Seeking recommendations for Jane Austen literary analysis

January 13, 2023 1:30 PM

I’ve been reading a lot of Jane Austen and I have been struck by the common themes in her writing and would love to read more along those lines. Welcoming all recommendations for books that analyze the themes, characters, and other shared elements across her literary oeuvre.

For example: compare and contrast her “villains” (Pride & Prejudice’s Wickham, Sense & Sensibility’s Willoughby, Mansfield Park’s Henry Crawford); understanding her preference for the Navy as a profession (as shown in how positively she frames Mansfield Park’s William Price and Persuasion’s Captain Wentworth). Do books of literary analysis and comparison like this exist for Austen scholars?

posted by I_Love_Bananas to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Best answer: The Jane Austen Society of North America has an online journal published once a year and openly available on their website. They also publish an annual bibliography of works on Austen you can peruse.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:47 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I see you asked for books in particular. Here are the Austen Society's past book reviews.

You can also search the website to find articles on specific topics. I did a search for "navy" and found out there's a book called Jane Austen and the Navy.

Sometimes it's also fun to browse the table of contents of things like the journal.

And yes, all this and more exists for Austen.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:57 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

This is lighter, but Fay Weldon, the novelist, wrote a book called Letters To Alice On First Reading Jane Austen. I enjoyed it.
posted by LizardBreath at 6:03 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Maggie Lane's 1995 book Jane Austen and Food is well worth your time. They did not eat as we do.
posted by diodotos at 7:43 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]