The Women Writers Who Inspired Austen: A Visit with Rebecca Romney
04/03/25 • 41 min
"I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own." —Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814
Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she admired—writers like Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Lennox. But these novelists, despite their wide popularity in their own time, have largely disappeared from our bookshelves. In this episode, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney shares some of their stories, examines their influence on Austen, and may even inspire you to add some of Austen’s favorites to your own to-be-read list.
Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and the cofounder of Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, DC-area rare book firm. Over the course of her career, she has sold Shakespeare folios, first editions of Newton's Principia Mathematica and Darwin's Origin of Species, and individual leaves from the Gutenberg Bible. The author of several books, her latest is Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. She is also the rare books specialist on the HISTORY Channel’s show Pawn Stars.
For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.
*********
Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channel
Email: [email protected]
"I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own." —Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814
Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she admired—writers like Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Lennox. But these novelists, despite their wide popularity in their own time, have largely disappeared from our bookshelves. In this episode, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney shares some of their stories, examines their influence on Austen, and may even inspire you to add some of Austen’s favorites to your own to-be-read list.
Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and the cofounder of Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, DC-area rare book firm. Over the course of her career, she has sold Shakespeare folios, first editions of Newton's Principia Mathematica and Darwin's Origin of Species, and individual leaves from the Gutenberg Bible. The author of several books, her latest is Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. She is also the rare books specialist on the HISTORY Channel’s show Pawn Stars.
For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.
*********
Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channel
Email: [email protected]
Previous Episode
Jane Austen & Her Playlist: A Visit with Laura Klein
"I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. . . . without music, life would be a blank to me." —Emma
Though these words are spoken by the shallow and pretentious Mrs. Elton, the sentiment is one that Jane Austen herself likely shared. Austen played the pianoforte throughout her life and often incorporated music into her novels. In this episode, we chat with pianist Laura Klein about the music Austen and her family knew and loved and discuss how she used it in her writing to drive plots, reveal character traits, and provide emotional outlets for her heroines.
Laura Klein is a pianist and historical musicologist. Her current research centers on the music contained in the Austen Family Music Books collection. She founded The Jane Austen Playlist in 2019, a historical music project that features the music of the Austen family in digitized notations, companion recordings, and dramatically narrated performances. An active performer and presenter, she gives frequent concerts and lecture recitals online, throughout the United States, and in the United Kingdom, including Jane Austen’s House and Chawton House.
For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.
*********
Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channel
Email: [email protected]
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/austen-chat-262356/the-women-writers-who-inspired-austen-a-visit-with-rebecca-romney-88620519"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the women writers who inspired austen: a visit with rebecca romney on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy