The rise and rise of Jane Austen

Review of the books 'Jane's fame: how Jane Austen conquered the world', by Claire Harman, published by Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2009, and 'The annotated 'Pride and Prejudice', by Jane Austen, annotated and edited by David M. Shapard, published by Scribe Publications, Carlton North, 2008. No matter how bad the adaptation or how silly the praise, Jane Austen's novels contain some of the truest insights into human behaviour ever committed to the page, writes Brian McFarlane.