Part 1:Introduction 5
Life of Jane Austen(1775-1817) 5
Historical background 6
Literary background 8
Jane Austen's novels 9
A note on the text 11
Part 2:Summaries 12
A general summary 12
Detailed summaries 16
Part 3:Commentary 50
Subject and scope 51
Structure 59
Plot 62
Characterisation 63
The characters 67
Style 73
Part 4:Hints for study 82
Rereading 82
Chapters for intensive study 84
Characters 86
Style 86
Some sample questions 87
Further questions and model answers 88
Part 5:Suggestions for further reading 91
The author of these notes 93