Jane Austen's early nineteenth-century novels marked a turning point in the history of the genre and paved the way for the blossoming of the form in the decades to follow. As a result, her work has long occupied a central place in the study of English literature, as well as entertaining generation[...]

Austen had many admiring readers who considered themselves part of a literary elite: they viewed their appreciation of Austen's works as a mark of their cultural taste. Philosopher and literary critic George Henry Lewes expressed this viewpoint in a series of enthusiastic articles. This theme contin[...]