The Novels of Jane Austen by Jane Austen, 10 Volume Set, 1908-1909

Austen, Jane. The Novels of Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, 1908-1909. 10 volume set. Introduction by R. Brimley Johnson. Illustrated with color plates by Arthur Wallis Mills. Octavo. In period half leather boards, raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to the spine, pictorial endpapers, and top edges gilt. Presented with a new, archival slipcase to hold all ten volumes. 

Presented is a beautiful ten volume set of “The Novels of Jane Austen,” published by Chatto & Windus in London, in period bindings. The volumes were published in 1908 and 1909. At the time of publication, the volumes were available for purchase separately or as a set bound in whole green parchment. 

This ten volume set includes Pride and Prejudice in two volumes, Sense and Sensibility in two volumes, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Emma in two volumes, and Mansfield Park in two volumes. Each volume includes a general introduction and introductory notes to the respective novel by R. Brimley Johnson. Each volume is illustrated with a color frontispiece and additional illustrations, based on watercolors by the English artist Arthur Wallis Mills. The volumes are presented in matching period half leather boards, with raised bands, gilt titles and stamps to the spine, pictorial endpapers, and gilded top edges. 

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which 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 in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with astute social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars. 

With the publications of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), Austen achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818. Her six full-length novels were published anonymously and brought her only moderate success and little fame during her lifetime. 

After 1818, Austen’s novels remained out of print for 14 years until the publisher Richard Bentley purchased the rights to all six novels from family members Henry and Cassandra Austen and Austen’s publisher T. Egerton in 1832. In 1833, Bentley issued the first inexpensive editions as part of his “Standard Novels” series. At the time of the Bentley reissues, Jane Austen was still regarded as a niche writer. Only a few hundred copies of her books were published and reprinted over the years. When Bentley’s copyrights expired, other printers began to publish her works, but book sales remained modest. It was not until the publication of her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh’s A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869, fifty two years after her death, that interest in Jane Austen was renewed. 

At the turn of the century, Austen’s popularity soared, with book sales to match. More serious literary analysis placed Austen firmly within the literary canon, elevating her status to a writer worthy of study and analysis. In an 1870 North British Review, Richard Simpson described Austen as a serious critic of English society. Simpson wrote that Austen, “began by being an ironical critic; she manifested her judgment ... not by direct censure, but by the indirect method of imitating and exaggerating the faults of her models. ... Criticism, humour, irony, the judgment not of one that gives sentence but of the mimic who quizzes while he mocks, are her characteristics.” Twenty years later, Godwin Smith published the Life of Jane Austen, the first formal criticism of Jane Austen’s writing in 1890. In 1892, J. M. Dent published the first collected edition of her works to include critical commentary. This set, published in 1908-09, was issued at the height of Austen’s popularity and celebration as part of 19th century literary canon. 

Arthur Wallis Mills (1878-1940) was a British artist, famous for his political cartoons and illustrations for Punch and The Strand magazines. He illustrated more P. G. Wodehouse stories than any other artist. He worked mostly in watercolor, and offered a unique and colorful take on Austen’s cast of characters. 

CONDITION:

Ten volumes. Octavo printings. Bound uniformly in period half leather boards, raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to the spine, pictorial endpapers, and top edges gilt. Bindings rubbed, sunned, some joints tender; stains and fragile leather on spines. Illustrated endpapers. The volumes are presented with a new custom archival cloth slipcase with an inlaid portrait of Austen on the front and a ribbon pull.

Vol. I and II: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1908. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title pages printed in blue and black. Each volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text.  

Vol. III and IV: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1908. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title pages printed in blue and black. Each volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text.  

Vol. V: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1908. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title page printed in blue and black. The volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text.  

Vol. VI:  Persuasion by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1908. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title page printed in blue and black. The volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text.  

Vol VII and VIII: Emma by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1908. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title pages printed in blue and black. Each volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text.  

Vol. IX and X: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. London: Chatto & Windus, London, 1909. A general introduction and introductory notes by R. Brimley Johnson, title pages printed in blue and black. Each volume has a frontispiece and additional color plate illustrations by A. Wallis Mills.  Clean inside.  Interior healthy with light toning, near fine text. 

Dimensions: Books: 7 1/4" H x 5 1/4" W x 1 1/4" D approximately each. Slipcase: 7 3/4" H x 5 1/2" W x 11 1/2" D.