Two Histories of England: By Jane Austen and Charles Dickens

"History of England..." is an (20 p.) historical satire produced by 16-year-old Jane Austen. It is a spoof on the history of the British monarchy from 1399 to 1649. What you find are brief, opinionated pieces, ranging from two sentences on Edward V who "lived so little a while that nobody had time to draw his picture" to 19 sentences on Elizabeth, of whom "It was the peculiar misfortune . . . to have had bad ministers --since wicked as she herself was, she could not have committed such extensive mischief, had not these vile & abandoned men connived at, and encouraged her in her crimes. Charles Dicken's "A child's history of England" was originally intended as a study-piece for his children. With it's flamboyant narrative it served as an unconventional counter text to the more straitlaced historical canon of his times.… (more)