A self-styled intellectual rebel, William Deresiewicz never thought Jane Austen's novels had anything to offer him. But when he was assigned to read Emma as a Columbia graduate student, something extraordinary happened. Austen's devotion to the everyday and her belief in the value of ordinary lives ignited something in him. Viewing the world through her eyes and treating people as generously, his life suddenly acquired the fascination of a novel.

Two centuries after their initial publication, the novels of Jane Austen (17751817) continue to enchant modern readers. Like many of her heroines, the author inherited a respectable pedigree but no wealth, which doubtless enhanced her insights into the lives of impoverished gentlewomen. Rich in memorable characters, Austen's compelling tales of love and marriage combine engrossing narratives with sparkling dialogue and psychological depth. This anthology...

"Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable. One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England's finest novelists. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve...

A sublime comedy of contemporary manners, this is the novel Jane Austen might well have written had she lived in twenty-first- century California. Nothing ever moves in a straight line in Karen Joy Fowler's fiction, and in her latest, the complex dance of modern love has never been so devious or so much fun. Six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements...

Revealing the importance of place in Jane Austen's writings, this book follows her travels throughout Georgian England. Jane Austen strayed far from the confines of her native Hampshire and Bath to find new material for her novels, from Pride and Prejudice to Northanger Abbey. With an accurate eye she sketched acute, witty studies of society in Lyme Regis and Bristol, Devizes and Southampton, Brighton and Winchester. This illustrated text summons...

A richly imagined novel inspired by the true story of Anne Sharp, a governess who became very close with Jane Austen and her family.

Publisher Annotation: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Leela Bose plays to win. A life-long speech competitor, Leela loves nothing more than crushing the competition, all while wearing a smile. But when she meets the incorrigible Firoze Darcy, a debater from an elitist private school, Leela can't stand him. Unfortunately, he'll be competing in the state league, so their paths are set to collide. But why attempt to tolerate Firoze when Leela...

The story of lively and rebellious Elizabeth, one of five unmarried daughters living in the countryside of 19th century England, in a world where an advantageous marriage is a woman's sole occupation.

In 18th century Bath, a girl bursting with freshness and passion for macabre Gothic novels experiences intrigue, adventure, and romance, especially when the romantic Henry Tilney invites her to his ancestral home.

Eight selections of literary criticism on a classic comedy of manners.