Today I finished reading a great book about the works of Jane Austen. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of Jane Austen.
What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan answers some interesting questions you may have when reading Jane Austen’s novels.
Mullan looks at many topics that would have been easily comprehended by readers at the time Austen wrote the books, but may not be as easily understood by us today.
He also looks at the writing style of Austen and how to better understand the meaning behind some of what she wrote.
Here are some of the great chapter titles:
How Much Does Age Matter?
Do you know the only Austen couple where the wife is older than the husband?
Why is the Weather Important?
How does weather play a part in the books? I think we all can think of some weather related scenes.
What Do the Characters Call Each Other?
This brings back memories of Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, etc…
How husbands and wives address each other is also covered.
How Much Money is Enough?
Why so much emphasis on how much money someone has. This is definitely something people would know and it would help them place people in society. It also helps you to understand why young women must marry well. The chapter also covers inheritance and what entailment means.
What Do Characters Read?
I definitely wanted to know this. What books were new at the time, how did they get their books and what was proper to read are all covered in this chapter.
Of course, these are only 5 of the 20 chapters. There were many other things that were covered in the book.
I really enjoyed this book and it helped me understand a few things that I hadn’t realized that I didn’t understand.
I have read several other books about Jane Austen in the past including Jane on the Brain: Exploring the Science of Social Intelligence with Jane Austen by Wendy Jones. This book changed how I see the characters. The last few times I have watched the movies I have seen Mr. Darcy in a new light. Try watching one of the movies or reading the book while thinking that he is an introvert. It will change your perspective of him.
For more of what I wrote about this book click on: Jane on the Brain
While reading What Matters… I realized that I have not read Pride and Prejudice for quite some time and I remember more of the movie story than the actual book. I now need to read the book again to better understand what I just read 🙂 The question now is which of my copies do I read.
I will list a few other posts I have written about Jane Austen that you may also enjoy.
Jane Austen Country – Includes pictures from a visit to where she lived
Jane Austen – Two Hundred Years
There are also some other posts where I mention Jane Austen like First Lines or when I have picked up some of her works along with other books.
Now back to reading. I need to finish some of what I am reading now so I can read Pride and Prejudice again.
Steven
