Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park & Northanger Abbey [Single volume]

This is a first edition thus copy of this scarce bind-up, which was published in 1903 by Thomas Nelson & Sons. Like all nineteenth and early twentieth century editions of Austen, this book is extremely rare in any edition.

The book is in Poor condition overall. Blue soft leatherette covers, with remnants of gilt title lettering to spine. Top page edges gilt. Spine splitting and shedding, and boards loose with a basic thread resew holding. Pulling heavily in places, with some creased pages, including main title page. Losses to spine via cracking. Heavy wear to top and tail of spine and board edges. Some thumbing, but textblock generally clean. 16cm x 10.5cm. Novels within are 345 pp. 432 pp. and 216 pp. respectively.

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars. The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame and commercial success in her lifetime.