Marilyn Butler, from “Sentimentalism: The Radical Inheritance” [from Jane Austen and the War of Ideas]
Before the last quarter of the twentieth century, critics largely considered Austen’s work to be unengaged with the larger political and historical events of her time. In her influential book Jane Austen and the War of Ideas, Marilyn Butler argues that Austen’s work reflects politically conservative views. In this selection, Butler contextualizes Austen’s work in relation to the slightly earlier tradition of the sentimental novel and to the intellectual and political debates surrounding it.