What happened when Jane Austen's heroines and heroes were finally wed? Marriage is at the centre of Jane Austen's novels. The pursuit of husbands and wives, advantageous matches, and, of course, love itself, motivate her characters and continue to fascinate readers today. But what were love and marriage like in reality for ladies and gentlemen in Regency England? Rory Muir uncovers the excitements and disappointments of courtship and the pains and pleasures of marriage, drawing on fascinating first-hand accounts as well as novels of the period. From the glamour of the ballroom to the pressures of careers, children, managing money, and difficult in-laws, love and marriage came in many guises: some wed happily, some dared to elope, and other relationships ended with acrimony, adultery, domestic abuse, or divorce. Muir illuminates the position of both men and women in marriage, as well as those spinsters and bachelors who chose not to marry at all. This is a richly textured account of how love and marriage felt for people at the time--revealing their unspoken assumptions, fears, pleasures, and delights.

An Austen scholar and therapist reveals Jane Austen's intuitive ability to imbue her characters with hallmarks of social intelligence—and how these beloved works of literature can further illuminate the mind-brain connection. Why is Jane Austen so phenomenally popular? Why do we read Pride and Prejudice again and again? Why do we delight in Emma’s mischievous schemes? Why do we care that Anne Elliot of Persuasion suffers? We care because it is our biological destiny to be interested in people and their stories—the human brain is a social brain, and Austen’s characters are so believable that, for many of us, they are not just imaginary beings, but friends whom we know and love. And thanks to Austen’s ability to capture the breadth and depth of human psychology so thoroughly, we feel that she empathizes with us. Humans have a profound need for empathy, to know that we are not alone with our joys and sorrows. We see ourselves and others reflected in Austen’s work. Social intelligence is one of the most highly developed human traits when compared with other animals. How did it evolve? Why is it so valuable? Wendy Jones explores the many facets of social intelligence and juxtaposes them with the Austen cannon. Brilliantly original and insightful, this fusion of psychology, neuroscience, and literature provides a heightened understanding of one of our most beloved cultural institutions—and our own minds.

"Caroline's early life was filled with the delights of living in a sixteenth-century English manor, the good cheer of family gatherings and centuries-old Christmas traditions in the Great Hall of Chawton House, the beauty of a country life, and the joys of helping her Granny bake cakes and serve Jane Austen devotees in the Chawton House tea room. But when she was seventeen, Caroline and her family were forced to leave the home her family had lived in for centuries. Heartbroken, but determined to leave all things Austen behind her, Caroline eventually carved out a highly successful career in business" -- Back cover.

Was the author of Pride and Prejudice really a poor, uneducated woman with no experience of sex or marriage? A woman who spent most of her life in rural seclusion, never meeting any other authors or literary figures, and whose only formal education was two years at a basic primary school? This is what biographers of Jane Austen expect us to believe, and what Nicholas Ennos refutes in this exposé, Jane Austen: A New Revelation. How could Jane Austen have written these novels, he asks, that have been considered by discriminating critics as some of the finest in the English language? Nicholas Ennos shows how the novels reveal the real author to have been a woman who moved in the highest circles of London society, was educated in Latin and Greek and who spoke fluent French. It reveals the author to be not a retiring spinster, but Jane Austen’s cousin and sister-in-law, Eliza de Feuillide, a married lady of the highest intellect whose ten-year course of education was supervised by her famous father, a man at the very centre of the intellectual life of London. The book traces Eliza’s exciting life, from her birth in Calcutta, India, to the court of Marie Antoinette, the execution of her first husband in the French Revolution and her connections to the leading literary figures of England and Germany. Jane Austen: A New Revelation reveals many new facts and the close connection between the supposed novels of Jane Austen and those of the novelist with the greatest influence on her, Fanny Burney. Nicholas Ennos’s knowledge of languages enables him to cast a fresh eye on these novels, revealing their true author to be a master linguist herself, who took her writing style from both French and Latin.Jane Austen: A New Revelation is the first book published to reveal the true author of these works. It will appeal both to fans of Jane Austen, and literary conspiracists.

One of the most common—and wounding—misconceptions about literary scholars today is that they simply don’t love books. While those actually working in literary studies can easily refute this claim, such a response risks obscuring a more fundamental question: why should they? That question led Deidre Shauna Lynch into the historical and cultural investigation of Loving Literature. How did it come to be that professional literary scholars are expected not just to study, but to love literature, and to inculcate that love in generations of students? What Lynch discovers is that books, and the attachments we form to them, have played a vital role in the formation of private life—that the love of literature, in other words, is deeply embedded in the history of literature. Yet at the same time, our love is neither self-evident nor ahistorical: our views of books as objects of affection have clear roots in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century publishing, reading habits, and domestic history. While never denying the very real feelings that warm our relationship to books, Loving Literature nonetheless serves as a riposte to those who use the phrase “the love of literature” as if its meaning were transparent. Lynch writes, “It is as if those on the side of love of literature had forgotten what literary texts themselves say about love’s edginess and complexities.” With this masterly volume, Lynch restores those edges and allows us to revel in those complexities.

"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

Kate Shaw, an acting beauty editor for a fashion magazine, has just been told that her services are no longer required. Through no fault of her own, she finds herself single, homeless and in desperate need to help her family survive its own financial and emotional crises. Known for her love of all things Jane Austen, Kate is given a freelance gig that changes everything: to research whether it is possible, in these modern times—and at a certain age—to marry well. What starts as an article quickly turns into Kate’s real-life quest. From the polo fields of West Palm Beach to the glamour of London’s social scene, Kate chases the man of her dreams, a charming and elegant older financier. But she keeps running into a brooding Englishman who works at an impeccably Austenesque estate. Caught between Mr. Rich and maybe Mr. Right, Kate must choose what she really wants out of life: to marry for money or risk it all for love.

"A great new voice in suspense...Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies who thrive on stories of deceit in the suburban world.” —J. T. Ellison, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Her Dark Lies "Pitch perfect suspense...The best debut I’ve read this year.” --Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be. Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking. Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask. Each mother is sure she knows who is responsible, but they all have their own secrets to keep and reputations to protect. And the lies they tell themselves and each other may just have the potential to be lethal in this riveting debut.

“Wonderful . . . a splendid overview of Georgian history—upstairs and downstairs” (Publishing News). This is a fascinating collection of first-hand accounts of life in the time of Jane Austen, from 1775-1817, showing how social standing and etiquette were prime considerations of the period and revealing the stark contrasts between classes and in the lives of men and women. With extracts from Jane Austen’s novels, letters, biographies, memoirs, and newspapers, including previously unpublished material held by The Jane Austen Society, British Library, Hampshire Record Office and Kent County Archives, this book provides an in-depth look at the historical era that gave birth to such classics as Pride and Prejudice and Emma.