Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The absence of Jane Austen's books is so significant it defines the quality of the library.
- In plain terms
- Missing Austen makes a library poor.
- What can you take from it?
- Essential works define a collection's worth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What books are essential?
- How do you judge a library?
Another view
Value is subjective and varies by reader.
More from Jane Austen
Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.
Permalink to quote #51 To me his (Edgar Allan Poe's) prose is unreadable - like Jane Austin's [sic]. No there is a difference. I could read his prose on salary, but not Jane's. Jane …
Permalink to quote #53 It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in the…
Permalink to quote #50
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