Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen

Few great writers can have cut so unglamorous a figure in the world as Jane Austen did. The fifth child of a Hampshire clergyman of modest means, Austen was more highly regarded among her family for her skill with the embroidery needle than for the sharpness of her wit. Yet, nearly two hundred years after she first put pen to paper, Austen's insights into human nature are as apt and accurate as when she originally wrote them. A witty and elegant collection of truths, ageless in their relevance. Michael Kerrigan is the author of Who Lies Where: A Guide to Famous Graves.