Jane Austen's novels : the art of clarity
Roger Gard (Author)
Although Jane Austen has long been England's best-loved novelist, much current criticism tends to ignore the appeal and accessibility of her novels and instead treats them as mere material -- the preserve of academics, feminists, historical specialists, and would-be radical theorists. This book by Roger Gard is at once a thoughtful and detailed discussion of Jane Austen's oeuvre and a provocative and witty commentary that will stimulate all readers. Gard offers lively and perceptive discussions of the six major novels, together with the early Lady Susan and the unfinished Sanditon. The precise nature and scope of Jane Austen's realism, her particularly English approach to the world, and the characteristic blend in her work of a sharp scepticism about human nature and its banality with an idealism about human virtue are theses that recur throughout Gard's study. The book is moreover notable for the original and striking links it makes between Jane Austen and other authors ranging from Shakespeare to Flaubert, Lawrence, George Eliot and Barbara Pym. Gard has something new to say in every chapter, and he says it with authority and style
Criticism, interpretation, etc
ix, 261 pages ; 25 cm
9780300054941, 9780685515532, 9780300059267, 0300054947, 0685515532, 0300059264
24670079
Introductory : Jane Austen's ease
and criticism
Early works, traditions, and critics I : Lady Susan and the single effect
Early works, traditions, and critics II : Northanger Abbey and other novels
Early works, traditions, and critics III : implications of the second chapter of Sense and sensibility
Questions about Pride and prejudice
6. Mansfield Park, Fanny Price, Flaubert, and the modern novel
Emma's choices
Registers of Persuasion
9. Small talk on Sanditon