If you are like me, you've read all of Jane Austen's novels and want more. Once I discovered that Jane Austen was inspired by her predecessor, Fanny Burney, and that she derived the title of Pride and Prejudice from the last line of Burney's Evelina, I decided to give her a try. The first Burney novel I read was Cecilia, and I was instantly addicted to finding more. It was from this first excursion that I began to discover a host of other authoresses in the same vein as Austen-- and many that were of an entirely new genre-- that I had never heard of before. Names such as Maria Egeworth, Anne Radcliffe, Sarah Burney, Ann Julia Hatton, Susan Ferrier, Frances Jacson... the list goes on. Not all are on the same caliber as Jane or Fanny, but if you are as big a fan of Romantic literature as I am, you will be delighted to discover them and their stories. Most of their novels are not in print, but, thanks to the efforts of such sites as Google Books, Internet Archive, and Project Gutenberg, many of them are available to us for free download!
I am excited to now be able to offer you access to my own personal collection of curated e-books from these amazing women! I have spent several years collecting digital copies of as many of these author's works as I can, and now I have nearly 1,500 complete novels on my site available for download. Available downloads can be found as a subpage under each author's personal page. (All files are in the public domain and not subject to copyright licensing.)
If you are interested in a specific time period, check out the Author Timeline page to find out which authors were writing when. Also browse the extensive list on the Female Authors page. Each author has her own page that lists her known works, as well as any biographical information about her. Want to find out how to get started building your own Bygone Lore Library? Helpful tips are located on the Tips for Finding EBooks page such as how and where to search for these. You can also take a look at My Library to see a list of the over 1,300 novels with complete digital versions that I've located.
So, if you are enchanted with Jane Austen's innocent, love-lorn heroines, brooding, fascinating heroes, and calculating and manipulative antagonists, be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime as you discover these forgotten ladies of Bygone Lore.