Thanks to member Debbie Guyol, here is an entertaining, and thought-provoking, article by John Mullan in The Guardian on Jane Austen's work and her genius use of details and accuracy. Mullan's book, What Matters in Jane Austen?, will be published in early June.
Click here to view the article online in a new window, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/18/ten-questions-jane-austen.
"Jane Austen's admirer Virginia Woolf said that 'of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness'. It is a brilliant insight. The apparent modesty of Austen's dramas is only apparent; the minuteness of design is a bravura achievement. But it cannot be shown by some grand scene or speech. Accuracy is her genius. Noticing minutiae will lead you to the wonderful interconnectedness of her novels, where a small detail of wording or motivation in one place will flare with the recollection of something that happened much earlier. This is one of the reasons they bear such rereading. Every quirk you notice leads you to a design. If you ask very specific questions about what goes on in her novels, you reveal their cleverness. The closer you look, the more you see. Try these 10 questions."
Click here to view the article online in a new window, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/18/ten-questions-jane-austen.
"Jane Austen's admirer Virginia Woolf said that 'of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness'. It is a brilliant insight. The apparent modesty of Austen's dramas is only apparent; the minuteness of design is a bravura achievement. But it cannot be shown by some grand scene or speech. Accuracy is her genius. Noticing minutiae will lead you to the wonderful interconnectedness of her novels, where a small detail of wording or motivation in one place will flare with the recollection of something that happened much earlier. This is one of the reasons they bear such rereading. Every quirk you notice leads you to a design. If you ask very specific questions about what goes on in her novels, you reveal their cleverness. The closer you look, the more you see. Try these 10 questions."
- Who marries a man younger than herself?
- Who says: 'I hate money'?
- What is Mrs Bennet's Christian name?
- Why is Mr Perry getting a carriage?
- Who is wearing mourning?
- Where does Wickham have a tryst with Georgiana Darcy?
- Who marries for sex?
- What does Captain Benwick say in Persuasion?
- Who has the shortest successful courtship?
- Which novel's plot relies on the weather?
