The Pleasures of Virtue: Political Thought in the Novels of Jane Austen

By Anne Crippen Ruderman

Through a careful analysis of Jane Austen's novels that is sure to be controversial, Ruderman offers a unique interpretation of her subject's political philosophy. Her study challenges prevailing Austen scholarship, particularly contemporary feminist readings of Austen which impose historicist conventions upon her works. Locating and examining Austen's thought within a broad political and philosophical context, she concludes that Austen's conservative endorsement of marriage was motivated by her concern with happiness rather than with tradition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0847681017
• ISBN13: 9780847681013
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.8" x 6.4"