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The Improvement of the Estate A Study of Jane Austen's Novels / by Alistair M. Duckworth.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Duckworth, Alistair M., 1936-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Administration of estates.
- Social problems in literature.
- Romance-language fiction, English--History and criticism.
- Romance-language fiction, English.
- Women and literature--England--History--19th century.
- Women and literature.
- Literature and society--England--History--19th century.
- Literature and society.
- Austen, Jane, 1775-1817--Political and social views.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (xii, 239 p.) front.
- Edition:
- 1st ed.
- Place of Publication:
- Johns Hopkins University Press 1972
- Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press [1971]
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- Originally published in 1994. In The Improvement of the Estate, Alistair Duckworth contends that understanding Mansfield Park is fundamental to appreciating Jane Austen's body of work. Professor Duckworth understands Mansfield Park as underscoring the central uniting theme in Austen's work—her concept of the "estate" and its "improvement." The author illustrates Austen's connection to the values of Christian humanism, which she conveys through the uniting theme of estate improvement. According to Duckworth, the estate represents moral and social heritage, so the manner in which individuals seek to improve their estates in Jane Austen's novels represents the direction in which she saw the state and society moving. Finally, Duckworth underscores Austen's awareness of the importance of a society of individuals whose behavior is socially informed.
- Contents:
- Cover
- Copyright
- Contents
- Mode of Citation
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- Preface to the Hardcover Edition
- Introduction: Some Critical and Literary Contexts
- Chapter 1. Mansfield Park: Jane Austen's Grounds of Being
- Chapter 2. Aspects of Northanger Abby and Sense and Sensibility
- Chapter 3. Pride and Prejudice: The Reconstitution of Society
- Chapter 4. Emma and the Dangers of Individualism
- Chapter 5. Persuasion: The Estate Abandoned
- Postscript: Sanditon
- Index.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references.
- Description based on print version record.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- ISBN:
- 0-8018-4972-1
- OCLC:
- 1128826563
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