Emma
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
Emma Woodhouse imagines that she dominates those around her in the small town of Highbury, but her inept matchmaking creates problems for herself and others.
Marilyn Butler Books
Marilyn Butler was a distinguished British literary critic renowned for her profound engagement with the Romantic period and the literature of the 18th and 19th centuries. Her scholarship delved into the social and intellectual forces shaping literary creation, with a particular focus on authors such as Maria Edgeworth. Butler was celebrated for her meticulous analysis and her ability to connect literary works to their broader cultural and historical contexts. Her influential critical studies illuminate the complexities of literary movements and enrich our understanding of British literature.
Jane Austen's brilliant satire of the gothic novel. “If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” The most sprightly and satirical of Austen’s novels, Northanger Abbey was written when the author was herself in her early twenties, and takes for its heroine seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, a spirited young woman preoccupied with the pleasures of dressing, dancing, and reading sensational novels. When she visits Northanger Abbey, the ancestral home of handsome Henry Tilney, Catherine’s taste in books comes back to haunt her. The rambling house, full of locked doors, and the family’s mysterious history give rise to delightfully dreadful suspicions, and finally only Catherine’s sweet nature and good humor triumph over her susceptibility. A sly commentary on the power of literature as well as a cautionary tale about the perils of naïveté, Northanger Abbey is a fresh and funny tale of one young woman receiving, as Margaret Drabble reveals in her illuminating introduction, “intensive instruction in the ways of the world.” With an Introduction by Margaret Drabble and an Afterword by Stephanie Laurens
This volume focuses on the significant Revolution debate in England during the 1790s, sparked by the French Revolution. It includes major works by Burke, Paine, and Godwin, alongside shorter pieces by writers like Cobbett and More. Part of the Cambridge English Prose Texts series, it highlights non-fictional prose from the late sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, providing access to influential yet often overlooked writers. The debate featured interconnected works that reflect the historical context of their creation. Major tracts such as Burke's *Reflections on the Revolution in France*, Paine's *The Rights of Man*, and Godwin's *Enquiry Concerning Political Justice* are presented in depth, while important shorter writings are included almost in full. The volume portrays a community of oppositional writers who engaged with each other and challenged the pro-government majority, offering insights into Romanticism and the development of extra-parliamentary opposition through the press. It also illustrates the debate's influence on figures like Mary Wollstonecraft, Coleridge, and Wordsworth. Comprehensive annotations clarify obscure references, while an introduction by Dr. Butler provides an overview of the pamphlet war and its key players. A critical guide for further reading is also included, making this volume an essential resource for students of English Romantic literature, history, and political history.