Author(s): Dominique Enright

Public Speaking

The Wicked Wit of Jane Austen is an absorbing collection of the author's sharpest, most profound and amusing observations - on human nature, money, marriage, life and society - taken from her novels and from her extremely entertaining letters. Austen's social insights remain as fresh today as when they were first published, and this delightful volume offers the reader a thematic distillation of her novels and letters. It also contains numerous quotes displaying Austen's sharp - indeed, often wicked - social observation and satirical wit. Easy to dip in to, and highly quotable, this beautifully decorated volume will delight all Austen devotees, as well as readers less familiar with her life and work. Jane Austen had little contact with society outside her extended family, and none whatsoever with London literary life. Yet, her novels earned her the acclaim of such literary figures as Sir Walter Scott, who praised her 'talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life'.