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What Matters in Jane Austen?
What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved | John Mullan
16 posts | 17 read | 34 to read
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 Austens 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 got 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.
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JenniferP
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Loved this book! A series of essays exploring themes, writing effects, and styles in Austen‘s novels. Will work best if you have thorough knowledge of all of Austen‘s novels. Picture of my Austen shelf

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IndoorDame
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Eggs Perfection 👏🏻👏🏻 2y
55 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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suvata
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I probably should have waited until “Austen in August” but I have no self-control.

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.

Graywacke Fun! 2y
56 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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Beccas
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As I sit at home with COVID reading about illness in Jane Austens time, this sentence is no longer true.

DogMomIrene Ugh, sorry you‘re sick! Hope you recover quickly. 3y
3 likes1 comment
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Lyssa131330
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And I‘m done! This is the first time I‘ve finished both the #Popsugar and @bookriot #readharder challenges. I really enjoyed them both and I found tracking it with StoryGraph made it a bit easier to see what I had and hadn‘t done compared to my normal messy scribbling of ideas. I‘ve read some really interesting books, this year had a good mix of easy and challenging prompts. Can‘t wait for next years lists

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Jen2
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Fascinating!!

68 likes3 stack adds
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Emilymdxn
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I loved this readable but very rigorously researched book on areas of ambiguity in Austen. It teased out so many beautiful aspects of her style that are easy to overlook or not appreciate how stylistically groundbreaking she was.

It‘s a very difficult time right now, and central London in a shared flat with ppl I barely know is a hard place to live in a time like this. My mental health is suffering rn, I‘m sure a lot of ppl are in the same boat.

Leftcoastzen Hugs to you! 5y
Books88 💕 My anxiety is very high right now too. 5y
Kalalalatja Hugs ❤️ 5y
75 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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Aimeesue
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Book haul, vol.2. Thirkell, Thirkell, Thirkell!
(NB: That is ridiculously fun to say out loud)

Emilymdxn Calvino! Amazing 6y
CarolynM Love those Thirkells! (edited) 6y
LeahBergen Thirkells!! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
40 likes4 comments
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smilingshelves
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Jane Austen and sticky toffee pudding. The Anglophile in me is loving this!

CrowCAH My favorite author! 🥰 6y
smilingshelves @CrowCAH Have you read this one? I think anyone who loves Austen would find it fascinating! 6y
litenthusiast That looks delicious! 6y
smilingshelves @litenthusiast It so is! My mom made it for a gathering that got cancelled, so I got to benefit from that! 😁 6y
CrowCAH @smilingshelves no I haven‘t. Though I‘ve read P&P several times! 6y
39 likes5 comments
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Eyelit
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Anybody else‘s cat do this their books? Or is it just Tilney who will take any opportunity to lay claim to my books? 😸😹😻
#catsoflitsy

CouronneDhiver Yep! 👍🏽 7y
Chasing_Pages Books, notebooks, papers.....anything I‘m trying to read or write on my Luna lays on it 😹 7y
jillannjohn Mine too! 7y
See All 10 Comments
DGRachel My dog does it, too! 7y
DivineDiana Such a pretty face! 7y
CoverToCoverGirl 🙋🏼‍♀️ 7y
rubyslippersreads Not only that, when he sees me getting ready to leave the house, Nicky stretches out in front of the door. 😹 7y
Branwen My cats do this all the time! It's adorable and frustrating! 😁😸💟 7y
readordierachel Always :) 7y
twinkletoes74 My cat likes to rub her head up my books. It is a bit of a pain while I‘m trying to read but at the same time very cute. 7y
126 likes1 stack add10 comments
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SaraRosett
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Really enjoyed this book. It answered so many of my questions such as why/how did everyone know how much money everyone else had? And bonus: #Regency card games explained plus how Austen used them to reveal character.

6 likes4 stack adds
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Pickle
Pickpick

Want to buy this.

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TheLostBennetSister
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A very descriptive and fun look into Jane Austen's novels. This book is a treat for Austen fans. The writing is livened by the good humor of John Mullan, whose observations shed new light on the much loved classics.

3 likes1 stack add
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Vcallsfortea
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As a huge Jane Austen fan I truly enjoyed this book.

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DyAnne
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"[Darcy's] ardour overwhelms his reservations. He proposes because, despite all pride and all social considerations, he must have Elizabeth. It is the closest thing in all Austen's fiction to a declaration of sexual desire, and therefore not sufficient grounds for marriage."

5 likes1 stack add