Twelve essays make the point that Austen was deeply immersed in all of the arts of her time. We know how steeped she was at an early age in literature and popular fiction. She also loved dancing, music, visual arts, poetry, and theatre. Austen uses art in her novels to probe several of her universally relevant themes - selfhood, alienation, isolation and community. Contributors include Peter Sabor, Elaine Bander, Nancy E. Johnson, Deborah C. Payne, Cheryl A. Wilson, Marilyn Francus, Barbara M. Benedict, Natasha Duquette, Tonya J. Moutray, Juliette Wells, Linda Zionkowski and Miriam Hart, and Jocelyn Harris. The delightful introduction shares that "Art was for Austen an everyday activity." Essays cover three main areas - "the materialist turn within Austen studies," work by art historians, and new scholarship on Austen's interest in the arts. University of Delaware Press. 2020. Paper. NEW. $35.00
