The first detailed account of Austen’s characters’ reading experience to date, this book explores both what her characters read and what their literary choices would have meant to Austen's own readership, both during her life and today.
Jane Austen was a voracious and extensive reader, so it's perhaps no surprise that many of her characters are also readers—from Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice to Fanny Price in Mansfield Park. Beginning by looking at Austen’s own reading as well as her interest in readers’ responses to her work, the book then focuses on each of her novels, looking at the particulars of her characters’ reading and unpacking the multiple (and often surprising) ways in which what they read informs our reading. What Jane Austen’s Characters Read (and Why) uses Austen's own love of reading to invite us to rethink the ways in which she imagined her characters and their lives beyond the novels.
By:
Susan Allen Ford (Delta State University USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9781350416710
ISBN 10: 1350416711
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 08 August 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Primary
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: Drawing Character, Reading Books: Building a Society of Readers Chapter 1: “Her Reading Was Very Extensive”: Austen and Her Community of Great Readers Chapter 2: Readers of Feeling: Northanger Abbey and Sensibility Chapter 3: “What Becomes of the Moral?” Reading Conduct Books and Pride and Prejudice Chapter 4: “In the Midst of Theatrical Nonsense”: Performative Reading in Mansfield Park Chapter 5: Becoming a Renter, a Chuser of Books in Mansfield Park Chapter 6: Meaning to Read More: Emma and the Clever Reader Chapter 7: Readers of Romance: Persuasion and Sanditon Bibliography
Susan Allen Ford is Professor of English Emerita at Delta State University, USA, and has been editor of Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal and Persuasions On-Line since 2006.
Reviews for What Jane Austen's Characters Read (and Why)
This is an excellent book on the importance of books and reading in Jane Austen’s life and works. Underpinned by careful research and insightful close readings of the novels, it clearly explains how understanding Austen’s literary allusions illuminates her work in vital new ways. * Professor Katherine Halsey, University of Stirling, UK *
