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The sincerest form of flattery: Twain's imitation of Austen.(Miscellany)(Mark Twain and Jane Austen)

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From: Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal
Date: 20030101
Author:Flavin, James

MARK TWAIN'S PUBLIC PRONOUNCEMENTS on Jane Austen and her work are well known to Austen readers. Combining humor and criticism, Twain's remarks suggest he had little love of Austen's work, and he is so consistently disparaging that we can't dismiss his claims as merely the momentary effects of a cantankerous disposition. His disdain is perplexing given Austen's literary reputation today, for it invites us to consider the possibility that someone's judgment, either his or ours, is simply wrong. His judgment is also curious, given the fact that a comic sequence in his Life on the ...

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