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"History of England..." is an (20 p.) historical satire produced by 16-year-old Jane Austen. It is a spoof on the history of the British monarchy from 1399 to 1649. What you find are brief, opinionated pieces, ranging from two sentences on Edward V who "lived so little a while that nobody had time to draw his picture" to 19 sentences on Elizabeth, of whom "It was the peculiar misfortune . . . to have had bad ministers --since wicked as she herself was, she could not have committed such extensive mischief, had not these vile & abandoned men connived at, and encouraged her in her crimes. Charles Dicken's "A child's history of England" was originally intended as a study-piece for his children. With it's flamboyant narrative it served as an unconventional counter text to the more straitlaced historical canon of his times.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
History, Humor, Juvenile literature, Great britain, historyPlaces
Great Britain, EnglandShowing 4 featured editions. View all 4 editions?
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1
Two Histories of England: By Jane Austen and Charles Dickens
October 1, 2007, Ecco
in English
0061351954 9780061351952
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2
Two Histories of England: By Jane Austen and Charles Dickens
October 1, 2007, Ecco
Hardcover
in English
0061351954 9780061351952
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3
Two Histories of England
2007, HarperCollins
Electronic resource
in English
0061537802 9780061537806
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Book Details
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Edition Notes
"Jane Austen's The history of England originally written in 1791. Charles Dickens's A child's history of England originally published in 1851-1853"-- T.p. verso.
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In these two forgotten gems of English literature, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens offer delightful, irreverent histories of their native land.
When she was only sixteen years old, Jane Austen composed her bitingly satirical History of England for performance in her family's drawing room. A startling and precocious example of her celebrated wit—not to mention a brilliant social commentary—this lively piece sweeps rapidly across almost four centuries of British monarchy. In rambunctious and wickedly funny prose, Austen's critique spans from Henry IV to Charles I, from Richard III to Mary Queen of Scots, offering a fierce parody of the kind of biased history that young ladies of Austen's time were being forced to study. Reproduced here in its entirety, this is a rare, tantalizing look at the great novelist's budding talent, and an extraordinary bit of literary history that lay unpublished for more than 130 years.
Charles Dickens's A Child's History of England, by contrast, was written and published at the height of its author's considerable fame. A gory and dramatic account, full of villains and heroes, the essay was originally intended as a study-piece for his children, but in fact represented a sly, unconventional countertext to the more straitlaced historical canon. Dickens's exciting, flamboyant narrative is hugely evocative, both of the history he describes and of the time in which he himself was writing.
With an insightful introduction by bestselling historian David Starkey, Two Histories of England brings together, in a single, irresistible volume, these remarkable—and remarkably overlooked—literary treasures by two of the world's most beloved writers.
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December 26, 2021 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
December 17, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
February 23, 2020 | Edited by Lisa | Added new cover |
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October 9, 2008 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Library of Congress MARC record. |