Mullan’s compelling analysis of detail in Jane Austen’s novels persuades us that “ Little things matter.” In a series of chapters on what he calls “ puzzles,” he asks questions about details and discusses how and why they matter. Darcy’s letter “ with the closest attention” to understand why he separated Bingley from Jane and why he doesn’t trust Wickham. “ The closer you look, the more you see,” writes John Mullan in What Matters in Jane Austen? Elizabeth Bennet learns this lesson in Pride and Prejudice when she reads and rereads Mr. Inspired by an enthusiastic reader's curiosity, written with flair and based on a lifetime's study, What Matters in Austen will appeal to all those who love and enjoy Jane Austen's work.The short answer is, “even the smallest detail matters.” But the bigger question is, “why does it matter?” In my review of John Mullan’s new book What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (New York: Bloomsbury, 2012) for Austenprose, you can read more about what matters, and why: Money she had to live on or what she saw at the theatre. Readers will find out, for example, what novels she read or how much Telling passages from her letters to explain episodes in her novels Not a book about Jane Austen's life, it uses biographical detail and Reveal her technical virtuosity and sheer daring as a novelist. What Matters in AustenĮxplores the rituals and conventions of her fictional world in order to How vicars got good livings and how wealth was inherited.

Who was allowed to write letters to whom, who owned coaches or pianos, Their meals and what shops they went to, how they addressed each other,

So the reader will discover when people had Jane Austen's novels, Mullan illuminates the themes that matter most to Twenty-one short chapters, each of which answers a question prompted by Her novels, he reveals their devilish cleverness. John Mullan shows that you can best appreciate Jane Austen's brillianceīy looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her fiction - byĪsking and answering some very specific questions about what goes on in Important Austen characters never speak? In What Matters in Austen, Why? What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage? And which Is there any sex in Austen? What do the characters call each other, and

What matters in jane austen