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What Matters in Jane Austen?
Twenty Essential Questions Answered
What Matters in Jane Austen?
Twenty Essential Questions Answered
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Description
Bloomsbury presents the 250TH BIRTHDAY EDITION of What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan, read by Charles Armstrong
"An Austen lover's greatest wish is for more of her novels. This intimate guide to the world of her books in the next best thing." -The Atlantic
Marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, What Matters in Jane Austen? solves the mysteries of Austen's fictional world.
Is there any sex in Jane Austen?
What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage?
Which important characters never actually speak?
Jane Austen's novels have been a staple of the English canon since the nineteenth century. Yet critics of the time did not appreciate the true complexity of her work. Nothing, John Mullan argues, is accidental or coincidental in Austen. As Austen herself said, she wrote for readers who have "a great deal of ingenuity themselves."
What Matters in Jane Austen? gets to the heart of what it is that makes Austen's work so singular. In twenty chapters, answering questions her novels have posed for over two centuries, Mullan uncovers the hidden truth of an extraordinary fictional world and reveals the true brilliance-and underappreciated complexity-of Austen's work.
Jane Austen is the author of classics including Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility. 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Austen's birth, and this beautiful, insightful book is the perfect gift for every Austen fan.
Product details
| Published | Jun 17 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Audiobook |
| Duration | 9 hours and 56 minutes |
| ISBN | 9781639739110 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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There is plenty to enjoy in this parade of Austen micro-knowledge
Evening Standard
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Highly entertaining ... reveals a quite unexpected aspect to the novelist and her books
Daily Mail
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Any new book on Jane Austen raises the urgent question, Would I get more pleasure from reading this than from re-reading my favourite Jane Austen novel? If you decide to give What Matters in Jane Austen a chance you'll know after a few pages that you've made the right choice
John Carey, Sunday Times
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[A] fine collection of essays ... Like all good literary critics, he has the happy knack of making you read even familiar works with fresh eyes, and the essays in this book are among the best of their kind
Daily Telegraph
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A detailed primer on Jane Austen's attitudes to sex, money, class and even the weather
Sunday Times Must Reads
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Fascinating ... If you love Jane Austen, you'll love this book too - it's almost as good as finding an unpublished novel
The Lady























