Whether you've read Jane Austen once or read her yearly, or if you simply yearn to be Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy, this new Bedside companion will be a perfect match. Janeite and newcomer alike will revel in the entertaining capsules of each of Austen's beloved novels, along with information on such important subjects as white soup, carriages, what happened at the ha-ha, and, of course, all those characters we love to hate. In the spirit of Austen, maps, puzzles and quizzes are provided-including the one and only Jane Austen aptitude Test. The reader is taken on location to Steventon, Jane Austen's childhood home, to Bath, the city she was happy to leave, and elsewhere. Also included is an interview with Karen J. Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club. An Austentatious work, indeed!

A bolt-necked monster opens his eyes, lifts himself from his laboratory table, then lurches and stumbles toward his creator. Do we know this image because we are movie-watchers? When we imagine Frankenstein's monster, do we draw upon Mary Shelley's description? Or Boris Karloff's iconic look from the 1931 film by James Whale? Whether as cliche or icon, the monster clearly not only escaped from Victor Frankenstein's laboratory, but also from the pages of Shelley's book to roam unimpeded through our cultural psyche. New in the acclaimed "Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair" series, this guide provides the interested and curious, the serious and the ghoulish, with a new and unimaginable understanding of the Frankenstein legend. Written by an acclaimed social critic, "The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Frankenstein" takes us from Mary Shelley's creation to the latest film adaptations and comic-book re-creations. The book includes 200 images, many seldom seen, along with maps, puzzles, and brain-teasers - whether your brain was misplaced in a scientist's lab or not!