I read the entire collection of articles as I wrote my dissertation in the early 1990s. Obviously more recent research is now out, but this is still a great collection of essays on British women novelists.

First published in 1973, this work remains the best place to start for any exploration into what the English ate, when it was consumed, and why they started. As a librarian, Wilson had access to an outstanding collection of cookery books that were given to the University of Leeds's Brotherton Library, and she made great use of them to talk about the "gradual changes and developments in the preparation of foodstuffs in Britain". This is not a cookbook and does not include historical adaptations. Any recipes that are included are there to illustrate a method or ingredient and are written as part of the text. Chapters are arranged by category or type of food. For example, chapter 4 covers "Wild fowl, tame fowl and eggs"; these subjects are then discussed in a chronological fashion, proceeding from the ancients, the Romans, early medieval, etc. Wilson includes a marvelous bibliography and footnotes that can be used to further explore the subject. For a work that is nearly 30 years old, it is still an essential reading and shelf reference volume for culinary and social historians. Any general reader with an interest in British history or social customs would also find it of great value.

Well written study of Donne and related topics for feminist studies. An excellent read.

Virginia Woolf's diaries contain much of her most accessible and interesting writing, but the average reader is not likely to wade through all five volumes of the complete diary. This book, edited by the editor of the full diary, Anne Olivier Bell, presents most of the best of Woolf's reflections on her daily life and times, the people she knew, the struggles and joys of her days. Each year is prefaced with a helpful biographical sketch, and the index of names gives not only page references, but a quick description of the person's connection to Woolf.

It's important to know, however, that the book was meant as a sort of companion to the previous selection from Woolf's diaries created by her husband, Leonard, and published as A Writer's Diary. This earlier book printed the diary entries concerning Woolf's writings, and it is a marvelous selection. However, it was published at a time when many of the people Woolf mentioned were still alive, and so it wasn't until the full diary was published that readers got to see how dangerously witty and sharp Woolf could be about her colleagues and compatriots. A Moment's Liberty benefits from being able to draw from the full diary without need of censorship.

Really enjoyable book with great photographs and super histories of the welsh springer's introduction into several coutries, including the United States. Very readable and highly recommended.

If you can find this--read it! Its worth looking for.

Trespass is a trilling book that pulls you in from the start. This is truly one of the worlds greatest outdoor books. As it takes three "city boys" into the wilderness. It's a must read book.

If you liked Deliverance, you'll love Trespass. This book combines corporate politics with outdoor adventure in a whirlwind ride that you will not soon forget. Give it a try, if you can find a copy

Oh what a treat! Don't be dismayed by the length, this is delightful! Unlike most authors of long fiction, Burney actually manages to stay on task and not wander into thoughts of war and whatever. This book is 941 pages because 941 pages of things happen. This is the story of Cecilia, a young heiress from the country. When her family dies she is left with three guardians: the proud Mr. Delvile, the miserly Mr. Briggs, and the husband of her childhood friend, Mr. Harrel. She moves in with the Harrels and is escorted into the London high life - parties, visiting, the opera, and scores of gentleman anxious to make the acquaintence of a beautiful heiress. Cecilia is not impressed. The commentary on 18th Century London life is scathing - and remarkably apropos to modern life as well.

One night at a masquerade ball she is saved from the devil, or a partier dressed as such, by a charming man in a domino, the first real person Cecilia has met. He knows who she is, where she comes from, and who her guardians are, but Cecilia cannot even discover his name. At the end of the evening he disappears, but the seeds of love are planted - if only Cecilia knew who he was! Thoughts of her new acquaintence are interrupted though, as she realizes that the Harrels are quickly going in to more debt than they will every be able to pay off, and their party train is not slowing down for the emminent crash to come.

The most amazing thing about this book is how modern it is. Though set in the late 18th century, the problems and scenarios transfer easily into our modern conscious. One of the central issues in the novel is that Cecilia will lose her inheritance if whoever she marries does not take her last name. Have we as a society yet gotten over this? Not by a long shot. The descriptions of the different characters are as funny as they are scathing - yet these gossips, fortune-hunters, scatter-brains, and denialists still fill our world today (I'm the scatter-brain). As the book progresses it moves more from satire and into soap opera (hence my final decision to give it 4 not 5 stars). It becomes less intelligent, but no less engaging as a roller coaster of twists and turns are thrown in the path of Cecilia and her desire for her one true love.

Why isn't Fanny Burney famous? That's exactly what I began to wonder after a friend convinced me that I should read Evelina. I thought I hated 18th century literature based on the class I took on it in college--if only we had read Fanny Burney then!
She writes with wit and style--it's easy to see why Jane Austen admired her so much! Even though this book is very lengthy, it is not possible to get bored reading it, and although times have changed a lot since Fanny Burney's time, the book still seems alive and relevant to modern readers as many of the unfortunate realities of society that Cecilia struggles with are still with us today in different forms. The characters in this novel are so real you will feel like you know them by the end of the book. Some of the chapters are so funny you will find yourself laughing out loud! I think Fanny Burney deserves to be much more famous. It would be wonderful if someone would make a film of this novel to help spread the word that Fanny Burney's books are great reading!

This was truely an enjoyable reading experience. Surprisingly for a book of this time period, it got off right away to a super start and just got better as the pages turned. Burney's ability with the English language was well beyond imressive, it was stunning. She quickly developed an inspired set of characters interacting with one another in delightful scenes. The masquerade ball was hilarious. I heartily recommend this outstanding piece of literature.

If you love the Bronte's novels, you'll love their poetry. You learn so much about their lives and relationships with each other by reading it. After reading a biograhpy of the famous family, I can more fully appreciate the poetry that got them started.

I enjoyed the selected poems. I saw a lot of the same passion in the poems that I have seen also in many of their novels. If you enjoyed the poems you should be sure to get a hold of the Tenant of Wildfell Hall written by Anne Bronte and my utmost favorite Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is definitely a book I would recommend.

I am a graduate student in English Literature, and this book turned out to be exactly what I need in researching the structure of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." A bonus was how "The Hobbit" fits into the scheme as well. Precisely and carefully written - the author knows her field well.

So glad to see this classic study back in circulation. Also liked the new and improved introduction that talks about how much Tolkien research has changed since the book first came out. The much bigger bibliography is also very useful, which also shows how much more has been written about Tolkien in the past decade. Belongs on any Tolkien scholar's bookshelf.

My wife waxed rhapsodic over the prose and poetry inherent in Fanny Burney's neglected classic The Wanderer. The narrativ tells an exciting story of the French Revolution era even though the action occurs mainly in England. The "Incognita" is a fascinating character who moves through English society as a subordinate to the rich and cruel society folk with whom she is forced by circumstances to live. "Miss Ellis endures the slings and arrows of outrageous fortunate to triumph over her enemies at last. Burney's prose is musical and her sentences flow with insight into the human condition. As a friend of Hesther Thrale
she was influenced by that excellent writer. Her father was the famed musician Dr. Charles Burney a close friend of Dr. Johnson. If you want to look at a classic of early feminism and encounter one female difficulty after another this is a good place to begin.
I liked the novel so well I am now engrossed in Burney's second novel "Cecilia" with her first work "Evelina" on my reading list.
Fanny Burney is an excellent new author to explore and be enriched by as you loose yourself in her voluminous pages!
Well recommended!

"The Wanderer" is a wonderful novel detailing the struggles faced by a single woman in England in the era of the French Revolution, who due to circumstances beyond her control must remain nameless and "family-less" and thus rely on the charity and goodwill of strangers. Readers familar with Jane Austen's writing will recognize a similar style, indeed Fanny Burney was an inspiration to Miss Austen, yet with an even more critical eye turned towards the upper-middle-class social structure.

I found it a little more plodding in parts than "Evelina," my favorite of Burney's novels, as Burney occasionally gets bogged down in minutiae of social interactions, but even those long descriptions give insight into what details would have been considered monstrously important to Burney's contemporary audience.

Regardless, the difficulties faced by the nameless heroine and the mystery of her circumstances are more than enough to engage any fan of 18th and early 19th century literature.

Fanny Burney's _The Wanderer_, her last published book, is the best of all her works. The heroine is easy to love, and only a callous reader could not feel pity for her friendless situation. The basic premise is this: a young, elegant woman of obvious good breeding is suddenly forced to flee France for mysterious reasons. But she has lost all of her possessions during her crossing of the Channel, and she finds herself in England, friendless, penniless, and completely dependant on the charity of those around her. The crux of the novel is how she is able to get by under these circumstances. Her fortitude is uplifting, and her plight shows us the problems women had two centuries ago in merely obtaining a subsistence upon which to live. The plot gets more and more complex as we find out about the life of the Wanderer herself. We don't discover her name for the first time until the middle of the book! _The Wanderer_ is a truly engaging novel, and once read, it becomes clear why Fanny Burney was one of Jane Austen's favorite authors.