Enjoyed this very much. An insight into Georgian/Regency Britain, covering women's lives (basically it's marry well or be a burden on your relatives), health/medicine, slavery, the opium trade, crime and prison. I know the period quite well, but learned a few new things from the book - and I was very intrigued by the Fishing Fleet. Four stars. Thank you to Netgalley, Pen and Sword and the author for the ARC.

This is a really engaging way to combine social history and biography. Full of fascinating information, it is also true to the title and ties everything back to Jane Austen and her life. I especially appreciated the insights into the opium and slave trades, which were deeply troubling but incredibly enlightening.

While quoting Austen’s novels and letters, many things were taken out of context and “Bennet” was misspelled throughout.

Not a great start.

Given the breadth of the topic, some concepts were oversimplified, but my real issue was I questioned several conclusions, such as the “stays/corsets are restrictive and uncomfortable” myth. Regency women weren’t fainting all the time and unable to bend at the waist. Mourning rituals weren’t quite as rigid as the Victorians who followed them. In one chapter she assumes women knew nothing about sex or pregnancy before marriage (which doesn’t hold up when you look at baptism and marriage records or read contemporary diaries and letters) but later she claims single women knew all about sex and pregnancy because they had to help in their married siblings homes during childbirth. And the author claimed Austen’s family didn’t consider her a writer when her letters have several mentions of her brothers’, nieces’, and sister’s interest and support in her writing.

There were statements throughout that were contradictory or just plain incorrect. This takes away from what could have at least been an introduction for Austen, Austenesque, or regency romance fans—and anyone who romanticizes the regency era—who know absolutely nothing about the time period. But editing errors and unsubstantiated long shot conclusions and mistakes about Austen keep me from recommending this.

I was deeply interested in this book and its subject, and I was not disappointed.
If you are enchanted by Recency romance and you read Jane Austen's novels for their love stories, well, you definitely need to read this book.

"The dark side of Jane Austen's world" is an accurate analysis of what was Austen's society, all the rigid rules and what we now would call social injustices, women's awful conditions (even when they belonged to wealthy families) and the cages in which they were entrapped. But it also offers some fun facts about life, education and manners in those ages. Some of them really seem so alien to our contemporary style of life!

The essay is based both on real documents of the period as well as on Austen's letters and then, of course, on passsages from her novels, demonstrating that Jane was an accurate historic beside being an amazing novelist.

The language is clear and simple and the writing hold the attention with several anecdotes and quotes.

I personally adore this kind of books as they offer me interesting investigations into my favourite historical periods and give me all those precious hints on the background of my most beloved books and writers. I would warmly suggest this title to understand even more the value of Jane Austen's works and the revolution that she started with her vision and thoughts.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

DNF @ 9%

thoughts: misspelled the Bennet’s last name; not super high quality writing; skimmed ahead and there was a giant rant about how evil and constricting and toxic patriarchal values-inflicting women’s historical undergarments were. so. not the vibe or a good use of my time!!

This book provides a good and interesting insight into the world Jane Austen lived in. Whether it deals with Jane's life, politics, crime, war, religion or health risks and medicine, I did learn a few details even though my knowledge of the Regency period is quite extended. I recommend this well researched book.
I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

A heartbreaking look at what was happening outside Jane Austen's home while she was writing her beloved novels. Women in particular faced difficult lives if they remained single or even if they married. Looming poverty, terrible medical care, dangerous crime, and a lack of property all made for a miserable life. Jane was aware of all of these societal challenges. Consider her own death at the young age of 41. Janeites will want to add this eye-opening book to their TBRs to add depth to their understanding of Austen's life and times.