The Novels of Jane Austen. Illustrated by C. E. and
H. M. Brock. Edited by R. B. Johnson. 10 vols. (J. M. Dent and Co. 25s. net.)—Comparisons are odious, and the public may be allowed to enjoy this elegant edition of Miss Austen without comparing it with other recent reprints. The binding and get up of the issue has been arranged with such care that the contemporary adjective of "elegant " used above is the only one which can be em. ployed with exact appropriateness. "Pretty" is too commonplace; "dainty" has been worn to such a thread by drapers, booksellers, and the vendors of Christmas presents, that the word is no longer fit to be used to describe even the covers of the books of so nice a student of language as Miss Austen. "Elegant" is the very phrase for these well-printed volumes, in their tinted linen wrappers. Mr. Brimley Johnson in his introduction quotes passages from Miss Austen's letters which show her pen to have been as lively a weapon in correspondence as in fiction. The whole ten volumes would make a delightful present,—if one could be sure beforehand that the intended recipient was a faithful reader of these truly immortal books.
Previous page
