Pride and Prejudice: Puffin Plated edition, by Jane Austen

As long time readers know, I frequently treat myself to special editions of various Jane Austen novels, mostly for the pleasure of complaining about their various bells and whistles. My latest acquisition is the Puffin Plated edition of Pride and Prejudice, featuring recipes for “modern teatime treats” by Martha Stewart.

There are few things I like more than tea, treats, and Pride and Prejudice, so you'd think this would be my dream edition. Sadly, it's all style and no substance. While the recipes were selected by Stewart, that is literally her only contribution to this book. (Would it have killed her to develop at least one new recipe for this book? Or write a brief introduction? Or anything? I really hope she wasn't paid much for this.) In contrast to Martha—who has her name in equal-size font to Jane Austen's on the front cover!—the woman who actually makes a major contribution to this book is buried in the back: Amber Spiegel is the artist who produced the spectacular and 100% edible art featured on every page of the book. Her work deserved better than an introduction on page 325, and I was indignant on her behalf. This is only the second book in this series, but if Puffin wants to produce more, I'm hoping they put a lot more thought and effort into future editions.