Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Combining meticulous scholarship and intellectual heft with an engaging, approachable style is one of the most difficult writing tasks there is, but Davidson makes it seem effortless, using the life, the letters and the novels of Austen as an entry point into her exploration of clothing, its modes of production, its aesthetics, and its social meaning.”—Kerryn Goldsworthy,
Sydney Morning Herald“
Dress in the Age of Jane Austen is an exemplary model of how to read historical dress—the objects themselves and their presentation in text and images—that was well worth the wait.”—Michele Majer,
Costume“[The author] gives fascinating insights into Austen’s appearance and also her attitudes to fashion.”—Matthew Westwood,
The Australian“What Davidson generously presents her reader with . . . is a systemic primer of Regency fashion, using Austen’s works and her context as a starting-off point and as the object that the analysis explicates.”—Denise Baxter,
Journal of Modern History“Davidson treats historical garments as material objects open to interpretation, helping scholars and fans alike add to the traditional Austen archive by turning textile to text.”—Elyse Martin,
Perspectives on History“In a remarkable new book, the textile historian Hilary Davidson uses Austen’s writing as a lens through which to explore the evolving fashions of the Regency period at every level of society. Glorious full-colour illustrations of costumes ranging from linen bodices to silk pantaloons are stitched together with contextual observations to create a comprehensive portrait of late-18th-century life.”—
Town & Country UK“
Dress in the Age of Jane Austen gives us a detailed and comprehensive analysis of Regency fashion and is to be much welcomed as a single volume survey. . . . The book is beautifully illustrated with thoughtfully chosen, and often unusual or unfamiliar images. . . . For dress historians this book sets a scholarly and inspiring example, which is bound to remain a standard work of reference for this period.”—Penelope Byrd,
Journal of Dress HistoryCHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2020
