Comment

Nov 11, 20184536o rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A revelation to even the most-ardent non-British Janeite. Austen's great six novels are like icebergs: the stories themselves are only the part easily seen above the waterline. Much more is to be found beneath the surface, thanks to author Margaret Doody. Fitzwilliam d'Arcy is a "double" Norman, descendant of a bastard son of William the Conqueror. The rootless Wickham's name means "place-place," one of Austen's many knowing inside jokes and devised ironies. When I began this book I wondered how Doody could fill out 400 pages on a simple subject like Names; on completion I marveled how much insight and scholarship she fit into that space.