Letter From Auberon Herbert Lymington To An Unidentified Recipient 1874 1886 April 24

Suggesting he write to The Times about a bill in the House of Commons "...saying in 3 or 4 lines what you said to me in your first letter."

First published in 1972, Norman Page’s seminal study of The Language of Jane Austen seeks to demonstrate both the exceptional nature and the degree of subtlety of Jane Austen’s use of language. As well as examining the staple items of her vocabulary and some of the characteristic patterns of her syntax, attention is paid to her use of dialogue and of the letter form. The aim of the study is not simply to analyse linguistic qualities for their own sake but to employ close verbal analysis to enrich the critical understanding of Jane Austen’s novels.

In addition the book contains numerous appreciations, stories and anecdotes recounted by friends like Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rosseti and George Bernard Shaw. These provide a unique insight into the life, character and times of one of the greatest figures of the nineteenth century.

Since Speech in the English Novel first appeared in 1973, it has won international recognition as an important pioneering study of a topic that lies on the frontiers of literature and linguistics - the nature and function of fictional dialogue and its relationship to real speech. Drawing on a wide range of examples from many periods, the book includes general and theoretical chapters and also case-studies of particular texts, as well as a whole chapter devoted to Dickens. It has been found stimulating and useful by teachers and students in many countries, and has been praised by numerous scholars. The Year's Work in English Studies described it as a 'classic'; Studia Neophilologica said that it 'opened up new vistas for research'; Language and Style found that it 'admirably bridges the gap between linguistics and English studies', and English Studies judged it 'a thoroughly readable and even entertaining book'. This new edition incorporates numerous revisions, new examples, and additions to the bibliographies.