Reviews
'... densely argued, readable, and exceptionally exciting ... his success in this fine study is a tribute to his cautiously conservative scholarly approach.' Daniel Traister, JASNA News, "Jane Austen and the Enlightenment is a triumph: one of the most exciting publications to appear on the author in recent years, and one that genuinely opens new horizons. It is essential reading for scholars of Austen's works and for those interested in the relationship of literature and philosophy. Accessibly and felicitously written, it also has much to offer general readers of Austen." E. J. Clery, Modern Philology, "constantly illuminating and abundantly well written. His exploration of the routine topics - including such hoary old chestnuts as the juvenilia, the picturesque, the Steventon theatricals, and Evangellicalism - is original, informative and effectively harnessed to his overall argument. And what emerges from all this is a more interesting Jane Austen - an author better read, better educated and better informed than we have been given reason to suppose." Brian Southam, Jane Austen Society Newsletter, '... Peter Knox-Shaw greatly contributes to a new reading of the novels ... [his] demonstration is very convincing. He pedagogically describes the general philosophical background to Jane Austen's work and above all, he gives historical justification to her progressivism while other critics only assert it.' Cercles, "an intelligent and inspiring critique that asks us to return to Austen, her contemporaries and her predecessors with an increased sensitivity to the connections between them, and a renewed pleasure in the complexity of the novels themselves." Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement, 'An intelligent and inspiring critique that asks us to return to Austen, her contemporaries and her predecessors with an increased sensitivity to the connections between them, and a renewed pleasure in the complexity of the novels themselves.' Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement, 'Contributes greatly to a new reading of the novels. His demonstration is very convincing … [he] gives historical justification to her progressivisms while other critics only assert it.' Chlo Beccaria, Cercles, "a careful demonstration of the complexities of political and intellectual currents in Austen's tumultuous era." Adela Pinch, Romanticism, '... an intelligent and inspiring critique that asks us to return to Austen, her contemporaries and her predecessors with an increased sensitivity to the connections between them, and a renewed pleasure in the complexity of the novels themselves.' Times Literary Supplement, 'Contributes greatly to a new reading of the novels. His demonstration is very convincing ... [he] gives historical justification to her progressivisms while other critics only assert it.' Chloè Beccaria, Cercles, 'Contributes greatly to a new reading of the novels. His demonstration is very convincing ... [he] gives historical justification to her progressivisms while other critics only assert it.' Chlo Beccaria, Cercles, '... constantly illuminating and abundantly well written ... original, informative and effectively harnessed to his overall argument.' Jane Austen Society Newsletter, '... an intelligent and inspiring critique that asks to return to Austen, her contemporaries and her predecessors with an increased sensitivity to the connections between them, and a renewed pleasure in the complexity of the novels themselves.' Times Literary Supplement, "it is with this peculiar and engaging dynamic that Peter Knox-Shaw undertakes the project of recasting Jane Austen as a conscientious and receptive woman of her time." Monica Shores, APA Newsletter, "offers new insights into the eighteenth century and its Enlightenment critique at a time when secular sanity is much in demand." Rodney Farnsworth, European Romantic Review, '… constantly illuminating and abundantly well written. His exploration of the routine topics including such hoary old chestnuts as the juvenilia, the picturesque, the Steventon theatricals, and Evangelicalism is original, informative and effectively harnessed to his overall argument. And what emerges from all this is a more interesting Jane Austen an author better read, better educated and better informed than we have been given reason to suppose.' Brian Southam, Jane Austen Newsletter, '… densely argued, readable, and exceptionally exciting … his success in this fine study is a tribute to his cautiously conservative scholarly approach.' Daniel Traister, JASNA News, 'Jane Austen and the Enlightenment is a triumph: one of the most exciting publications to appear on the author in recent years, and one that genuinely opens new horizons. It is essential reading for scholars of Austen's works and for those interested in the relationship of literature and philosophy. Accessibly and felicitously written, it also has much to offer general readers of Austen.' E. J. Clery, Modern Philology, '... constantly illuminating and abundantly well written. His exploration of the routine topics - including such hoary old chestnuts as the juvenilia, the picturesque, the Steventon theatricals, and Evangelicalism - is original, informative and effectively harnessed to his overall argument. And what emerges from all this is a more interesting Jane Austen - an author better read, better educated and better informed than we have been given reason to suppose.' Brian Southam, Jane Austen Newsletter, "densely argued, readable, and exceptionally exciting ... his success in this fine study is a tribute to his cautiously conservative scholarly approach." Daniel Traister, JASNA News, "...a model of thoughtful engagement...imparts a wonderful freshness to constellations that seemed terribly familiar." Studies in English Literature