You either love Jane, or you don't. Me, I'm a Janeite. So when a new biography appeared last month titled The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things, I rejoiced! And the good news is that--unlike most of the Austen material flooding the market--this book delivers.

Written by Paula Bryne, author of the acclaimed Evelyn Waugh biography, Mad World, this new bio of Austen takes an innovative approach: Byrne collects a set of objects from Austen's world and uses each as a jumping off point to talk about one aspect of the author's life. For example, an East Indian shawl calls forth some family history, and a card of lace purchased in London conjures a time when Austen was perhaps preparing for the "marriage market" in Bath. Red velvet cushions are wonderfully evocative, and it turns out they can tell us a lot about the fine houses Austen visited and wrote about (Humphry Repton, known for his "Red Books" quite fittingly has a cameo in this chapter.)

It's a rare biographer who can write a serious book that is immensely readable. For me, the description and study of the objects and the emphasis on material culture makes Byrne's achievement all the greater. It tugs at my antiquarian side, and as someone who has studied book history, I found her insight into this subject using Austen's childhood notebooks, a subscription list, a royalty cheque, and Austen's lap desk encouraging for the discipline.

I would love to ask Byrne about the Austen ring sold last year at auction for $236,557. What does that humble gold and gemstone ring tell us about what was important to the author, or what relationship did it inform? Those are the kinds of questions Byrne takes up when she discusses Austen's topaz cross in chapter 14 or a painted ivory miniature in chapter 11. By rummaging through her "things," we see Austen at a personal level, and she's as amazing as ever. 

First, let's get February's sales recapped, then we'll take a look at March.

- Bonhams sold Fine Books & Manuscripts on 17 February, in 300 lots (results). A 1619 Mercator atlas sold for $27,500, and an inscribed original "Peanuts" strip fetched $25,000. The copy of Bien's Audubon failed to sell.

- PBA Galleries sold Rare Books & Manuscripts on 18 February, in 225 lots (results). The top lot was a copy of the second volume (only) of the first book edition of The Federalist, which sold for $16,800. The collection of all sixteen printings of the first edition of the Alcoholic Anonymous Big Book and the first issue King James Bible didn't sell.

- At Bonhams on 18 February, Printed Books and Maps, in 436 lots (results). A collection of ~70 maps of Germany and Eastern Europe (mostly C16-18) made £16,875.

- Bloomsbury sold the Beatrix Potter Collection of Mark Ottignon on 27 February, in 307 lots (results). A first issue of The Tale of Peter Rabbit sold for £20,000.

- Also at Bloomsbury, on 28 February, Literature, Manuscripts & Modern First Editions, in 386 lots (results). The two lots of Hester Thrale Piozzi letters were the main attraction, selling for £26,000 and £15,000.

- On 28 February at PBA Galleries, Rare Golf Books, Clubs & Memorabilia from the collection of Georgia Dyer Burnett, in 391 lots (results). A copy of History of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society was the top lot, at $8,400.

And here's what's coming up for the rest of March:

- On 11 March, ALDE sells the Bibliothèque du Chateau de La Plagne, in 331 lots.

- PBA Galleries sells Fine Literature, Children's Books, &c. on 14 March, in 621 lots. A Hemingway family photo album and a first printer Tender is the Night with later jacket are each estimated at $10,000-15,000.

- There will be a Bibliophile sale at Bloomsbury on 14 March, in 579 lots.

- Bonhams sells Books, Maps, Manuscripts & Historical Photographs on 19 March, in 235 lots.

- Also at Bonhams, on 20 March, The Xi'an Incident: The Papers of Hyland "Bud" Lyon, in just eight lots.

- At Christie's London on 20 March, The Library of a Spanish Bibliophile, in 427 lots.

- Bloomsbury sells Travel, Topographical, Sporting and Natural History Books, Maps, Prints and Photographs on 21 March, in 366 lots.

- No preview yet for the PBA sale of Rare Americana and African American History on 28 March.

"The Olive Fairy Book," by Andrew Lang, illustrated by Kate Baylay; The Folio Society, $84.95, 296 pages. 

 In late January, author Jane Yolen - considered by many to be the 'Hans Christian Andersen' of her generation  - spoke with me about the introduction she wrote to theFolio Society's The Olive Fairy Book, a new edition of fairy tales originally published in 1907 by Scottish author Andrew Lang. We also talked about heroes, magic, and discovering hope through storytelling.

THE OLIVE FAIRY BOOK Reproduced by permission of the publisher, The Folio Society, London. 

The Folio Society & Andrew Lang

There are twelve Fairy books, and the Olive Fairy is the eleventh in the series. As a child Yolen read many, if not all, of the Rainbow Fairy series. In the introduction to the Folio Society's edition she highlights three of her favorite stories- 'Jackal or Tiger,' 'Samba the Coward,' and 'Kupti and Imani.'

"I'm pretty sure I read them all as a child. I was one of those childhood readers who, once I found something that I loved, I would seek out everything that was related to it." The Olive Fairy Book includes all the elements necessary for riveting reading - heroic princes, wise fairies, talking animals, evil trolls, and witches. While being a prolific writer of children's novels and poetry, Lang was recognized as a leading authority on world folklore and mythology.

Bound elegantly in olive green cloth, this edition of The Olive Fairy is itself a work of art, featuring an Art Deco frontispiece and bright gold illustrations by British artist Kate Baylay. Inside, readers will find more visual feasts- twelve full-color illustrations and thirteen black and white drawings.

Yolen discussed the era that inspired the artwork, and why it is wholly appropriate for this edition. "This book was published originally in 1907, which is when arts and crafts, art nouveau and art deco all come together." 

Yet as beautiful as these pictures are, this edition is perhaps most appropriate for older readers.  "I think the pictures in this book are exquisite. But they're also not for children. They're very sexy, very dark; some are quite violent. It's exquisite bookmaking and of course the Folio Society is known for that. And the price reflects that; it's for collectors. You can get the edition in paperback for very little money, but the point of this kind of book is that it's an art object." If a collector wishes to acquire the entireRainbow Fairy series, The Folio Society is issuing all twelve of the books, each similarly designed and illustrated by a contemporary artist. The Olive Fairy Book is the tenth to be published.

THE OLIVE FAIRY BOOK Copyright © 2013 by Kate Baylay. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, The Folio Society, London. 

At least once a summer for the past twenty years Yolen has visited the gravesite of Andrew Lang in St. Andrews, Scotland, partly because his work played a significant role in her development as a writer. "He was one of the most important ones [to me.] And I happen to have a house there. When writers visit, I'll take them to the grave. Or if I'm on my own I'll go. It isn't that I'm genuflecting at his grave, it just happens to be a lovely grave with a beautiful Celtic cross on it."

In a classic example of serendipity, Yolen was unaware of the writer's presence in the town before settling there with her late husband, David Stemple. "I didn't even know about the connection when I first moved there. My husband was a professor of computer science, and took his second sabbatical at St. Andrews." (Now she spends her summers there, and returns to her home in western Massachusetts each winter.) After some poking around, Yolen found a chapel with a plaque dedicated to Andrew Lang. "I discovered that Lang was buried on the cathedral grounds. It was a hunt."

In November 2012, Yolen was the 22nd person and the first woman to deliver the annual Andrew Lang Lecture at the university, which was also celebrating the centennial of Lang's death. "Every academic in Cambridge has lectured here. The month after I was born, in March 1939, an Oxford professor named J.R.R Tolkien gave the lecture, which became the iconic essay on fairy stories - and really changed my life as a writer.  So St. Andrews asked me, and I said, 'How can I follow in these footsteps?' As I said to the audience, 'Here I am, walking in Tolkien's shoes, who walked in Lang's shoes -- why not give me a ring and point me towards Modor?'"

To continue reading about The Olive Fairy Book, read my full review at Literary Features Syndicate!