The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen

by Edward Copeland (Editor), Juliet McMaster (Editor)

Jane Austen's stock in the popular marketplace has never been higher, while academic studies continue to uncover new aspects of her engagement with her world. This fully updated edition of the acclaimed Cambridge Companion offers clear, accessible coverage of the intricacies of Austen's works in their historical context, with biographical information and suggestions for further reading. Major scholars address Austen's six novels, the letters and other works, in terms accessible to students and the many general readers, as well as to academics. With seven new essays, the Companion now covers topics that have become central to recent Austen studies, for example, gender, sociability, economics, and the increasing number of screen adaptations of the novels.

Genres: Nonfiction, Jane Austen, Literary Criticism, History, Literature, Reference, Books About Books

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Melindam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book of collected essays on Jane Austen, her novels and her world, giving us valuable insight and information on religion, politics, society, domestic economy & publishing of her times without being overbearing or condescending.

[Grace Tjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays by Austen scholars, a few of which are very academic (including an analysis of Austen’s style using a mathematical computer program), but is generally accessible to the general reader. There are analysis of Austen’s whole oeuvre, including her short fictions, unfinished novels and letters, discussions about the historical and social backgrounds of her novels, and even speculations about the earlier versions of some of her most famous novels. I find the latter, an essay by Margaret Ann Doody, one of the most interesting in this book. We know that there were earlier prototypes of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey that did not survive. Doody speculated, based on the short fictions that Austen wrote in her twenties, that these prototypes might have been substantially different from the finished novels that are familiar to us. When she first wrote those novels, Austen was a writer in the edgier, more satirical mold of Fielding and Dr. Johnson. The changing social mores at the beginning of the Regency compelled her to tone down her style so that her novels might be considered suitable reading matter for the increasingly conventional public. I have no idea whether this is a valid speculation, but it is tantalizing nevertheless to imagine what these earlier prototypes might be like. Another fascinating fact that I learned is that, although most modern day ‘Janeites’ are female, there were bands of them that were exclusively male during the First World War. They were soldiers who were fighting in the trenches in Europe and were recommended Austen’s books as a soothing balm for their jangled nerves. I wonder what Miss Austen would have thought about that.

[fatma · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are 3 excellent essays in this collection that I think are indispensable if you want to understand the fundamentals of Austen's work: "The Professional Woman Writer" by Jan Fergus, "Class" by Juliet Mcmaster, and "Money" by Edward Copeland. They make explicit what is implicit in so many of Austen's novels, and offer substantial insight into the social world of the Regency era, both in terms of Austen's life and novels. The rest of the essays in here are a mixed bag, ranging from okay to quite dull. But I'd recommend this book based on the merit of those 3 aforementioned essays alone; they really redeem this collection.

[Brogan Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional collection of essays about Jane Austen and her works - some of them waffled a little bit but I really liked Edward Copeland’s essay on money, Juliet McMaster’s essay on class and Rachel M. Brownstein’s essay on Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice

[Koeeoaddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, if you like this sort of thing. I'd just rather read the source material again and again and again. Which probably explains why I am a fan-girl and not a scholar.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right before reading this book, I read Experiment in Criticism where Lewis claimed that most works of literary criticism weren't terribly helpful and that you're normally better off just reading the book again. When I first read it, I thought he was rather harsh. After reading through this book, I'm a lot more prone to agree with him (although, to be fair, there are good works of literary criticism out there.)

This isn't really a bad book in the sense that I disagree with it or that it's making ridiculous arguments. But the essays here tended to be rather bland, boring, and neither informed my teaching nor my personal understanding of Austen. There's a couple tidbits in this book I plan on pulling out for my teaching. But they're rather few and far between and I think there are better works on Austen out there for fellow readers and teachers.

Rating: 1.5 Stars (Poor).

[Elliot A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good enough collection of articles that discuss all of Austen’s works and affords the reader with enough material to engage in further research and discussions about the novels and the author.

ElliotScribbles

[Ygraine]

rachel m. brownstein on northanger abbey, sense & sensibility and pride and prejudice, carol houlihan flynn on austen's letters, juliet mcmaster on class, isobel grundy on literary tradition & claudia l. johnson on austen cults & cultures -- of particular interest, or just of particular clarity & charm.

john f. burrows on style at times insightful, but v grating others. gary kelly on religion & politics, dry dry dry.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a baby Austen scholar (within the context of Austen studies as a whole), I loved this book. I have the newer edition from 2016 on my to-buy list but I needed a book of criticism for my literary theory course (I had to write a book review) so I got the '97 copy and it was delightful! I can't wait to get my own copy for reference!

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but I bought the wrong book for class☠️

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the several essays I read in this book I enjoyed them and thought they did a good job of pointing out key features in the novels. There were a couple of essays that I was a little shocked with the mannerisms of the authors - they didn't seem dignified enough, or they were using some slang that I would never get away with putting in my paper. But I learned something from every essay I read and I thought it was a good way to get knowledge about a certain subject/element in the novel that I might not have known about. I'd recommend for an Austen enthusiast.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...

[Sophia-Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good about Jane Austen as a professional woman writer, and about her books, it was a great book to read and use quotes from to my big exam paper! A very good piece of work for reading and writing about Jane Austen.
It was a deligth and very informative about Jane Austen as a professional writer, and about her books.

[Janet Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best set of essays on Austen's work around with contributions from all my favorite Austen scholars. I've read most of the essays at least 2-3 times, and I always reread the novel discussions after I reread one of the fabulous six.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ideal book for the general reader and for anyone studying Jane Austen. There are fifteen essays on various aspects of the six novels as well as Austen's letters and the Juvenilia. There is an essay on class as well as one on the professional woman writer which goes into detail about how and when the six novels were published and how much money Austen earned from them in her lifetime.

I was particularly interested in the essays on money - which shows how people with particular incomes could be expected to live and in Jane Austen on screen. This last is covered in much more depth in Paula Byrne's book The Genius of Jane Austen. The Cambridge Companion is particularly useful for its comprehensive section on further reading which is excellent if you want to start reading more widely about Jane Austen.

Jane Austen's novels can be read on so many levels that any book which sheds light on minor aspects of her writing can add more depth to the reading of the books themselves. Even the Juvenilia take on new life when you read about them here as do the letters. Recommended reading if you are at all interested in Jane Austen and her writing.

[Edwin Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the essays “Class” (by Juliet McMaster), “Money” (by Edward Copeland), and “Making a Living” (by David Selwyn). But had an allergic reaction to "The Professional Woman Writer" and "Austen Cults and Cultures." Like the other Cambridge Companion titles, it provides a good synoptic view of what's going on in Austen studies (I read the second edition from 2011). Would have given it four stars if not for my reaction to the first and penultimate essays in the collection. If you're interested, here's the link to why I didn't like those two essays:
https://melpomeneswork.com/review-of-...

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read several of the essays in this book. I especially liked those that explained all the financial intricacies of the novels. . . . Why oh why must literature scholars write such hard-to-read prose though? I have a suspicion they build up their own egos by writing the most convoluted sentences they can.

[Micebyliz]

makes me wonder if Jane would approve? because yes, it's great to be the subject of scholarly review but good grief, it's so much more than something to be analyzed and picked apart. Let's enjoy. Let's put it in context and admire women for how they survived and coped and got on with their lives as best they could.

[Antonia Crowe]

The goal of this companion is to provide CONTEXT for the writings of Jane Austen. It aims to make Austen's writing more accessible to a modern audience by illuminating the culture in which her work was written, therefore making her work relatable to the present day.

Does the text succeed? Update to come...

[Sarah Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good information; however, much drier than other books on these topics presented in Austen's life and works. I will not say it was a pleasure to get through, nor that it explored anything I hadn't already read in other books.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not altogether even, generally a very good set of essays.

[Meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a couple of chapters for my final essay...

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked the collection though some articles were much stronger than others.

[Paul Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Critical discourse is an acquired taste. When applied to Jane Austen, it can both illuminate and confuse reasonable thought. This collection of critical essays does both in abundance.

[Stasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice companion of essays if you want more Austen food-for-thought. 🌻

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 some very good & enjoyable essays, and then some others.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphs of computational statistics of word and grammar frequencies are very interesting

[Tiffany L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of information in a very easy-to-read format. I will use it frequently as a reference.

[Maggie]

Brownstein, Rachel M. Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice P. 50 "It's first brilliant sentence takes the tone of a Johnsonian essayist pronouncing on the nature of universals and truths . . . Takes the tone, of course, so as to mock it." "expresses the gossip's fantasy that women exchange or traffic in men, and not vice versa. The novel takes off, in other words, from Mrs. Bennet's notion (or is it only what Mrs. Bennet pretends to believe?): that rich men exist for people to marry. Its irony further suggests that the universal acceptance of this idea may make it operatively true - that what authorities say, and most people acknowledge, matters."

Austen would repeat her character's spoken words in the narrative in order to guide the reader toward identifying with the character.

John Wiltshire Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion P. 72: "Emma finds Mr. Knightley such a stimulus to her ingenuity . . ." "the underlying and unconscious motive is clearly pleasure in crossing swords with Mr. Knightley."

McMaster, Juliet. Class. "On this issue, however, Darcy realistically argues that the Bennet sisters' connection with trade 'must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world' . . . Darcy is to go through an evolution in his attitude . . . Indeed, he comes to value the Gardiners, despite their connection with trade, more highly than his father-in-law the country gentlemen. The quality of humanity is to be judged by moral and humane standards, Austen suggests, not by social status; but like her own temporary snobs, Darcy and Emma, she pays full attention to their social status first."

Kelly, Gary. Religion and politics P. 160-1 "Austen . . .opted for third-person narration with restricted free indirect discourse, or narrator's representation of the protagonist's inward speech and thought. The effect is to retain narrative authority but allow the reader considerable knowledge of and thus sympathy for the protagonist. Austen's use of this narrative method can be read as a formal homology for a hierarchical yet open social structure, stabilized by inherited authority based on wealth and power but open to individual merit and responsive to individual rights based on it, while avoiding extremes of authoritarianism and individualism."

Copeland, Edward. MONEY
"...Pemberley exists as a consumer token in Austen's novels..." (131)
"...the single most significant economic problem for women is the lack of a fortune...an examination of the economy as measure of social morality" (132)
"...its power to acquire the material goods that can support the all-important signs of her rank's claims to genteel station..." (132)
"...severely handicapped by law and custom from possessing significant power over money" (133)
"The heartbeat of romance lies in a good income." (133)
"Consumer markets of income and rank regularly pace the romances of Jane Austen's novels." (133)

"...the 'proud and conceited' Miss Bingley in Pride and Prejudice who has a fortune of 'twenty thousands pounds' (pp 15), or Miss King, Elizabeth Bennet's richer rival for Wickham's attentions, with her 'ten thousand pounds' (149). But these heiresses' fortunes are understood immediately by contemporaries as yearly incomes through multiplying them by 5 per cent, a procedure that reveals their yearly income from investment in the 5 per cent government funds. Miss Bingley's year income from her 20,000 fortune is, thus, 1,000 a year; . . . Elizabeth Bennet's pitifully small fortune of 1,000 is a minor exception, invested at a lower rate of 4 per cent (40 a year), a fact Mr. Collins notes with some minuteness when he proposes to Elizabeth (106). With this formula for turning inherited money into yearly incomes (as investment at 5 per cent), heiress fortunes quickly come into focus as yearly income - the significant bottom line for romance." (134)

"...the larger social picture tends to place Austen . . . in an advance guard of middle-class encroachers on the political and economic turf of the landed interest. Mr. Darcy's and Mr. Knightley's great estates in Pride and Prejudice and in Emma are under the safe guidance of heroes who share the author's economic principles...Representatives of this monied class show a regular pattern of catastrophe as they stumble without the aid of the economic principles of Austen's own more humble rank;..." (137)

"And as for the extraordinary good luck of Elizabeth Bennet in meeting up with 10,000 a year, 'A house in town! Every thing that i scramming! (PP 378), it is a telling triumph of Austen's economic ideology to turn so fabulous a landed-gentry income into the earnest, cash-conscious programme of her own rank." (138)

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays on Austen, Austen's novels, and cultural context (such as class and money) that readers of Austen would find helpful. I filled it with post-it notes in prep for teaching my Austen class next year. It's one that I wouldn't necessarily suggest for my students or for the casual reader, but it's not so scholarly as to scare away everyone but tenured academics. I'm afraid it's going to be an expensive book though--the "Further Reading" chapter is about to inspire a flurry of book buying.

[Lynne-marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this exceedingly scholarly volume in pieces, simply becasue it was too much for me to swallow all at once, proving, I guess that I am not Cambridge material. (!) I learned a great deal about JA; was spurred to read other things by other authors of her time by the section that spoke of her influences and about publication at the time and how it influenced her; and, also followed up on reading her letters and the fragments that never became novels, all thanks to this volume. Since I read it on my Kindle, I can't make copies of parts I might have wanted to share with friends, except to recommend the book to them. They know who they are.