Jane Austen: Two Centuries of Criticism(Literary Criticism in Perspective)

A comprehensive look at the academic criticism of Jane Austen from her time down to the present. Among the most important English novelists, Jane Austen is unusual because she is esteemed not only by academics but by the reading public. Her novels continue to sell well, and films adapted from her works enjoy strong box-officesuccess. The trajectory of Austen criticism is intriguing, especially when one compares it to that of other nineteenth-century English writers. At least partly because she was a woman in the early nineteenth century, she was longneglected by critics, hardly considered a major figure in English literature until well into the twentieth century, a hundred years after her death. Yet consequently she did not suffer from the reaction against Victorianism thatdid so much to hurt the reputation of Dickens, Tennyson, Arnold, and others. How she rose to prominence among academic critics - and has retained her position through the constant shifting of academic and critical trends - is a story worth telling, as it suggests not only something about Austen's artistry but also about how changes in critical perspective can radically alter a writer's reputation. Laurence W. Mazzeno is President Emeritus of Alvernia University, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Becoming England's Jane, 1811-1917 Modernist, Humanist, and New Critical Approaches, 1918-1948 The Zenith of Formalist and Humanist Criticism, 1949-1974 The Austen Bicentenary, 1975 (and Beyond) The Feminist Revolution in Austen Studies, 1976-1990 Austen among the Theorists, 1976-1990 Traditional Criticism, 1976-1990 Theory-Based Criticism of Austen, 1991-2008 Traditional Approaches to Austen, 1991-2008 Speculations on the Future Works by Jane Austen Chronological List of Works Cited Index

About the Author :
LAURENCE W. MAZZENO is President Emeritus of Alvernia University.

Review :
[This book] admirably succeeds in its primary goal to present a wide-ranging account of Austen's critical fortunes suitable for non-specialist readers, such as undergraduate students, postgraduate students and scholars from other fields. . . . As well as being extremely reader friendly, it frequently makes useful connections that enhance understanding of the critical conversations that took place over many years. . . . [A] comprehensive, easy-to-use reference that is also an excellent starting point for new research on Austen's life and work. [W]ill make shelf-challenged booklovers willingly dust off more space. . . . [A] useful tool for assessing past writings and approaches, a solid base upon which to build further scholarship. A seminal work of academic excellence and an especially recommended addition to personal and academic library reference collections and reading lists. A generous, articulate, well-organized, and, amazingly, . . . inviting survey of biography and exegesis. . . . Mazzeno's study is capacious and comprehensive in range and witness.