John Mullan

An acclaimed literary scholar poses 20 questions that reveal deep truths about the iconic writer and her lasting influence, demonstrating how Austen's genius can be better appreciated with an understanding of her books' character dynamics, unspoken sexuality and period conventions. By the author of How Novels Work.

Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved

What Matters in Jane Austen?

Eloise

What Matters in Jane Austen is an engrossing close reading of Austen's literature that urges us to read more deeply in order to see and comprehend more. I can't help but hope Mullan would expand on his argument: little things matter not only because they show us Austen’s “extraordinary narrative sophistication,” as he concludes, but also because they reveal the subtleties of her insight into the moral lives of her characters. Ethics matters in Jane Austen, as well as craft.

What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved

Reviews