John Mullan (Get the Book)Nearly 200 years after her death, Jane Austen continues to inspire a publishing boomlet. Books in the nonfiction column range from the lightweight to the academic. This entry from the author of How Novels Work (2006)is just right. Mullan poses 20 questions related to strategies Austen employs to reveal character or advance plot. Chapters examine, for example, How Much Does Age Matter?, Is There Any Sex in Jane Austen?, and Why Do Her Plots Rely on Blunders? Some chapters deal with matters related to the characters' milieu, such as the games they play and the books they read. Mullan isn't concerned with explaining Regency-era customs, however, except to make clear to the modern reader what would have been apparent to a reader in Austen's time. The focus is always on showing how Austen puts various devices to work in the service of a story's arc or a character's psychology. Mullan's close reading will provide serious fans with plenty of new insights for the next time they pick up one of Austen's books. --Booklist
