Jane Austen is my favourite author The technique of [ Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise.... Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste Like Irvine Welsh, I am a great admirer of Jane Austen For those of us who suspect all the mysteries of life are contained in the microcosm of the family, that personal relationships prefigure all else, the work of Jane Austen is the Rosetta Stone of literature How could these novels ever seem remote...the gaiety is unextinguished today, the irony has kept its bite, the reasoning is still sweet, the sparkle undiminished, as comedies they are irresistibly and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be That young lady has a talent for describing the involvements of feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with
