Jane Austen: The Novels (Analysing Texts)

Jane Austen's novels--Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion --are among the most polished, carefully crafted works in the English literary heritage. This book takes extracts and examines them in close detail, bringing out the extraordinary richness of irony and implication in Jane Austen's writing. Through textual analysis, the reader is taught to explore and enjoy the delicate comedy of her narratives and to inquire into the serious moral purpose that lies behind each of the four novels. This guide does not simplify the study of Jane Austen, but invites the reader to join in, pursuing and revelling in the ironic subtlety of her methods and thought.