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Jane Austen: The Novels
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.
- GenresNonfiction
300 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1998
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February 20, 2024
This would be a helpful book for anyone who wants to go beyond the basic storyline of Jane Austen's novels and dig deeper into her use of language and how she structured her novels. It also provides useful advice on analysing text that can be applied to other novels. While it deals with a fairly 'academic' subject, Marsh is not at all 'highbrow' in his writing, so this is very accessible.
I didn't agree with all his conclusions, but it would have been a boring read if I had - I always find I get more out of a book of literary criticism if I don't agree with all the writer's opinions, since it makes me think more! Marsh concludes with a brief account of Austen's life, an overview of some other works of literary criticism that reference Austen and some suggestions for further reading.
A couple of things did strike me as odd about this book. The first is that he refers to Austen's 'four novels' as if they are the only ones she wrote, although he does mention Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility later on in the text. I assume that anyone who reads this will be aware of all Austen's major novels, but it still seemed strange to talk as if she had only written the four being examined in this volume! I was also puzzled by the biographies he chooses to recommend - all are by American authors (not that I have anything against American biographers, it just seems peculiar to ignore the many excellent British biographies available!) and the most recent was published seven years before this book while the others date to the 70s and 80s. In view of the many other excellent biographies available at the time, I'm at a loss to understand his recommendations, especially as two out of the three (Honan and Hodge) are verbose and make far too many sweeping statements with no evidence to back them. So if you want to do further reading, I would find your own materials, rather than relying on Marsh's recommendations!
I didn't agree with all his conclusions, but it would have been a boring read if I had - I always find I get more out of a book of literary criticism if I don't agree with all the writer's opinions, since it makes me think more! Marsh concludes with a brief account of Austen's life, an overview of some other works of literary criticism that reference Austen and some suggestions for further reading.
A couple of things did strike me as odd about this book. The first is that he refers to Austen's 'four novels' as if they are the only ones she wrote, although he does mention Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility later on in the text. I assume that anyone who reads this will be aware of all Austen's major novels, but it still seemed strange to talk as if she had only written the four being examined in this volume! I was also puzzled by the biographies he chooses to recommend - all are by American authors (not that I have anything against American biographers, it just seems peculiar to ignore the many excellent British biographies available!) and the most recent was published seven years before this book while the others date to the 70s and 80s. In view of the many other excellent biographies available at the time, I'm at a loss to understand his recommendations, especially as two out of the three (Honan and Hodge) are verbose and make far too many sweeping statements with no evidence to back them. So if you want to do further reading, I would find your own materials, rather than relying on Marsh's recommendations!
Displaying 1 of 1 review