Jones sets out to teach the reader how to read self-consciously, to understand their own interaction with the text of a novel and ask why and how the author writes. With chapters on themes such as marriage and money, judgment and irony, self and society, the author dives deep into the way Austen uses language and plot to develop these issues. There is a strong section on the critical debate on Jane Austen's works, with suggested further reading. Valuable to the student, there is a chapter on "how to write an essay." Very good condition. Macmillan Press Ltd. Hampshire and London. 1997. Paper. USED. $12.00