous novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." What a marvelous assumption, and what delightful matchmaking schemes and foibles are about to unfold! Just picking one of Austen's novels at random gives you a wealth of charming observation. Take these thoughts on conversation, from NORTHANGER ABBEY: "He shortly found himself arrived at politics, and from politics, it was an easy step to silence." ...and from "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY "Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." Or how about this wistful observation from PERSUASION: "One does not love a place the less because one has suffered in it." You don't have to be a scholar to understand and appreciate Austen. Her novels will surprise and win over any first time reader, and they have an amazingly good shelf life - they can be read and reread. Here, in one volume you have a portrait of missed opportunity in the provocative novel PERSUASION; matchmaking gone awry in EMMA; masterful observations of two sisters and their different approaches to love in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; snobbery and manners in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and more. In short, Austen is a writer you never tire of. This is a must have in any collection, small or large!


Excellent Book Bargain   January 5, 2005
 83 out of 87 found this review helpful


I highly recommend Jane Austen's delightful writing to one and all. Each one of her, unfortunately too few, novels are true classics in every sense of the word. She is witty and very readable. Her novels are deliciously addictive and you will enjoy rereading them over and over.

I purchased this edition for my 17 y/o daughter so that I could keep MY own copy of this book available for myself...I am so envious! This is a lovely, expensive-looking book which sells for an amazingly low price. There are cheaper hardback copies but the extra $4.00 for this one is very much worth 3 times that small amount. The leather binding and original artwork make this an excellent bargain.


READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY THIS BOOK!!!   January 17, 2005
 44 out of 52 found this review helpful

IF you're reading this. You love Jane Austen and want the complete collection. But do not buy this book enter the following ISBN number in the Amazon search.

0517147688

By that version of the book its hardcover and leather and beautiful and sturdy. As you can read in the other reviews this version of the book falls apart easily.

Plus the hardcover leather edition is only $20. Worth every penny and makes a great gift. Enjoy.

Have some fun and get it done


Great book - except for minor details   February 22, 2001
 42 out of 42 found this review helpful

As a devoted reader of Jane Austen's novels, I thought this book was the answer to my prayers. Except for Sanditon, it contains all her novels, and it has a pleasing presentation.

But there are some details in this book that can become quite bothering. As I read Pride and Prejudice, I noticed that an entire line of a dialog between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (the main characters) is omitted, and frankly, it is difficult to follow the conversation without that particular line. There are also many other mistakes in the text (i.e. 'becausee'). If you are too particular about this kind of errors (like me), maybe you should choose another book. If you don't really care about these things, it is a good choice.