Jane Austen’s novels are unrivalled for their success in
combining two sorts of excellence that all too seldom coexist. Meticulously
conscious of her artistry, she is also constantly attentive to the realities of
ordinary human existence. From the
first, her works unite subtlety and common sense, good humour and acute moral
judgment, charm and conciseness, deftly marshalled incidents and carefully
rounded characters.
Jane Austen’s critics have spoken of her as a “limited” novelist, one who, writing in an age of great men and important events, portrays small towns and petty concerns, who knows (or reveals) nothing of masculine occupations and ideas, and who reduces the range of feminine thought and deed to matrimonial scheming and social pleasantry. Read here.
