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Jane Austen's Names
Jane Austen's Names: Riddles, Persons, Places | Margaret Doody
13 posts | 2 read | 25 to read
In Jane Austens works, a name is never just a name. In fact, the names Austen gives her characters and places are as rich in subtle meaning as her prose itself. Wiltshire, for example, the home county of Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, is a clue that this heroine is not as stupid as she seems: according to legend, cunning Wiltshire residents caught hiding contraband in a pond capitalized on a reputation for ignorance by claiming they were digging up a big cheesethe moons reflection on the waters surface. It worked. In Jane Austens Names, Margaret Doody offers a fascinating and comprehensive study of all the names of people and placesreal and imaginaryin Austens fiction. Austens creative choice of names reveals not only her virtuosic talent for riddles and puns. Her names also pick up deep stories from English history, especially the various civil wars, and the blood-tinged differences that played out in the reign of Henry VIII, a period to which she often returns. Considering the major novels alongside unfinished works and juvenilia, Doody shows how Austens names signal class tensions as well as regional, ethnic, and religious differences. We gain a new understanding of Austens technique of creative anachronism, which plays with and against her skillfully deployed realismin her books, the conflicts of the past swirl into the tensions of the present, transporting readers beyond the Regency. Full of insight and surprises for even the most devoted Janeite, Jane Austens Names will revolutionize how we read Austens fiction.
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Leftcoastzen
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Somebody went a little Austen crazy in the University of Chicago Press sale catalog!

LeahBergen Oooooo! 😍😍 3y
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Librarybelle
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What‘s in a name? For Jane Austen, her use of names and place names have layered meanings. Doody investigates this in Austen‘s works.

I think I posted about this awhile ago...still haven‘t read it, and like anything else on my #tbr pile, I hope to get to it soon. #thingummybob #RedRoseSeptember

arlenefinnigan Interesting! 4y
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Librarybelle
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What‘s in a name? According to Doody, Jane Austen creates characters and settings that hold special meanings. Every name, every place name has a deeper meaning, which, according to Doody, shows Jane‘s cleverness in her writings. I can‘t remember how I got this book, but rediscovering it on my shelves today makes me want to read it immediately. #creator #NoFemmeber

Cinfhen That‘s one of the beautiful things about these challenges!! We get to take inventory of our shelves xx 5y
zsuzsanna_reads I just looked up Margaret Doody's biography and I can't believe I haven't read more by her. I love her Aristotle series and she has written monographs on Samuel Richardson, Fanny Burney and one called "The True History of the Novel" ? 5y
MayJasper I like your photo 😊 5y
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Chrissyreadit Now I‘m curious! @LeahBergen @mabell have you read this? 5y
Billypar Interesting- I never heard about this aspect of Austen's novels! 5y
Reviewsbylola This sounds very fascinating. 5y
Moray_Reads I must get this! 5y
LeahBergen No, but now I need it! 😆 @Chrissyreadit (edited) 5y
Librarybelle @zsuzsanna_reads Oh! Thanks for the tip. I may have to check those out. 5y
kspenmoll Looks fascinating! 5y
mabell @Chrissyreadit No, I haven't even heard of it! Sounds intriguing! 5y
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balletbookworm
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I did it! I read for 24 hours as part of the @24in48 Readathon this weekend!! I finished Jane Austen's Names, Hidden Figures, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, and The Ghost in the Shell, listened to part of Scrappy Little Nobody on audio, and read parts of The Penguin Anthology of 21st Century Poetry and We Were Feminists Once. I didn't have a plan for this weekend, only that I seriously wanted to try for 24 hours of reading. #24in48 #readathon

balletbookworm I started with the Austen and let my choices go organically from there. Influenced by the weekend's events, I chose mostly female-centered, feminist, diverse and excellently written books (the outlier is Ghost in the Shell, which though it has a really strong female main character it is HELLA sexualized manga; it's due back to the library soon). 7y
balletbookworm Thanks so much to @Rachel for creating this Readathon 😽😽 My reading slump has been nasty for the past few months and I hope this weekend is the start of a turn-around. 7y
CherylDeFranceschi 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y
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mhillis Nice journal😍 7y
Megabooks 👍🏻👍🏻🎊🎊🎊🍾🍾🥂 7y
DebinHawaii Great job!! 🎉📚👍 7y
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balletbookworm
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Pickpick

Finished book 1 of #24in48readathon! (Whee, academic writing makes for slow reading - BUT it was a good pick for Readathon since I was making time for long stretches of reading, which is what this book needed.) I ❤❤ this book a lot - the minutiae of place names and personal names and etymology and how that commented on Austen's characterizations was so great. Recommended for Austen fans and people super-into English history.

DebinHawaii It sounds interesting! Adding to my stack! 👍📚 7y
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balletbookworm
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And we're off! Starting my #24in48readathon with some of Jane Austen's Names (and tea...and a cat who keeps getting in the way 😉 ) #24in48

Tanzy13 🐱 7y
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balletbookworm
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Aw, yeah, one of @Shelleydewees ladies from Not Just Jane pops up as an example of an enterprising, contemporaneous Mrs. Smith in straightened circumstances in the Persuasion section. I lurve this book. *nerdpurr*

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balletbookworm
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Oh, we delicate Americans! 😂😂

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balletbookworm
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She totally would. (Also the new stickers in the Litsy update are pretty sweet)

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balletbookworm
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😱

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balletbookworm
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I love the level of detail in this book. ❤️📚

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balletbookworm
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Got my tea (Teavana Lavender Dreams), my book, my pens, and my electric blanket (and I've fed the cats so I get ten minutes to myself 😂) #amreading #books #tea

Eyelit That sounds pretty interesting! 7y
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balletbookworm
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My #newbooks bought today. I love perusing the Literary Criticism section at Prairie Lights - given that they're so close to the UI they sometimes get interesting books in the subject. Like this whole, entire book about names in Jane Austen. My little heart went pitter-pat (and it was only $22.50, get out!). Also couldn't pass up a Kingsley Amis I didn't already own.

LauraBrook Ooooh, I didn't know that Austen book existed until now!!! Want/need!!!!😍 7y
balletbookworm @LauraBrook inorite‽‽‽!? I was just scanning the shelves and "hello gorgeous" 7y
CogsOfEncouragement I make a habit of looking up the meaning of the names of the characters in whatever book I am reading. (Now my kids like to do it too.) This book takes it to another level. I like it. 7y
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