…So wrote Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra while Jane was visiting their brother Edward.
These days it is a rare person who is not thinking of economizing (“Can we retrench?”) so naturally this last month I purchased more books…..
In case you are shaking your heads in dismay right now, I must say in my defense that my son took me to a book fair where I found about seven books in seven minutes. This after a long discussion with my husband about how we must watch our pennies (Retrench!). I saved lots of pennies! The books were dirt cheap!
Then there were others I simply HAD to have. A book on the battle of Badajoz, for example, which figures in my next book. And, of course, Todd mentioned reading a book about Dukes so I had to have that one, too.
Here are my Book Fair finds: 
The Mammoth Book of Soldiers at War: Firsthand Accounts of Warfare from the Age of Napoleon, Jon E. Lewis, ed. $3.50
The War of Wars: The Great European Conflict 1793-1815, by Robert Harvey $7.50
No Ordinary General: Lt. General Sir Henry Bunbury (1778-1860) The Best Soldier Historian, by Desmond Gregory $4.00
Though the Heavena May Fall: The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery by Steven M. Wise $6.00
Sir Robert Walpole’s Poet: The Use of Literature as Pro-Government Propaganda, 1721-1742, by Tone Sundt Urstad $5.00
Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire, by Roy Moxham $5.00
The Making of Victorian Values: Decency & Dissent in Britain: 1789-1837, by Ben Wilson (I almost purchased this one full-price of $27.95 a year ago) $7.00
National Geographic Traveler: Great Britain $6.50
The Other Books:
Amazing Grace: The Great Days of Dukes, by ES Turner (the book Todd made me buy)
A Mad, Bad & Dangerous People: England 1783-1846, by Boyd Hilton
Chivalry & Command: 500 Years of Horse Guards, by Brian Harwood
Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and The Congress of Vienna, by Adam Zamoyski
Dancing into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo, by Nick Foulkes
Badajoz 1812: Wellington’s Bloodiest Siege, by Ian Fletcher
These I bought earlier this summer:
The Battle: A New History of Waterloo, by Alessandro Barbero (Translated by John Cullen)
1815: An End and A Beginning, by John Fisher
This was a gift:
Regency Recollections: Captain Gronow’s Guide to Life in London and Paris, Christopher Summerville, ed.
Last but not least:
From Australia, a trilogy: Innocence and Impropriety, The Vanishing Viscountess, and Scandalising the Ton, by Diane Gaston, Harlequin Australia.
Get a load of the nice medieval cover…..
What ‘s the best book buy you’ve made lately?
AND EVERYONE IN THE USA, TOMORROW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!
Oh, you make me so jealous! Lol, great finds. I wish I had a book fair like that in my neck of the woods.
I agree, Kim! I am salivating at the Divine One’s great buys!
I have the Amazing Grace book about dukes and it is great with a slice of dry wit about how expensive it was to keep a duke!
I was in raptures Saturday when my latest eBay find arrived. I love a research book that LOOKS like a research book. This was a gorgeous hardbound copy of Cescinsky’s English Furniture from Gothic to Sheraton published in 1929. It is fabulous! (16 dollars shipping and all)
I also got The National Trust Book of English Furniture. Great book with lots of photos and information. (7 dollars shipping and all)
The other book I bought which has not arrived yet is a two volume work published in 1898 by Jewitt called The Stately Homes of England. (this one wiped out my splurge money – 40 dollars shipping and all)
So it looks like the Divine One is a more frugal shopper than I am. Tell your hubby that, Diane!
What a great collection of books! I would never hold myself back either over something I really want. And besides, one often learns from reading, so it’s worth the money spent. And it’s put to good use. Least that’s my excuse and sticking to it! 😉
I actually, obviously, need to catch up on buying more books!
I did wonder why they put a Medieval cover on a Regency?! It’s a pretty cover, and love Medievals, but it doesn’t go with any Regency story, obviously. I still don’t think that would stop anyone from buying it though!
Kim and Louisa, what surprised me is that my husband, my son, and his girlfriend didn’t find anything! I was controlling myself from buying a couple more books!
Louisa, I’d better not start looking on ebay or I’ll have no money for food. I usually go to abebooks.com when someone mentions an old title; for newer books, sometimes the Amazon price is the cheapest. Another thing I do is if I see a book on ebay (purely by accident) I look on abebooks.com to see if I can find a better deal.
The problem with my habits of economy are the frequency with which I employ them!!
Books about houses and furniture are so inspirational.
Wow-wee, that’s a great selection there!! 🙂 I’m definitely jealous too! 🙂
Lois
one often learns from reading, so it’s worth the money spent. And it’s put to good use.
Mallory, I’m pulling out that excuse next time I need it!!
Isn’t it silly that the Australian Harlequin didn’t just stick a REGENCY cover on the book? They’ve done lovely covers for my other books, using old paintings. Those were released as double books with another author. This one is all me.
Those covers are gorgeous. The ‘tea’ one especially, and what a chuckle I got out of the ‘Victorian Values’ one – no one can possibly find shoes objectionable, yet they get the message across quite effectively!
Hey, those are great prices!! I think you did a great job at economizing there, especially since you were the only one who bought anything. 🙂 I wanna go to that bookfair!
I recently bought “Regency Recollections” and “The Making of Victorian Values” from the Edward Hamilton catalog, but must look for the Dukes! (luv the EH catalog). And I found some good books on my trip last month, including one on Georgian design at the Costume Museum in Bath, and the “Gazette d’Atour de Marie Antoinette” at Versailles, which I’ve wanted for a long time (it’s a recreation of one of her swatch books, which she would use to choose her gowns for the day)
m, the Victorian Values cover is from a print by James Gillray.
From Wikipedia:
English: James Gillray: Fashionable Contrasts; – or – the Duchess’s little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Duke’s foot, originally published by Hannah Humphrey on January 24, 1792.
The print shows the feet and ankles of the Duke and Duchess of York (Frederick, Duke of York and Albany 1763-1827, son of George III, and Frederica Charlotte Ulrica 1767-1820, his wife), in an obviously copulatory position, with the Duke’s feet enlarged and the Duchess’s feet drawn very small.
the “Gazette d’Atour de Marie Antoinette” at Versailles, which I’ve wanted for a long time (it’s a recreation of one of her swatch books, which she would use to choose her gowns for the day)
What a treasure, Amanda!!!!!!
BTW, LOL on the medieval cover!! Maybe they’re at a fancy dress party?
I recently saw a medieval cover with a medieval knight in jeans, too.
What a great book list. I’m bookmarking this post.
Great books! And what great prices.
And what a sad world it would be if we started passing up books because the economy’s bad. IMHO makes more sense to pass up a $3 coffee or a piece of jewelry… 🙂
And I echo Amanda — I want to go to that bookfair!
And Amanda has another good point, Diane — isn’t that a better cover than a medieval knight in jeans? 😉
Cara
Wow, what a haul! I just bought John Hodgman (the PC half of the PC/Mac ads)’s latest book, which hasn’t arrived yet.
And Elizabeth Hoyt’s, and Meljean Brook’s, neither of which have arrived, either. So I am doing my part to increase the GDP or something economic.
Let’s see, I have The War of Wars and Amazing Grace (recent UBS find!), though I haven’t read them yet. (I shop so much faster than I read, you see.) I’ve read Rites of Peace, Badajoz 1812, and The Battle, and I just ordered Dancing Into Battle from Amazon this weekend. And upon reviewing your list, I want The Mammoth Book of Soldiers at War, The Making of Victorian Values, A Mad, Bad & Dangerous People, and Chivalry & Command.
Clearly great minds think alike… 😉
Think of it this way, Diane, you are helping to put money into the economy. Those are some great buys! And especially glad to see you found that one book you wanted a year ago for a much more affordable price. Woohoo!! I have started making a habit of choosing books over food, only it’s usually choosing books over junk/fast food, ie, do I really want that bag of cookies, chips, etc? The answer is usually I’d rather have the book.
🙂
I’ve only found one bargain book of late. I was quite tickled to find Playing for Pizza by John Grisham for half price, at the local grocery store no less.
Whew! I was afraid I was seeing that cover wrong! Well, the picture is nice, even if Medieval. A knight in jeans?! Congrats on having a trilogy all your own.
~Judy
Let’s see, I have The War of Wars and Amazing Grace (recent UBS find!), though I haven’t read them yet. (I shop so much faster than I read, you see.)
Susan, you mean we’re supposed to read them???? I have so many research books I haven’t read!
Lois and Linda, I these are only the tip of the iceberg of the books I have. I keep telling myself to stop buying!!!! But then there’s something like the book fair…
Wow, wish I’d known about that book fair… I bought the Stephen Wise book at Daedalus Books, which is a wonderful place. You can nearly always leave with something you never knew you needed.
Bwahahaha, medieval AND a mullet, lucky you. What were they thinking?!
Janet, the book fair was outside Harrisonburg VA, so a bit of a distance for you. It was in a huge warehouse and covered two floors.
There weren’t any mass market paperbacks, hence, not many romance novels.
A book I won on ebay arrived today and I had forgotten about it! The title is George IV – Inspiration of the Regency by Steve Parissien. It is a 500 page hardbound book in pristine condition and I got it for less than 10 dollars! Price on the inside flap? 29.95!
I know what you mean about needing to stay away from eBay! I can only do this on occasion. But I LOVE it when the books come in.
Ladyhawk, at this rate I’m going to be a one-woman force for an economic turnaround!!
Louisa, Great Find! I think George IV is actually a book I don’t have! (yet)
I look forward to reading “The Battle: A New History of Waterloo” by Alessandro Barbero. Great selection of books anyway.
Cathy