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A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
A Truth Universally Acknowledged 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen Author:Susannah Carson (Editor) Why are we so fascinated with Jane Austen’s novels? Why is Austen so universally beloved? The essayists in this volume offer their thoughts on the delightful puzzle of Austen’s popularity. Classic and contemporary writers -- novelists, essayists, journalists, scholars, and a filmmaker -- discuss the tricks and treasures of Austen&rsq... more »uo;s novels, from her witty dialogue, to the arc and sweep of her story lines, to her prescriptions for life and love.
Virginia Woolf examines Austen’s maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed had she lived another twenty years, while Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever. From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Amy Bloom, each writer reflects on Austen’s place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination. Introduction by Harold Bloom.
Contents
Why we read Jane Austen : young persons in interesting situations / Susanna Clarke --
The radiance of Jane Austen / Eudora Welty --
Six reasons to read Jane Austen / Rebecca Mead --
Jane Austen : the six novels / E. M. Forster --
A life among the manuscripts : following in the steps of Dr. Chapman / Brian Southam --
Reading Northanger Abbey / Susannah Carson --
On Sense and Sensibility / Ian Watt --
From "Why we read Jane Austen" / Lionel Trilling --
Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice / W. Somerset Maugham --
Force of love : Price and Prejudice by Jane Austen / Martin Amis --
The nerds of Pride and Prejudice / Benjamin Nugent --
Austen portrays a small world with humor and detachment / J. B. Priestley --
Pride and Prejudice and the mysteries of life / Anna Quindlen --
A note on Jane Austen / C. S. Lewis --
Jane Austen and the good life / Louis Auchincloss --
What became of Jane Austen? / Kingsley Amis --
from "Jane Austen : Mansfield Park" / A. S. Byatt, Ignes Sodre --
The modest art of altering life / Alain De Botton --
Let others deal with misery / Fay Weldon --
Fanny was right : Jane Austen as moral guide / James Collins --
Why I like Jane Austen / Janet Todd --
Why do we read Jane Austen? / John Wiltshire --
The girls who don't say "whoo!" / Amy Heckerling --
Reading and rereading Emma / David Lodge --
from "Emma and the legend of Jane Austen" / Lionel Trilling --
The perfections of Jane Austen / Eva Brann --
from "The myth of limitation" / Donald Greene --
Terrible Jane / Amy Bloom --
Some thoughts on the craft of Austen's Persuasion / Diane Johnson --