The Sayings of Jane Austen

'Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then' 'I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal' 'An annuity is a serious business' 'Once cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty' The novels of Jane Austen are highly prized not only for their light irony, humour, and depiction of contemporary English country life, but also for their underlying serious qualities.

Her acerbic style has been much imitated and for many readers she is the only novelist worth reading and re-reading.

This selection is drawn both from her major and minor works (including the unfinishd novels and juvenilia), and from her perceptive and often coruscating letters, to provide an entertaining sample of her ingenious writing.