What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (John Mullan)

J'essaie de ne pas trop me laisser tenter par de nouvelles analyses de l'oeuvre de notre chère Jane mais difficile de résister quand tout le monde se ligue pour vous tenter. Pour une fois ce ne sont pas les lambtoniens qui auront causé ma perte mais une excellente présentation trouvée sur le bog Book Snob ainsi que les critiques postées sur amazon.uk. Bref, ma PAL a encore pris de la hauteur.

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Citation :

Is there any sex in Austen? What do the characters call each other, and why? What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage? And which important Austen characters never speak? In What Matters in Austen, John Mullan shows that you can best appreciate Jane Austen's brilliance by looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her fiction - by asking and answering some very specific questions about what goes on in her novels, he reveals their devilish cleverness. In twenty-one short chapters, each of which answers a question prompted by Jane Austen's novels, Mullan illuminates the themes that matter most to the workings of the fiction. So the reader will discover when people had their meals and what shops they went to, how they addressed each other, who was allowed to write letters to whom, who owned coaches or pianos, how vicars got good livings and how wealth was inherited. What Matters in Austen explores the rituals and conventions of her fictional world in order to reveal her technical virtuosity and sheer daring as a novelist. Though not a book about Jane Austen's life, it uses biographical detail and telling passages from her letters to explain episodes in her novels; readers will find out, for example, what novels she read or how much money she had to live on or what she saw at the theatre. Inspired by an enthusiastic reader's curiosity, written with flair and based on a lifetime's study, What Matters in Austen will appeal to all those who love and enjoy Jane Austen's work.

John Mullan est spécialiste de littérature anglaise du XVIIIè et professeur au University College de Londres. Il également l'auteur d'une critique hebdomadaire dans le Guardian et a été deux fois membre du jury du Booker Prize.

Très tentant, malgré des aspects de déjà-vu. J'attends ton avis avec impatience. As-tu remarqué au passage s'il existait en version ebook?

Il existe pour Kindle, d'après ce que j'ai pu voir.