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In Jane Austens works, a name is never just a name. In fact, the names Austen gives her characters and places are as rich in subtle meaning as her prose itself. Wiltshire, for example, the home county of Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, is a clue that this heroine is not as stupid as she seems according to legend, cunning Wiltshire residents caught hiding contraband in a pond capitalized on a reputation for ignorance by claiming they were digging up a big cheesethe moons reflection on the waters surface. It worked. In Jane Austens Names, Margaret Doody offers a fascinating and comprehensive study of all the names of people and placesreal and imaginaryin Austens fiction. Austens creative choice of names reveals not only her virtuosic talent for riddles and puns.



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