The novel was her chosen medium, but Jane Austen's method is that of the dramatist - as Macaulay recognised in placing her next to Shakespeare. Drama does not stop to explain itself: hence the intriguing questions that arise from her novels. For example, Mr Darcy surprisingly stresses Elizabeth's social inferiority in proposing to her. No gentleman would normally do such a thing; and the result, predictably, is to anger his beloved. Perhaps Jane Austen makes Darcy step out of character here so as to personify the standards of that age. But could we, instead, be dealing with a psychological depth and rightness, in terms of these engaging personalities, that would render niceties between them at such a moment unrealistic? Fascinating possibilities such as this are explored in this challenging study of one of our greatest and most entertaining novelists.