Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; A note on texts; Introduction: Jane Austen and the body; 1. Sense, sensibility and the proofs of affection; 2. 'Eloquent blood': the coming out of Fanny Price; 3. Emma: the picture of health; 4. Persuasion: the pshychopathology of everyday life; 5. Sanditon: the enjoyments of invalidism; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

This book draws on modern theories of the body, and on eighteenth-century medical sources, to give a fresh and controversial reading of familiar texts.

Reviews

"An original and satisfying study, written in a style graced by wit and clarity." American Library Association "...a fine book, informed and sensitive, and it throws a spotlight on an aspect of Austen's work all too rarely noticed." Juliet McMaster, Eighteenth-Century Fiction "...Wiltshire possesses an exemplary grasp of recent scholarship in the history of medicine, while avoiding exaggerated claims for Austen as an interpreter of science and medicine. Not least, this engaging book displays a commendable capacity to analyze the role played by body language and corporeality in the early novel, while avoiding the mystifying jargon that scars so many literary studies of the body." Roy Porter, Isis "John Wiltishire's analysis is both innovative and probing..." Judith Hattaway, English Language Notes