Jane Austen's England: Daily Life in the Georgian and Regency Periods Paperback – July 29, 2014

Disclaimer!! I am not a huge Austen fan, although I do admire her writing. And there's no getting around the fact that in every way, she was an exceptional woman. I am not a Jane basher by any means so please take this review for what it is. So enough about Jane.The book is a super fun read. It should be absolutely required reading for every young girl who has dreamed of Mr Darcy and wished that she too had been born in a more civilized, romantic time. I'm not sure if Austen is required reading in high school but if it is, this should be the companion guide. Cliffs Notes for the Regency, as it were.Adkins has truly done his research; this book, nicely organized into chapters that run from life to death, is not just a cluster of trivia with ands and buts inserted. His style reminds me of Bill Bryson, and if you like this book, try his book 'At Home, A Short History Of Private Life'. He really goes to great lengths for his reader, quoting letters, journals, newspapers (even giving the treat of real articles included!) and first hand information from primary sources only.Although it isn't written in an anecdotal or trivial style, it's a fun read. Thumb through any chapter and you'll find yourself engrossed. Adkins never loses sight of the goal of the book - life in Jane's world, the Regency period-and emphasizes how Jane and her family in particular would have lived their everyday lives, in their neighborhood and within their socioeconomic status.I think what struck me most as a modern woman imagining herself in say, 1810 when Jane would have been a mature woman, is just how tedious, boring and utterly restrictive her life must have been, without question. That neighborhood gossip and intimate details would have taken on huge significance is not surprising. As she mentions many times in her books, anything and anyone new and different not only attracted attention but was almost like a circus coming to town. With transportation being expensive, dangerous and rather hard to come by, all but a few people (if they managed to survive childhood, that is) spent their entire lives in their village, being born and dying in the same house, cottage or hut. Where would they go and what would they do anyhow? Travel for travels sake was virtually unheard of, perhaps excepting sailors and the very rich.It is staggering however, when one considers that nearly everyone you know has scars from smallpox, black and/or missing teeth, and even the gentry smell abominable. Medical care was non existent, and when could be obtained was frightening, dangerous and expensive. Just the passage of Jane's sister going to have a tooth pulled made me squirm.All in all, this is a great read for anyone, history fans, trivia buffs (not a trivia book!) and of course, Janeites. I have a much deeper appreciation and understanding of her circumstances, which makes her even more extraordinary in my opinion. It's a gem of a little window which opens onto another world that many thought they knew- but that window was opened with fresh eyes. Kudos to Adkins!

I bought this book for my wife, who is a big Jane Austen fan. The book is not a novel; it has chapters about various aspects of life in England during the years of Jane Austen's life. I started reading the book myself and was captivated and surprised and much of the information--I read the entire book. The book is well written and has references to key sources to document the accuracy of the information.The book has chapters on living conditions, food, travel, health and medicine, crime, marriage, and many other topics. I learned that the characters in Jane Austen's books were wealthy and privileged, and thus they did not experience many of the challenges and hardships that most people experienced in England at that time.The book had many interesting and unexpected facts, such as: (1) people were put in jail for even minor crimes or even shipped out of the country, (2) grave robbers got body parts, such as real teeth from the dead that were then used as false teeth later for other people, (3) people did not want to travel much due to unmarked roads and robbers, and (4) even when they traveled, they did not want to stay at inns because of bed bugs (they sometimes sleep in the chairs instead of the beds because of this).Very interesting book. It helps you appreciate how some standardization of procedures and products today help us out so much.

Overall, this is a great, informative book about the Georgian era. Though it took me a while to get through it, I enjoyed it and it was exactly what I was looking for. It has lots of really interesting information and tidbits about life in that era. If you're interested in the era, then this is the book for you! I've read "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew" by Daniel Pool, which is an often cited history book for the era, but I thought this one was much better. There is a big difference between "pre" and "post" Industrial Revolution, and Pool's book didn't often differentiate between the Georgians and Victorians. This book focuses solely on the Georgians and pre-Industrial Revolution, so there's no confusion.I read this as an author who writes in this era, and I found a treasure trove of information. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that the organization felt a little haphazard. If I wanted to reference back to the book, I'd have a hard time finding the info I wanted because the chapters may have been themed, but there was a lot of off-shoots within the chapters that had nothing to do with the subject at hand. Granted, it was all interesting, but I didn't care for the organization.

This book is so well written I could not put it down! If you love reading about the past and how people lived then you will love this book. The differences between then and now really makes me thankful for simple things like clean water to my house and electricity! Really got the details researched well from how they washed their clothes to what they ate for dinner.

I love Jane Austen and so picked this book up to learn more about the times in which Jane Austen lived. You may think you know the regency period but this little book is chock a block with details. I really loved it and will use it as a resource for my writing!