"EMMA" IS ESPECIALLY TIMELY...:

'Values of Jane Austen novels are as important as the characters' (Judith Hawley, 14 Sep 2009, Daily Telegraph)

Jane Austen excels at exploring nuances implicit in a precise turn of phrase and at taking tiny moments in life and expanding on their significance.

If you ignore the details, you upset the delicate moral and emotional balance she achieves in her prose.

I do not want to come across as saying you have to treat Jane Austen as a museum piece. Austen's novels are adaptable - the plots are robust - and you can change them, but it is important to strike that balance and think about what is lost when you add new material.

...because it's an argument against government intervention.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 14, 2009 7:39 AM