Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet?: Further Puzzles in Classic Fiction (Oxford World's Classics)

In this sequel to his popular works Is Heathcliff a Murderer? and Can Jane Eyre Be Happy? , John Sutherland unravels thirty-four new literary puzzles, once again combining erudition with bold investigative speculation. In addition to these new conundrums, Professor Sutherland revisits some previous puzzles with the help of readers who offer their own ingenious solutions and who set fresh puzzles for exploration. Victorian drug habits, railway systems, sanitation and dentistry are only a few of the details that shed light on the motives and circumstances of some of literature's most famous characters. Elizabeth Bennet, Betsey Trotwood, Count Dracula, Anna Karenina, Alice and many more come under the spotlight in John Sutherland's highly entertaining collection. Bringing good humor and good sense back to literary criticism, Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet? offers scintillating forensic exercises that are as compelling as the plots they dissect. Cover......Page 1 Copyright page......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Introduction and Acknowledgements......Page 11 Why is Moll's younger brother older than she is? – Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (1722)......Page 19 Who has Susan been talking to? – Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (1749)......Page 27 Who betrays Elizabeth Bennet? – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)......Page 35 What do we know about Frances Price (the first)? – Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (1814)......Page 41 Apple blossom in June—again – Jane Austen, Emma (1816)......Page 46 How old is Frank? – Walter Scott, Rob Roy (1817)......Page 52 Why is the monster yellow? – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)......Page 57 Does Dickens lynch Fagin? – Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837–8)......Page 62 How do the Cratchits cook Scrooge's turkey? – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)......Page 67 How many siblings has Dobbin? – W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1847–8)......Page 73 Heathcliff's toothbrush – Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights (1847)......Page 85 Does Carker have false teeth? – Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846–8)......Page 96 Lucy Snowe, cement-mixer – Charlotte Bronte, Villette (1853)......Page 105 Is Betsey Trotwood a spinster? – Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1849–50)......Page 108 How does Ruth end up in Wales? – Elizabeth Gaskell, Ruth (1853)......Page 120 What is Henry Esmond's 'great scheme'? – W. M. Thackeray, Henry Esmond (1852)......Page 126 What kills Lady Dedlock? – Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1852–3)......Page 133 What are Mr Hale's 'doubts'? – Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (1854–5)......Page 146 Name Games......Page 157 Where does Sydney Carton get his chloroform? – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)......Page 167 Why doesn't Laura tell her own story? – Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1859–60)......Page 179 Why was Pip not invited to Joe's wedding? – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860–1)......Page 186 Should we change the end of the The Mill on the Floss? – George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860)......Page 193 How long is Alice in Wonderland for? – Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)......Page 200 Does Dickens know his train signals? – Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (1864–5)......Page 203 Is Franklin Blake a thief and a rapist? – Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1868)......Page 209 Elms, limes, or does it matter? – George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871–2)......Page 215 How criminal is Melmotte and when is he criminalized? – Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now (1875)......Page 220 Jules Verne and the English Sunday – Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)......Page 229 What happens to Jim's family? – Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (1884)......Page 233 What English novel is Anna reading? – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877)......Page 237 Why are there no public conveniences in Casterbridge? – Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)......Page 242 Cabinets and detectives – A. Conan Doyle, 'A Scandal in Bohemia' (1892)......Page 250 Why isn't everyone a vampire? – Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)......Page 256 Moll Flanders......Page 263 Mansfield Park......Page 264 Rob Roy......Page 266 Wuthering Heights......Page 267 David Copperfield......Page 268 Ruth......Page 269 North and South......Page 270 A Tale of Two Cities......Page 271 Our Mutual Friend......Page 272 The Mayor of Casterbridge......Page 273 Dracula......Page 274 Literary Criticism Cover 1 Copyright page 6 Contents 7 Introduction and Acknowledgements 11 Why is Moll's younger brother older than she is? – Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (1722) 19 Who has Susan been talking to? – Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (1749) 27 Who betrays Elizabeth Bennet? – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813) 35 What do we know about Frances Price (the first)? – Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (1814) 41 Apple blossom in June—again – Jane Austen, Emma (1816) 46 How old is Frank? – Walter Scott, Rob Roy (1817) 52 Why is the monster yellow? – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818) 57 Does Dickens lynch Fagin? – Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837–8) 62 How do the Cratchits cook Scrooge's turkey? – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843) 67 How many siblings has Dobbin? – W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1847–8) 73 Heathcliff's toothbrush – Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights (1847) 85 Does Carker have false teeth? – Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846–8) 96 Lucy Snowe, cement-mixer – Charlotte Bronte, Villette (1853) 105 Is Betsey Trotwood a spinster? – Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1849–50) 108 How does Ruth end up in Wales? – Elizabeth Gaskell, Ruth (1853) 120 What is Henry Esmond's 'great scheme'? – W. M. Thackeray, Henry Esmond (1852) 126 What kills Lady Dedlock? – Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1852–3) 133 What are Mr Hale's 'doubts'? – Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (1854–5) 146 Name Games 157 Where does Sydney Carton get his chloroform? – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) 167 Why doesn't Laura tell her own story? – Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1859–60) 179 Why was Pip not invited to Joe's wedding? – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860–1) 186 Should we change the end of the The Mill on the Floss? – George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860) 193 How long is Alice in Wonderland for? – Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) 200 Does Dickens know his train signals? – Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (1864–5) 203 Is Franklin Blake a thief and a rapist? – Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1868) 209 Elms, limes, or does it matter? – George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871–2) 215 How criminal is Melmotte and when is he criminalized? – Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now (1875) 220 Jules Verne and the English Sunday – Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days (1872) 229 What happens to Jim's family? – Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (1884) 233 What English novel is Anna reading? – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877) 237 Why are there no public conveniences in Casterbridge? – Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) 242 Cabinets and detectives – A. Conan Doyle, 'A Scandal in Bohemia' (1892) 250 Why isn't everyone a vampire? – Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897) 256 Notes 263 Introduction and Acknowledgements 263 Moll Flanders 263 Tom Jones 264 Pride and Prejudice 264 Mansfield Park 264 Emma 266 Rob Roy 266 Frankenstein 267 Oliver Twist 267 Vanity Fair 267 Wuthering Heights 267 Dombey and Son 268 David Copperfield 268 Ruth 269 Henry Esmond 270 Bleak House 270 North and South 270 Name Games 271 A Tale of Two Cities 271 Great Expectations 272 The Mill on the Floss 272 Our Mutual Friend 272 The Moonstone 273 Middlemarch 273 The Way We Live Now 273 Huckleberry Finn 273 Anna Karenina 273 The Mayor of Casterbridge 273 'A Scandal in Bohemia' 274 Dracula 274 literary,criticism;,literature,puzzles literary criticism,literature puzzles "In Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet? John Sutherland unravels 34 literary puzzles in a sequel to his works Is Heathcliff a Murderer? and Can Jane Eyre Be Happy? As well as exploring new conundrums, Professor Sutherland revisits some previous puzzles with the help of readers who offer their own ingenious solutions and set fresh posers for investigation." "Victorian drug habits, railway systems, sanitation, and dentistry are only a few of the areas that shed light on the motives and circumstances of some of literature's most famous characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Betsey Trotwood, Count Dracula, Anna Karenina, Alice, and many more come under the spotlight in John Sutherland's entertaining collection"--Jacket