Two histories of England
By: by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens ; introduced by David Starkey.
Contributors: Austen, Jane, 1775-1817.; Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
Publisher: Ecco
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 157
ISBN-13: 9780061351952
Subjects: Great Britain -- History -- Humor; Great Britain -- History -- Juvenile literature; Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History -- Humor; England -- Humor
Genres: Humor.; Juvenile literature.
Other titles: 2 histories of England
Description: "History of England..." is an (20 p.) historical satire produced by 16-year-old Jane Austen. It is a spoof on the history of the British monarchy from 1399 to 1649. What you find are brief, opinionated pieces, ranging from two sentences on Edward V who "lived so little a while that nobody had time to draw his picture" to 19 sentences on Elizabeth, of whom "It was the peculiar misfortune . . . to have had bad ministers --since wicked as she herself was, she could not have committed such extensive mischief, had not these vile & abandoned men connived at, and encouraged her in her crimes. Charles Dicken's "A child's history of England" was originally intended as a study-piece for his children. With it's flamboyant narrative it served as an unconventional counter text to the more straitlaced historical canon of his times.
Notes: "Jane Austen's The history of England originally written in 1791. Charles Dickens's A child's history of England originally published in 1851-1853"-- T.p. verso.
Table of contents: title: History of England from the reign of Henry the 4th to the death of Charles the 1st / Jane Austen; title: Excerpt from A child's history of England / Charles Dickens.