A Truth Universally Acknowedged

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Susannah Carson, Editor
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
(Random House, November 2009)

For so many of us a Jane Austen novel is much more than the epitome of a great read. It is a delight and a solace, a challenge and a reward, and perhaps even an obsession. For two centuries Austen has enthralled readers. Few other authors can claim as many fans or as much devotion. So why are we so fascinated with her novels? What is it about her prose that has made Jane Austen so universally beloved?

In essays culled from the last one hundred years of criticism juxtaposed with new pieces by some of today’s most popular novelists and essayists, Jane Austen’s writing is examined and discussed, from her witty dialogue to the arc and sweep of her story lines. Great authors and literary critics of the past offer insights into the timelessness of her moral truths while highlighting the unique confines of the society in which she composed her novels. Virginia Woolf examines Austen’s maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed if she’d lived twenty more years, while C. S. Lewis celebrates Austen’s mirthful, ironic take on traditional values.

Modern voices celebrate Austen’s amazing legacy with an equal amount of eloquence and enthusiasm. Fay Weldon reads Mansfield Park as an interpretation of Austen’s own struggle to be as “good” as Fanny Price. Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever. Alain de Botton praises Mansfield Park for the way it turns Austen’s societal hierarchy on its head. Amy Bloom finds parallels between the world of Persuasion and Austen’s own life. And Amy Heckerling reveals how she transformed the characters of Emma into denizens of 1990s Beverly Hills for her comedy Clueless. From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Margot Livesey, each writer here reflects on Austen’s place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination.

We read, and then reread, our favorite Austen novels to connect with both her world and our own. Because, as A Truth Universally Acknowledged so eloquently demonstrates, the only thing better than reading a Jane Austen novel is finding in our own lives her humor, emotion, and love.

 

Praise for A Truth Universally Acknowledged

“Austenites will enjoy dipping into this collection.”
–The Booklist

“The novels of Jane Austen live beyond the page, haunting our lives.  The writers in this volume explain their own relationship with Austen and together are a kind of invitation for us, whether we’re Janeites or not, to understand why we are so in her thrall.”
–Chicago Tribune

“‘Wow!’ I wrote in the margin.  There are lots of ‘wows’ in these essays…”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“For the devotee of the written works, however, A Truth Universally Acknowledged contains almost as many gems as the novels encompass.”
–Miami Herald

“Whether you adore Jane Austen for her wit, characters, or astute observations about human nature, this swoon-worthy collection penned by modern masters of literature will offer even more reasons to love her.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Jane Austen…remains a hot literary property.  A Truth Universally Acknowledged…explains her eternal appeal.”
—USA Today

“This book would make a perfect Christmas present for anyone who loves Austen.”
—Economist

“The pieces make many astute points about Austen’s oeuvre.”
—Publishers Weekly

 

Susannah Carson is a doctoral candidate in French at Yale University. Her previous degrees include an M.Phil from the Sorbonne Paris III, as well as MAs from the UniversitĂŠ Lyon II and San Francisco State University. She has lectured on various topics of English and French literature at Oxford, the University of Glasgow, Yale, Harvard, Concordia, and Boston University.