the Mathematics of Jane Austen & other stories

by Elizabeth Smither

Jane Austen must have been very fond of the number 2: two good sisters, two I’ll-mannered matriarchs, two unsuitable suitors. But can Irene Fisher work this into a proposal that will impress her supervisor? Victoria Beauchamp is passionate about cricket but has given up hope of ever being a lady cricket commentator. Bertha Billington, with heavy busy and belljar hips, proves she’s not a wimp by bunny jumping. Maxine Mazengarb uses her credit card like a weapon. Annie has become an existentialist to give proper weight to the minutes of her life with William.
The Mathematics of Jane Austen and other stories, with its refreshingly quirky and spirited characters, confirms Elizabeth Smither as New Zealand’s leading short story writer of her generation.

223 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1997

About the author

Elizabeth Edwina Smither MNZM is a New Zealand poet and writer.

She has published eighteen collections of poetry and was New Zealand's poet laureate from 2001 to 2003. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University of Auckland, and in 2008 she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry. She has also published five novels and five short story collections, as well as journals and memoirs. Her poetry collection Night Horse won the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Poetry in 2018.

Reviews

[Ewan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it difficult to Rate this lovely little book of short stories. You either like short stories or not and I personally do but then I didn’t manage to finish a couple of these. But that said among them were some absolute belters. Like “Cricket” and “Six sisters from Ouse”. I would have given them a 5 star then 4 star rating on their own. So overall a 3 star rating seems fairest. But seriously if you just want a great 15 min waiting room read then grab this and turn straight to “Cricket”.