Alternatively, I could have titled this post: "How Jane Austen made me late for work".
I ducked out to a local thrift store in my lunch hour and the lady at the front counter was almost as excited as I was over the Jane Austen find. Suddenly we were comparing film versions of Austen's novels, simultaneously quoting from the hilarious mini-series 'Lost In Austen', and bemoaning the lack of manners and subtlety in today's love stories. I didn't want to leave the shop, but my lunch hour was over.
The quirky thing about this little book is that it's in two parts. The first is a satirical performance piece that Austen wrote and performed in the family drawingroom when she was only sixteen years old (I had never heard of this publication). And the second is Charles Dickens' essay of a history of England, written for his children at the height of his career. It has a fabulous double-sided coverlet:
My second thrift piece is a little high school text from 1945 - just perfect papercrafting fodder. The pages are already distressed and worn with age:
And the third thrifty masterpiece, 'The Dictionary of Imaginary Places', is filled with drawings, maps and monochromatic photographs of magical lands found throughout literature, "from Toad's Hall to Dracula's Castle... Narnia, Middle Earth to Baskerville Hall"... wow!
When I removed the dark blue coverlet, a beautiful two-tone green hardback cover was revealed:
Thankfully, my ferocious guard dog is minding the new stash of thrifty finds until the weekend. I love unearthing random literature finds like these, and although I have secret-squirrel plans for some of them (think: mixed media or art journalling), others will immediately find a home in my bookshelf.
I am playing along with 'Her Library Adventures' Flea Market Finds, just for fun.
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