Social Jane

Chris Wilkes has produced a rich and rewarding study that … demonstrates the formidable power of sociology when properly engaged with cultural production. In fact this work is so much more than a sociology of literature: it combines cultural history and cultural studies with art history, economic and social history, intertwined with a sophisticated hermeneutics of the literary texts. Underpinned by Bourdieu's concept of the habitus, Wilkes offers us a highly nuanced account of the public and private realms with a view to manifesting the co-dependency of interiority and exteriority in Austen's oeuvre. Written in a clear and engaging style, the grasp of the material and the range of reference is extraordinarily impressive while, at the same time, worn lightly. The result is a totally convincing account of Jane Austen and her cultural context which sets the standard for the sociological study of literary work. This study should be essential reading for students in the social sciences, cultural theory, literary studies and for the many who just love Jane Austen as much as Chris Wilkes obviously does – his enthusiasm is boundless! A must read.

You don't have to be a sociologist or a literature scholar to appreciate Wilkes' book. Every day while I was reading it, I couldn't help peppering my dinner conversation with fascinating anecdotes I'd learned about Austen's world. My bookworm daughter, my psychology major son, and my economist husband all found something in the book for them. Even if you've never read Austen before, this book will make you want to. Anyone who's ever enjoyed an episode of Downton Abbey or watched Kate Winslet sigh in Sense and Sensibility will also be drawn right in.

With a deft use of Pierre Bourdieu's theories, Dr Wilkes, writing in clear succinct prose, explores the Austen novels through an insightful sociological lens, placing the author against a background of time and place. His work is ground breaking, opening up new lines of discussion for all those readers studying and thoroughly enjoying Austen's texts.