A Companion to Jane Austen

"While other companions provide scholarly summary-context and assessment-as a starting place for further research, this companion seems more individualized.... A Companion to Jane Austen offers the useful charms of knowledge, stimulation, judgment." (1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era, September 2010)

"The advantage is that the chapters tend to be manageable, clear, and focused-perfect, in fact, for assigning to undergraduate and beginning graduate students. I for one certainly plan on doing that. After all, one of the charms of enchantment is that it can be contagious." (Notes and Queries, March 2010)

"This book would be a worthy addition to any university, school and even private library in a place where Austen is read and re-read." (Transnational Literature, May 2009)

"Austenites should be delighted with this comprehensive survey of contemporary Austen studies. [...] This should become a standard Austen reference. Highly recommended." (Choice, August 2009)

"How is it that fresh perspectives on Austen and her writing are still being thought up? Johnson and Tuite answer that the study of Austen today is a "diverse, expansive, excitable and critical life-form", growing and changing with new audiences and approaches to literary criticism. Arranged in five parts, this Companion covers the style and genre of her novels, including the history of manuscripts, editions and illustrations (with 13 black-and-white facsimiles); individual readings of the main texts, looking at how Austen was initially received by critics and readers alike and the success of Pride and Prejudice; Austen's literary style and technique, showing how the author used language and who she was influenced by; the political, social and cultural settings of her novels, discussing the French Revolution and feminism; and how Austen has been "reinvented" by different generations, from the “silver fork” novel of the Victorian era to "sexed-up" television adaptations of our screens today." (Reference Reviews, December 2009)