Jane Austen's England

In the England of novelist Jane Austen (1775–1817), the cost of postage was paid by the recipient of a letter—not the sender; almanacs sold well owing to the details they contained on when the moon would rise and set—important information for anyone traveling at night; and rhubarb "dried and powdered" was a popular home remedy for ailments ranging from earache to congestion. In this comprehensive book, coauthors Roy and Lesley Adkins (Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World) discuss how people lived in England two centuries ago; their narrative describes daily life—marriage, birth, work, religion, entertainment, travel, illness, and death—for the different classes of English people. Through meticulous examination of diaries and letters, travelogs, journals, and newspapers as well as histories and local records, the authors document the accepted beliefs, common practices, and everyday activities of Austen's time.