Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey was one of Jane Austen's earliest manuscripts; Persuasion was her last. Published together in a single volume after her death, the two books differ widely. Northanger Abbey is a spirited, Gothic parody, while Persuasion has increasingly been seen as a new direction for the Austen canon. The two texts have been widely analysed and debated since publication, and continue to be so today.

In this Readers' Guide, Enit Karafili Steiner:

delineates a clear trajectory through the books' many interpretations over two centuries, mapping these out thematically and chronologically

contextualises and brings into dialogue influential approaches such as psychoanalytical criticism, structuralism, deconstruction, Marxism, New Historicism, and feminism

discusses film adaptations of the novels and their relation to literary criticism

Introduction.- 1. From Pen to Print.- 2. Contemporary Reception, 1818-1840s.- 3. Victorian Readers, 1850s-1900s.- 4. The 'Cult of Jane' and the Rise of the Novel, 1900s-1950s.- 5. The Text, the Unconscious, and Commodity, 1950s-1990s.- 6. Political and Historical Austen, 1950s-1990s.- 7. New Millennium, New Directions.- 8. From Words to Image and Sound.- Conclusion.- Endnotes.- Bibliography.- Index.