Title: The politics of Jane Austen
First published: 1999
Description: Jane Austen is one of the great formative influences on thinking about 'England' and 'Englishness', about class, ideology and gender issues. But this book shows how the critical convoy for 'Jane' has aligned her with conservative views which her texts entertain - but don't avow. Indeed attempts to conscript her work for a rather crusty, Tory view of life ironically deflect attention from what, ultimately, she is to be valued for.

Although there is an 'Austen industry' and a fairly settled consensus on what she signifies, Edward Neill shows that this is largely illusion, and that much traditional criticism has been fundamentally misdirected.
Subjects: English Political fiction, History, History and criticism, Political and social views, Political fiction, English, Politics and literature, Austen, jane, 1775-1817, Political fiction, history and criticism
Places: Great Britain
People: Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Time periods: 19th century
LC classification: PR4038.P6 N45 1999