Which important Austen characters never speak? Is there any sex in
Austen? What do the characters call one another, and why? What are the
right and wrong ways to propose marriage? In What Matters in Jane
Austen? John Mullan shows that we can best appreciate Austen's
brilliance by looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her
fiction. Asking and answering some very specific questions about what
goes on in her novels, he reveals the inner workings of their greatness.
In twenty short chapters, each of which explores a question prompted by
Austen's novels, Mullan illuminates the themes that matter most in her
beloved fiction. Readers will discover when Austen's characters had
their meals and what shops they went to; how vicars made good livings;
and how wealth was inherited. What Matters in Jane Austen? illuminates
the rituals and conventions of her fictional world in order to reveal
her technical virtuosity and daring as a novelist. It uses telling
passages from Austen's letters and details from her own life to explain
episodes in her novels: readers will find out, for example, what novels
she read, how much money she had to live on, and what she saw at the
theater.
Written with flair and based on a lifetime's study, What Matters in
Jane Austen? will allow readers to appreciate Jane Austen's work in
greater depth than ever before.
