Jane Austen The Life and Times of the World's Favourite Author

Résumé : Jane Austen's cool modernity belies the fact that it was 200 years ago that "Pride and Prejudice" was published, and that it was a very different world in wich she lived? Jennings's fascinating guide leads us deftly through that world - its architecture, food, manners and other aspects of everyday life during the Regency. Why was Brighton considered so louche ? How often people wash ? And what time was diner served ? It tells the story of Austen's life - weighing the significance of her success as a writer coming in a rush, late in life, most of wich had been spent in dependent spinsterhood - and examines all her much-loved novels, from "Sense and Sensibility" to "Nothanger Abbey", adopting the point of view of the interested contemporary reader. With wit and perceptive insights, Jennings tease out the small imperfections in Austen's fiction and reveals how she surmounts these. To read, or re-read, all Jane Austen's novels in the order in wich they were written has the power to bring her uncannily alive, and to make us long to have her back with us. This guide is the perfect companion for such an adventure alongside the world's best-loved author.