One of the most important novelists of the early 19th century, Jane Austen (1775-1817) continues to be read and studied today. Throughout her novels, she creates characters who embody various virtues and limitations. The best characters represent the best behavior, just as the less admirable ones behave in less admirable ways. The courtesy books of the 18th century advise certain moral behavior for character development. This book studies Austen's parallels to 18th century courtesy books. Educational and recreational activities in Austen's novels, such as reading, dancing, card-playing,...

Angela Thirkell wrote more than 30 comic novels that spanned the period between 1930 and 1960 in England. Beginning in 1933, the books are set in Barsetshire as extensions of the seven Barsetshire novels of Anthony Trollope. In her works, Thirkell creates a world in which minor characters from one novel appear as major characters in another, and in which her various figures go to school, court, marry, give birth, bring up their children, retire, and die. The domestic concerns of her novels are set against a time of great stress for England, which witnessed World War II and its social and...