A Truth Universally Acknowledged

Author(s): Susannah Carson (ed)

Writing & Reading

For so many of us a Jane Austen novel is much more than the epitome of a great read. It is a delight and a solace, a challenge and a reward, and perhaps even an obsession. For two centuries Austen has enthralled readers. Few other authors can claim as many fans or as much devotion. So why are we so fascinated with her novels? What is it about her prose that has made Jane Austen so universally beloved?
In essays culled from the last one hundred years of criticism juxtaposed with new pieces by some of today's most popular novelists and essayists, Jane Austen's writing is examined and discussed, from her witty dialogue to the arc and sweep of her story lines. Great authors and literary critics of the past offer insights into the timelessness of her moral truths while highlighting the unique confines of the society in which she composed her novels. Virginia Woolf examines Austen's maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed if she'd lived twenty more years, while C. S. Lewis celebrates Austen's mirthful, ironic take on traditional values.
Modern voices celebrate Austen's amazing legacy with an equal amount of eloquence and enthusiasm. Fay Weldon reads "Mansfield Park "as an interpretation of Austen's own struggle to be as "good" as Fanny Price. Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make "Pride and Prejudice" as vital today as ever. Alain de Botton praises "Mansfield Park" for the way it turns Austen's societal hierarchy on its head. Amy Bloom finds parallels between the world of "Persuasion" and Austen's own life. And Amy Heckerling reveals how she transformed the characters of Emma into denizens of 1990s Beverly Hills for her comedy "Clueless." From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Margot Livesey, each writer here reflects on Austen's place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination.
We read, and then reread, our favorite Austen novels to connect with both her world and our own. Because, as A Truth Universally Acknowledged so eloquently demonstrates, the only thing better than reading a Jane Austen novel is finding in our own lives her humor, emotion, and love.


Product Information

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was modest about her own genius but is one of English literature's greatest and most admired writers. She is the author of Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. Susannah Carson is currently a doctoral candidate in French literature at Yale University. Previous degrees include an M.Phil from the Sorbonne Paris III, as well as M.A.s from the Universite Lyon II and San Francisco State University. She has given talks on various topics of English and French literature at Oxford, the University of Glasgow, Yale, Harvard, Concordia, and Boston University.

General Fields

  • : 9781846143359
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : Particular Books
  • : June 2010
  • : United Kingdom
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Susannah Carson (ed)
  • : -
  • : 1
  • : 823.7
  • : 320