Jane Austen (MN) (Bloom's Major Novelists) [Library Binding]

Harold Bloom (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999 | ISBN-10: 0791052605 | ISBN-13: 978-0791052600

Putting her in elite company, Harold Bloom suggests Jane Austen will survive with the likes of William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Critical essays offer insight into Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. A part of our Bloom's Major Novelists series, this volume is designed to present biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on the playwright's best-known works. This series is edited by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University; Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor of English, New York University Graduate School; preeminent literary critic of our time. Titles include detailed plot summaries of the novel, extracts from scholarly critical essays on the novels, a complete bibliography of the writer's novels, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–Distinguished critics examine aspects of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility. Themes explored include manners and morals, comic aggression, knowledge and opinion, gender roles, and the relationship of Austen's novels to William Shakespeare's plays. Essays discuss specifics of the novels and place them within the context of Austen's other works. Characters are examined in depth, as are situations, feelings, and social context. Quotes from the books are used to support interpretations. B. C. Southam's Critical Essays on Jane Austen(Routlege, 1968; o.p.), Ian Watt's Jane Austen(Wiley, 1963), and Clarice Swisher's Readings on Pride and Prejudice (Greenhaven, 1998) are similar in scope. Bloom's well-documented title will help students develop a better understanding of Austen's works.–Nicole M. Marcuccilli, Glenview Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 99 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791052605
• ISBN-13: 978-0791052600
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,608,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile reference book, January 7, 2009

By 

aficianado "lifelong student of the arts" (Chicago, Il) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Jane Austen (Bloom's Modern Critical Views) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the book. I read it at the same time as Emily Auerbach, "Searching for Jane Austen". Both are good in their own way. Auerbach's is much easier to read, not from lack of content but due to a better and more consistent writing style and point of view. Bloom's, like others in his Critical views series, is a collection of assorted authors' views of Austen. If you are an Austen fan you will like/agree with some and not others. This book can be dense and academic, not surprising, as it is written by them, for them. Once I realized this I chose to read it in small doses, a chapter or less at a time. Not a fast read (does it need to be?) but still very much worthwhile, full of valuable insights. I originally obtained it from the library and still opted to buy it afterward (and Auerbach's book), because each fills a different niche and is a useful reference. For the record, I am an Austen fan and not an academic, and willing to work harder for the sake of a fuller understanding.

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, February 27, 2008

By 

D. Knapp - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jane Austen (Bloom's BioCritiques) (Library Binding)

This book combines a (very) concise biography with several critical essays. The biography was a decent rough sketch of Austen's life and writing compressed into about 30 minutes worth of reading.

The included summaries of Austen's works were hasty and thus vastly oversimplified, to the point of uselessness. They contain several minor errors as well, stupid things that the editor should have caught. Anyone new to Austen could get a better overview reading middle school book reports.

The critiques are at least thought provoking although not exactly to my taste; the one by Brian Wilkie in particular was a magnificent piece of specious sophistry.

If someone needs a quick source for a paper due the next day, the material in this book might be sufficient to make a C, but reading the real thing would be much more satisfying.