Maria Edgeworth, Frances Burney, And More: The Lesser-Known Women Authors Jane Austen Loved

Additional comment provided by Rebecca Romney, a rare books specialist and co-founder of Type Punch Matrix and author of Jane Austen’s Bookshelf.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about why Jane Austen (and Brontë) fans should give Elizabeth Gaskell a read. 

But Gaskell was seven when the Pride and Prejudice writer died. What about the authors Austen herself grew up reading? 

We know that she enjoyed William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Samuel Richardson.

However, Rebecca Romney...