Politics and Prose Bookstore | Independent bookstore and coffeehouse in Washington, D.C. since 1984

Emma: An Annotated Edition - Jane Austen

Submitted by lluncheon on Fri, 2012-11-16 15:30

You probably recall seeing me in this same space in previous years reviewing The Annotated Pride and Prejudice and The Annotated Persuasion. This year brings a new addition to the Jane Austen Annotated Library, Emma: An Annotated Edition (Harvard Univ., $35). As with the previous editions, this book is a must-have for Jane Austen fans or even for fans of beautiful books. The Annotated Emma, like her sisters from past years, is chock full of illustrations and photographs and copious notes on Jane Austen, the person, and the author. Harvard is always careful about including the notes and illustrations in a way that makes it easy for you to incorporate them into your reading of the story. This book begs for a careful review of a familiar text, bringing new insight and new life into a beloved classic.

Fiction

Novels. Noted.

2012 Holiday Newsletter

Emma (Hardcover)

By Jane Austen, Bharat Tandon (Editor)

$35.00

ISBN: 9780674048843

Availability: Not On Our Shelves—Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Belknap Press - September 17th, 2012

The Chronicles of Downton Abbey - Jessica Fellowes

Submitted by lluncheon on Fri, 2012-11-16 13:05

Susan S.

It will be a dual of the dowagers: Dame Maggie Smith vs. Shirley MacLaine. Who will be the last dowager standing? Can’t wait for season three of Downton Abbey to find out? Then you must pick up The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era (St. Martin’s $29.99). This is the perfect gift for every fan of the BBC drama. World War I has ended and it’s a fresh start for the Crawley family and for the social order in general. How will life at Downton be affected? This book is full of pictures, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the upcoming season, insight into how the series is made and into the actors who portray our favorite (and maybe not so favorite) characters. Jessica Fellowes, niece of the show’s creator Julian Fellowes, has unique access to the show’s producers. She also incorporates lots of historical detail into this book, giving a deeper sense of the period in which our Downton friends lived. And may the best dowager win!

Movies & Entertainment

Costume Dramas

2012 Holiday Newsletter

The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era (The World of Downton Abbey) (Hardcover)

By Jessica Fellowes, Matthew Sturgis, Julian Fellowes (Foreword by)

$29.99

ISBN: 9781250027627

Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability

Published: St. Martin's Press - November 13th, 2012

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? - Jeanette Winterson

Submitted by lluncheon on Fri, 2012-11-16 12:22

Susan S.

Taking her title from her adoptive mother’s response to the news that her daughter had a girlfriend, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (Grove, $25), Jeanette Winterson could easily have written another Mommie Dearest. Mrs. Winterson, as the author refers to her mother, locked young Jeanette outside overnight, kept her captive in the coal hole, condemned her for her attraction to women, and, perhaps most painful of all, burned the future novelist’s secret stash of books. Winterson describes these experiences but does not wallow in suffering. In fact, she even finds humor in her upbringing, painting her grim industrial home town in bold strokes of black wit. A survivor, Winterson credits books with saving her from her cold, rabidly Pentecostal mother, and her memoir is as much a tribute to Fiction A-Z as it is the story of an indomitable girl becoming a fiercely independent literary artist.

2012 Summer Newsletter

Biography & Memoir

Mothers and Daughters