When two sisters appear to be deserted by the young men they had intended to marry, the stage is set for a delicious comedy of manners that not only showcases Austen's perception, humor and incomparable prose, but offers a splendid glimpse of upper and middle-class English society of the early 19th-century.
Here's a sample of other books in this Dover category
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen One of the most universally loved and admired English novels, an effervescent tale of rural romance transformed by Jane Austen's art into a witty, shrewdly observed satire of English country life.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontė Somber tale of consuming passions and vengeance — played out amid the lonely English moors — recounts the turbulent and tempestuous love story of Cathy and Heathcliff. Poignant and compelling.
Persuasion by Jane Austen Thwarted romance between Anne Elliot (Austen's sweetest, most appealing heroine) and Captain Frederick Wentworth. Finely drawn characters, gentle satire, genteel life in the English countryside.
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot The tale of Maggie Tulliver explores the conflicts of love and loyalty and the friction between desire and moral responsibility in an accurate, evocative depiction of English rural life.
Sanditon and The Watsons: Austen's Unfinished Novels by Jane Austen Two tantalizing incomplete stories revisit Austen's customary milieu of courtship and venture into new territory, amid guests at a seaside resort. Both are worth reading for pleasure and study.
Lady Susan by Jane Austen, R. W. Chapman A beautiful, flirtatious widow seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself and pushes her long-suffering daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted novel of Regency manners and mores, filled with wit and elegant expression.
