John Mullan (1)Kirja-arvosteluja

What a great little book! I wouldn't say it's 20 crucial puzzles, and I don't think much is getting solved - but I do think these are 20 great little essays on topics in Jane Austen's books, obviously written with knowledge, respect, and great love. Definitely best if you already read at least Austen's six completed novels and maybe even [b:Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon|208729|Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371223264l/208729._SY75_.jpg|1890744] Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon, if you're very determined.
I know for sure I'll go back to everything she wrote with more insight and admiration. Very much looking forward to that!

I really enjoyed this. Mullan takes different topics, techniques, etc. and talks about how Austen used them throughout her novels. I gained a lot of insight into her writing and will notice these as I reread her novels.

Here are some of my favorite topics discussed. In "What do the Characters Call Each Other", there was some great insight into the meaning behind using first names, or last names only, or titles. He also points out what couples call each other. All of these are tied in to how Austen sets up plot points or characterizations. In "Why is the Weather Important", Mullan points out how Austen uses the weather to set a mood and also as a plot device - sometimes bring characters together and sometimes keeping them apart. In "Do we Ever See the Lower Classes" he points out that even when servants aren't named, much of the behavior of the main characters is influenced by their presence, which contemporary readers of Austen would have felt more deeply than modern readers do. "What do characters say when the heroine isn't there?" contrasts the different novels in terms of how present the main heroine is and how that presence or point of view shapes the novel.

I also loved "Which important characters never speak in the novels" and the final two "When Does Jane Austen speak directly to the reader" and "How experimental a novelist is Jane Austen?" which spend some time placing her in comparison to other authors and analyzing the novelty and innovation of her writing technique.

Overall, I really loved this and I could see dipping into again at some point. Only recommended for someone very familiar with Austen's novels, though. Mullan assumes you'll remember all the scenes and characters that he throws into every essay without giving any background.

Last year at the Jane Austen Festival I happened upon the tail end of a presentation in the main tent and regretted that I hadn't been there for the whole thing. It was by this author, John Mullan, and he was quizzing the audience about certain obscure details in Jane Austen's novels. It was very interesting. After reading his book now, I feel like there are a couple of things I may notice more than before when next I read JA.
The most interesting thing is to realize that Austen was a pioneer of a new technique in fiction, which came to be called free indirect style. This is one of the things that always delighted me, but I didn't know it had a name. It's where the third person narration temporarily takes on the viewpoint or even communication style of one character. It's no longer the omniscient, objective voice: it's as if the author is inhabiting the mind of one of her characters and reporting things ONLY from that person's mental processes. It's fun to spot, because it's never pointed out that this is what's happening.

But there are other subjects worth considering, for instance, the high value placed on reading. We bemoan the fact today that people don't read, but many chose not to in Austen's day as well, and this is seen as a major personality component, something that might even be part of compatibility in marriage.
Anyway, it's a good, well researched work that provides some food for thought for those who know their Austen inside and out.

What was true of Pablo Picasso was also true of Charles Dickens. When you know what you're doing, breaking all the rules can actually work in your favor.

John Mullan makes this point in “The Artful Dickens: The Tricks and Ploys of the Great Novelist” (2020), a scholarly book that will appeal equally to anyone who values Dickens novels.

Writers aren't supposed to repeat the same words in the same paragraph. Dickens did this again and again and again. Writers should avoid cliches. Dickens used them like they were going out of style. Writers shouldn't switch tenses. Dickens does.

Mullen gives countless examples of the great British writer's passion for making lists. Because his novels have so many characters and because they were originally printed in monthly installments, Dickens used unique names and unusual speech patterns to help readers remember those characters.

Why do so many people drown or nearly drown in Dickens novels? Mullen explores this phenomenon. Why does he write so much about the sense of smell? Why are there so many ghosts? How does Dickens so often use the phrase "as if" to his advantage?

Unlikely coincidences are often a turnoff for serious readers, yet Dickens used then often, and his novels are still taught in college courses. Charles Dickens got away with a lot of supposedly unforgivable sins. Mullen gives us so many examples that his book sometimes becomes tedious — another unforgivable sin — yet in the end it helps those who appreciate Dickens to appreciate him all the more.

Hard read, particularly as not read most of Dickens. Some interesting stuff, particularly chapters dealing with writing and editing methods. And ch 13 'knowing about sex'! But reads more like an academic text than one for casual reader.½

Ignore the subtitle, which is clearly the invention of publishers who knew that "Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved" has a sexier ring to it than "Twenty short, pleasantly essays about various aspects of Jane Austen's writings which help you better understand their social contexts and literary innovation but aren't truly essential to understanding the narrative."

Here, John Mullan writes accessibly, if sometimes a little repetitively, about a variety of topics, from the social signifiers of income in Regency England, to why the weather looms so large in Austen's writings, to the significance of the blush, and how knowledge of these things provides the reader with new layers of appreciation for Austen as a meticulous author. (I noted with amusement, however, that he didn't quote Tony Tanner's infamous (to my mind) Freudian analysis of Elizabeth Bennet's blushing as signifying a "mild erection of the head.")

The sweet spot for this in terms of audience is probably people who have read at least the majority of Austen's completed novels, but who aren't fans enough of Austen, or of Regency literature/history more generally, to have already imbibed what Mullan says here via osmosis.½

Dickens lovers, rejoice. This is a delicious wallow in everything we love about CD: names, idiolect, comedy / tragedy / poignancy, with the added pleasure of a literary guide looking hard at just how he pulled it all off in how he chose, ordered, and played with words, and sharing the secrets with us. I've read nearly all of Dickens multiple times, and Mullan managed to startle me with his observations. For example: I'm used to the writers' workshops, writing coaches, and literary advisors commanding us to "Use active verbs!" Yes, well, let's look at the opening page of Bleak House, the famous London fog. 384 words, and not a single finite verb. Really?! I pulled my copy off the shelf... yep. CD is not "describing London, he is plunging us into it." I had actually noticed the switching back and forth between present and past tenses in the same novel, but Mullan points out that not only had that never been done before Dickens, but that readers and critics at the time *didn't even notice it.* He was that good.

Chapters detail CD's use of curious comparative phrases ("as if...") to throw a new angle on a character or situation. Dickens relied a lot on the sense of smell for description (Alice McDermot in her recent What About the Baby? complains writers rarely do this - she should read this chapter!). The chapter on Dickens's famous character-names goes on too long, perhaps becoming too much of a prosy list (from which he omits any mention of my cat's name, Smike); similarly, the chapter on Speaking is rambling and covers territory we fans probably know well already. He is at his best when he shows us Dickens "breaking the rules": re-using cliches, changing tenses, inventing new (and yet perfect!) words, and simply playing with sentences, expressions, conventions, and expectations that result in somersaulting imagery, laughter, tension, comedy, horror, and tears. Readers who already know Dickens well will likely get the most out of all of it, recognizing our favorites, enlightened in new ways to familiar parts. Best of all, Mullan equipped this reader with some heightened awareness of techniques that I can apply to anything else I read, not just Dickens.

For readers less familiar with Dickens, Mullan's surefooted scamper across multiple massive novels, plots, and people may be a bit dizzying, and often jumps from one to another without apparent order. It may be confusing to sort out the Pickwicks, Podsnaps, and Pecksniffs, Grangers and Gradgrinds, Carker and Quilp - like being at a really big party where you only know a few people. But it's still a great party. Thanks to John Mullan for inviting us.

This book is a nonfiction book about Charlies Dickens, and his novels. It's about why Dickens' books were and are so loved, and how creative and clever he was as a writer, even though critics often have a lot of negatives to say about his novels. The book is made up of thirteen different essays, each one focused on a different topic. The book is predominantly engaging, although occasionally a little dry. It's a lot more academic than I had expected from reading the blurb. There's a close analysis of his books, lots of quotes, comparisons to other novelists of the time, and quotes from his drafts and notes that show his writing process. It also includes his own words about his writing, from a collection of his letters. At times, it's like seeing into his mind even though he's been dead for so long. It's really quite fascinating. The book is extensively referenced, as well.

The book has some tantalising insights into Dickens' mind and how he worked and wrote. It shows how he developed as a writer over the course of his career, from his very first novel to his final unfinished work. He was creative and inventive, constantly improving his methods and exploring new techniques. This book opened my eyes to some of the more fantastical elements of his works. There are also discussions on his clever use of cliches, his innovative uses of language, and how he chose the names for his incredibly memorable characters.

I have read a fair number of Dickens' novels. I found the parts of this book that talked about books I had already read the most interesting, but also, reading about books I haven't yet read made me excited to read them. This is not really a book to dip in and out of for trivia, more something to absorb and think about. It's probably most interesting to people who are big Dickens fans, or who are interested in literature.

I bought this directly from John Mullan himself at the Jane Austen Festival at his "Considering Nothanger Abbey" lecture. The lecture was awesome and the book followed the suit. It's definitely meant for people who have read at least most of her books, although I don't understand why you would pick it up unless you had.

I learned many new things and I just basically enjoyed reading about what makes Jane Austen such an awesome writer. I have seen many essays/lectures on male authors ( like Dostoyevsky or Tolstoi) but people seem to tell all the things they think are wrong, when it comes to a female author. I knew she was awesome and some of my thoughts (although not as refined) are definitely in the book, but also I realized why I like them so much and why my favorites are the books they are. Even though the book is fairly academic discussion, I find it very approachable and no previous knowledge in literature studies is necessary.

Lightweight, slightly repetitive and thoroughly informative and enjoyable. Nice to get some proof (from an impeccable source) that of course Jane Austen knows exactly what she is doing - and how good and innovative she is.

After all, once you've read everything Jane Austen has written, read your favourites a few more times, changed your favourites over the years and read the new favourites over and over again, you do need something else to help refresh the next reading - and this does nicely.

On the recommendation of another Goodreads and IRL friend, I got this book. I have been reading Jane Austen since age 10 when I read Pride and Prejudice for a library summer reading program. (And I think I was in my 30s and 3rd or 4th rereading when I realized that "eloping" had a different meaning than it does now!) Just goes to show that there is always something new to discover, and Mr. Mullan helped me discover quite a lot with these essays on such topics as illness, money, sex, etc. Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to embark on another course of rereading. Highly recommended for Janeites and those just beginning to read the novels.

I bought this book because one of the reviews of the Book: The Secret Radical mentioned it as a more unbiased treatment. This book caused me to think more deeply about what is between the lines. It is a nice selection of questions.

Contents
1) How Much Does Age Matter?
2) Do Sisters Sleep Together?
3) What do the Characters Call Each Other? (This chapter reminded me that names are sacred.)
4) How Do Jane Austen’s Characters Look?
5) Who Dies in the Course of Her Novels?
6) Why is it Risky to Go to the Seaside?
7) Why is the Weather Important?
8) Do We Ever See the Lower Class? (They matter a lot!)
9) Which Important Chatecters Never Speak in the Novels?
10) What Games do Character Play?
11) Is there any Sex in Jane Austen?
12) What do the Characters Say when the Heroine is not There?
13) How Much Money is Enough?
14) Why do Her Plots Rely on Blunders?
15) What Do Characters Read? (Some shrewd analysis here)
16) Are Ill People Really to Balme for their Illnesses?
17) What Makes Characters Blush?
18) What are the Right and Wrong Ways to Propose?
19) When does Jane Austen Speak Directly to the Reader?
20) How Experimental a Novelist is Jane Austen?

In this review I am not including parts that I highlighted because Goodreads now does that for me on Kindle books.

In this work of literary criticism, Mullan writes about the works of Jane Austen, using a fine eye for details. What I really enjoyed about this book was how he would choose a topic of study for each chapter and then explore how that topic was touched upon in each of Austen's major works (as opposed to other literary critics who devote one chapter per Austen novel). He pointed out things and/or made connections that I had not previously noted, or had not noted the significance of when reading each book as a separate entity. Where Mullan did not succeed was in his "puzzles solved." For starters, many of the so-called puzzles are not at all "crucial" -- readers were not really dying to know who blushes when in Austen's novel. Yes, it is interesting that the women 'blush' and the men 'color', but the novels do not hinge on the readers noticing this. Furthermore, many of his chapters seem like he is trying to make a point but just doesn't. As my boyfriend put it, "twenty crucial puzzles solved" sells more books that "twenty nifty observations" even though the latter is more accurate.½

Mullen gives us a wonderful trip through Jane Austen's novels, including the unfinished Sanditon, looking at obvious, non-obvious, and "I never thought to ask that!" questions about Austen's world, daily life, the behavior and relations of the characters.

What people call each other seems a simple and obvious detail, but it reveals a wealth of information about status in a class-conscious society, relationships between characters, and the formality that governed relations even between husband and wife. When characters violate the rules, it's not a throwaway detail. It reveals important information about the characters and their relationships. In Persuasion, Anne Eliot's sister Mary and Mary's husband are a rare case of husband and wife addressing each other by their given names. This isn't the norm as it is for us, or the sign of marital intimacy it is later in the 19th century. Instead, it's a symptom of the disrespect and frustration the couple feel towards each other.

Another aspect of daily life in Austen's world that's mostly alien to us now, where we don't have the same assumptions that Austen and her original readers did is in both the formality and the ubiquity of mourning. Strict rules governed what people could do and what they could wear when recently bereaved of their near and not-so-near relations and connections. Death was all too frequent, could come as the result of what started off as apparently a minor cold, and failure to observe mourning for family, connections, friends, etc., could cause offense and long-lasting ruptures between different branches of a family or formerly close friends.

This is a clearly written, engaging exploration of Austen's world, her fiction, and of what a daring and even experimental writer she was, creating major innovations in story-telling that are with us today.

If you enjoy Austen and enjoy going "behind the scenes" to see what makes a novel work, this is a fascinating, rewarding read.

Highly recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Have you ever wondered why some characters in Austen's novels never utter a word? What is the importance of weather or blushing or sickness in moving her stories forward? If you have (and , perhaps, you haven't) you are going to find all answers in John Mullan's fascinating book. Enriched with passages not only from Austen's novels but also excerpts from her letters to her sister, Cassandra, it is a study that shows her writings under a new light.

John Mullan's What Matters in Jane Austen? is an extremely informative, charming book that deserves its own space in the bookcase of every Jane Austen afficionado and every lover of British Literature in general.

Too much information for me! What’s most important about this book is that it convinces, if one needs convincing, that Jane Austen knew what she was about, that every detail is put in or left out for a reason. The author makes it clear that Austen was quite the innovator in her time. carefully constructing her novels in a way that hadn’t really been done before, using description and dialogue to create complexity of character and emotion. I agree that it’s no less than brilliant. And the book will be the most interesting and the most fun for those who are intimately familiar with all of Austen’s novels. At this point, that’s not me. Though I have reread Pride and Prejudice several times (and recently), most of my reading of Austen took place some time ago (and there are a couple of novels I haven’t read), so I couldn’t quite appreciate the wealth of detail that author Mullan amasses. More Jane is on my TBR, though, and I will revisit this book later. I’ll decline from assigning a star rating. It’s probably a 5-star read for Austen devotees, but was less compelling for me.

'What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant?' asks the narrator of Pride and Prejudice, in effect echoing Elizabeth's thought. There is nothing like the verdict of a servant, for the servants see everything, and we as readers should see them watching and listening.

To start with I wasn't sure about this book, as the first 2 or 3 chapters seemed quite repetitive, as they kept referencing the same scenes from the books, but it soon got more interesting. The chapter that explained why everyone in Jane Austen seems to know exactly how much money everybody else has was especially fascinating, and other favourites were chapters about servants, right and wrong ways to propose marriage, and the significance of blushing in the books.

Having re-read Northanger Abbey and Emma last year, I remember the details John Mullan describes quite well, and I am now planning to revisit some of the other books this year, while "What Matters in Jane Austen?" is fresh in my mind.

I came across this book at Hay Festival, where the author John Mullan gave a "lecture" about Mansfield Park. (I put lecture in quotation marks because it was more of an inspired gushing about the novels.) I enjoyed the"lecture" greatly because here was a person who loves Austen as much as I do (or more) and because of the same reasons.

As one of the blurbs questions, why should you read this book instead of rereading one of Austen's novels? I believe that reading this book will make reading Austen more enjoyable. However, I would recommend this book only if you are rereading Austen, since there are so many spoilers in it, and, that a large part of the enjoyment of this book is the revisiting of known texts from different angles.

The book is not patronising text analysis with millions of obscure terms which I've forgotten the meaning of since Uni. Rather, it is almost a dialogue between the author and reader, interwoven with examples and extracts from Austen's novels and letters and also the novels of her contemporaries, and other attentive students of Austen. The book also gives insight to how certain things in the novels would have been experienced by Austen's contemporaries.

It feels like the book is too short because it is such an enjoyable read. But also towards the end I was torn with the desire to start rereading one or other of Austen's novels. It is also clear that the book is too short, because I keep wondering where all this extra information about Austen has appeared in my head and then I realise that it was at the "lecture" at Hay Festival.

John Mullan is certainly my kind of Austen fan since he loves Mansfield Park. This has been one of the indicators thus far. I love the way in which Austen tells the story, her innovative textual devices, her bitingly accurate words. This book of John Mullan's will give a better understanding of Austen's work and also her accomplishments in innovating novel writing.

I came across this book at Hay Festival, where the author John Mullan gave a "lecture" about Mansfield Park. (I put lecture in quotation marks because it was more of an inspired gushing about the novels.) I enjoyed the"lecture" greatly because here was a person who loves Austen as much as I do (or more) and because of the same reasons.

As one of the blurbs questions, why should you read this book instead of rereading one of Austen's novels? I believe that reading this book will make reading Austen more enjoyable. However, I would recommend this book only if you are rereading Austen, since there are so many spoilers in it, and, that a large part of the enjoyment of this book is the revisiting of known texts from different angles.

The book is not patronising text analysis with millions of obscure terms which I've forgotten the meaning of since Uni. Rather, it is almost a dialogue between the author and reader, interwoven with examples and extracts from Austen's novels and letters and also the novels of her contemporaries, and other attentive students of Austen. The book also gives insight to how certain things in the novels would have been experienced by Austen's contemporaries.

It feels like the book is too short because it is such an enjoyable read. But also towards the end I was torn with the desire to start rereading one or other of Austen's novels. It is also clear that the book is too short, because I keep wondering where all this extra information about Austen has appeared in my head and then I realise that it was at the "lecture" at Hay Festival.

John Mullan is certainly my kind of Austen fan since he loves Mansfield Park. This has been one of the indicators thus far. I love the way in which Austen tells the story, her innovative textual devices, her bitingly accurate words. This book of John Mullan's will give a better understanding of Austen's work and also her accomplishments in innovating novel writing.

Answers some of the questions readers of Austen (or of any contemporaries) might have about English society during the time of the novels. Particularly helpful, for instance, was the discussion of incomes and how much is enough. We know Austen is always throwing out annual income numbers - now we can get a better sense of which income ranges are truly phenomenal and which were so-so. The book discusses a number of other issues and topics. Austen fans should probably read this if they are not otherwise scholars of this era.

Really interesting if you love Jane Austen's works. This gives fascinating insights into life at the time Austen was writing, explaining a lot of things that her contemporary readers would take for granted. Mullan also explores Austen's technique and originality as an author.

The book uses examples from all Austen's works and from her personal letters. It's an easy read, not overly academic.

Prompted me to start re-reading Jane's novels, with new eyes.

What Matters in Jane Austen by John Mullan is a detailed look at 12 stylistic techniques and concerns in Jane Austen’s numerous works, including the unfinished The Watsons and Sanditon. The twelve puzzles Mullan explores range from the importance of age in her books, what characters call one another, and what games characters play to why her plots rely on blunders, what her characters read, and how experimental a novelist she was. There are moments in the book where Mullan’s examinations become bogged down and overly verbose, but he clearly enjoys picking apart the most innocuous moments in Austen’s novels to support his theories. Most of the theories he offers and backs up with source material from Austen’s books and letters to family members also are discussed by other scholars, whom he cites. For aspiring writers, Mullan’s book can be used as a guide for creating those unique moments and nuances in a novel, emulating Austen but adapting it for modern sensibilities. Although it is not a how-to guide for writers, it does offer some insight into elements of the craft.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/07/what-matters-in-jane-austen-by-john-mullan.h...

While “crucial” is an overstatement and many of the “puzzles” are just an excuse for the writer to describe something, this book has a lot of great nuggets for fans, beginning with the very first chapter noting that Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice was most likely in her early 40s. Some topics suffer from a surfeit of examples and others find some different way to be tedious, but those parts are easily skimmed over and some other interesting observation will be along soon. A fun way to revisit one’s favorite novels and see something new in them.

Fascinating combination of social history and literary criticism exploring such subjects as money (How Much Money is Enough?) from the aspect of a) how much money was worth in Jane Austen's day and what sort of income the sums she quotes represent, and b) what the characters' attitudes to money reveal about them.

Other topics covered are the characters' ages and appearance, how they address each other, illness and death, the seaside, the weather, sex, the lower classes, and many more.½