Mark Bostridge
Austenmania
Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World
By Claire Harman
Canongate 342pp £20 order from our bookshop
In 1797, Thomas Cadell made one of the greatest mistakes in publishing history. A Hampshire clergyman had written to him, offering a three-volume novel for publication by a first-time author. Without a word of encouragement, Cadell declined the book, manuscript unseen, by return of post.
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