Chapter one in the book Jane Austen by Norman sherry talks about jane Austen's life:
She lived from 1775 till 1817 and her life took place in the reign of George III. this period was between the eighteenth and nineteenth. centuries and witnessed the emergence of industrialization. the states of America declared this independence in 1776, the French revolution began in 1789, England was in involved in wars with france from 1793 to 1815. In this time the importance of the navy and army starts to increase.
These events are reflected in Jane Austen's novels. In pride and prejudice the militia has its part in the plot. In Mansfield park and persuasion the navy is found as a job.
Jane Austen was born at steventon in Hampshire. Stevento vicarage was her home for twenty- five years. Jane had read widely in certain fields, and reading played a substantial past in the life at steventon vicarage. It was reading not only to oneself, but aloud as a family entertainment, with all the discussions and criticisms it must have provoked,
Jane and her family were in their new house, chawton cottage by July 1809. the more to chawton resulted in anew hterst of writing and Jane started to publish. She worked as a publishing author for only six years. in addition to this, she was a good reviser of her work. Jane died on 18 July and she was only forty – one.
Chapter two discusses Jane Austen's literary background. Jane Austen's life was in an essential period in English literary histosy. she lived between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In other words, she lived between the age of reason and the age of romanticism.

Concerning Jane Austen's reading, sherry says: Jane Austen's reading extended over the reasoned, and reasonable, the witty, and the moral literature of the eighteenth century – johnson, pope and crabbe; through the beginnings of romanticism in cowper and Thomson ; over its romantic, historical aspects in scott's poems; and its extravagances of emotion in the sentimental and gothic novels (sherry32).
She was well acquainted with the novels of Richardson, sterne, fielding and fanny Burney. Among her favourite writers, crabbe in verse, Johnson in prose and cowper in both. she read works on the "picturesque''in landscape and landscape gardening. she was also acquainted with the poetry of pope, Gray and Byron.
The literature and the literary movements of Jane Austen's time were well known to her and their influence on her works is a great one. she is of the eighteenth century in her moral outlook, and in her prose style, but she is fully aware of the new strains of romanticism (sherry 33).
Chapter three discusses Jane Austen's limitations and strengths. concerning her limitation of experience her life determined the experience with which she could deal. It is clear from her work that she reflects the life she knew.For example, she reflects the family names and professions in her novel:
Anarrow physical setting – acountry town, acountry house, Bath; a narrow social setting – the three or four families with in such a society who would be on visiting terms ….., anarrow character range – most of the characters being middle – class ; a limited plot –the range of events likely to occur within that setting ; these are the limitation of her art (sherry 36).
Accuracy is considered one of her strengths. she cared more about a accuracy. In other words, she reflected the life she knew in an accurate way. for example:
While writing Mansfield park she was anxious to find whether there were hedgerows in Nor- thamptonshire, the country in which the novel is set …they were not to be found in Northamptonshire and therefore do not figure in Mansfield park (sherry 37).

Concerning reality, sherry says:
Perhaps because of this concern to limit herself to what she knew and to reflect it accurately, the world she portrays has a greet feeling of reality and convincingness. That she herself felt the reality of her characters is shown by her willing ness to discuss with her family what happened to her characters after the novel had ended (sherry 38).
In a book entitled Jane Austen: the critical Heritage, a critic called Miss Mitford wrote an essay about Jane Austen. She says:
The want of elegance is almost the only want in Miss Austen. I have not read Mansfield park, but it is impossible not to feel in every line of pride and prejudice, in every word of ' Elizabeth ' the entire want of taste which could produce so pert, so worldly a heroine as the beloved of such a man as Darcy (B.C.Southam 54).
In a book entitled Critics on Jane Austen, Julia kavanagh wrote an essay under the title " Jane Austen's strengths and limitations". In this essay, kavanagh says about Jane Austen:
It is honorable to the public that she should be so thoroughly appreciated, not merely by men like sir walter scout and lord Macaulay, but by all who take up her books from mere amusement. wonderful, indeed, is the power that out of materials so slender, out of characters so imperfectly marked, could fashion a story. This her great, her prevailing merit(o'Nell 11).

Kavanagh also says: " she does not paint or analyze her characters ; they speak for themselves ….they talk as people talk in the world " (O'Nell 11). Kavanagh adds that one of Jane Austen's defects was that every thing in her works was told in the same tone. " An elopement, a death, seduction, are related as placidly as a dinner or a ball, but with much less spirit " (O'Nell 12).
About Jane Austen's limitations and strengths, Norman sherry presents new ideas. He discusses her limitation of experience, accuracy and reality. Julia kavanagh talks about her way of not analyzing characters and the same tone in which every thing in her works was told. what sherry and kavanagh say about Jane Austen's limitations and strengths is clearly found in her works. Therefore, it becomes clear that sherry introduces new ideas in this topic.
Chapter four and five talk about Jane Austen's novels and the focus here will be on her heroines. the firstly, there is a similarity between the heroines of Northanger Abbey, pride and prejudice and Emma because all of them undergo an educative process which matures Them. secondly, there is a dissimilarity between the heroine of sense and sensibility and the heroine of Mansfield park thirdly, the heroine of persuasion as a new kind of heroine for Jane Austen.
The novel, Northanger Abbey, tackles two themes. The first theme is to distinguish between literature and life, while the second one is the theme of education into real life. Catherine Morland, the heroine, is described as, guiless, with affections strong but simple, forming no pretensions, and knowing no disguise. ''These two themes are linked in that they centre on catherine and the educative process which is to mature here. she learns. not to be deceived by literature, and not to be deceived by life'' (sherry 51).
Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of pride and prejudice, undergoes an educative process which matures her. According to sherry:
Elizabeth Bennet must learn to be more candid, less willing to think ill of people -0 especially of Darcy, because of the prejudice aroused by the initial insult he gives to her pride ….her process of education in the novel is from prejudice to understanding from lack of candour to a limited acceptance of its need (sherry 67).
Emma, the heroine of Emma, also undergoes an educative process which matures her. sherry says, " Emma is blind to the truth of her own and others situations, Mr.knightley is not, Emma acts often without principle or on wrong principle, Mr. Knightley often points out to her lack of principle'' ( sherry 76-77). Towards the end of the hovel, she becomes aware of her mistakes and starts her journey of self – know ledge.
The dissimilarity between the heroine of sense and sensibility and the heroine of Mansfield park is that Elinor Dashwood has sympathy for others and could see the best in them, while fanny seems to have no sympathy and she can only condemn. '' fanny refuses to take part in the theatricals, yet she can not help envying the others (sherry 73):
' ….. she must condemn altogether. ' Mansfield park 17, 159, 160
Anne Elliot, the heroine of persuasion, is anew kind of heroine for Jane Austen since she is older and more mature than the other heroines. According to sherry, " She is not the misguided heroine treated ironically by fate, she is the heroine who Judges rightly " (sherry 86). " Anne has only one thing to learn – to have more confidence in herself, to acknowledge that she might yet arouse love Except for this she does not go through the educative process of the other heroines ''(sherry 87).
Darrel Mansell, in his book The Novels of Jane Austen clarifies that Jane Austen is intent on taking her heroines through a course of psychological reformation. And by this, he emphasizes what sherry had said before about the educative process of Jane Austen's heroines especially Catherine Morland, Elizabeth Bennet and Emma woodhouse. Darrel, Mansell takes Emma as an example saying: " Emma is an encapsulated little world with Emma as its centre it is a world made up largely of the private illusions of the heroine " (149). He also says:
Emma began as an ' imaginist' ,proud of her powers. But the world urged upon her some angular, symbolic facts that her powers could never bend to her own aesthetic purposes. Not even an artist can master the world. She began the novel containing the world, now it contains her (184).
Chapter six is entitled Marriage and Morals, In this chapter, sherry discusses marriage as the main concern of all Jane Austen's novels. He also talks about self knowledge as the basis of Jane Austen's morality.
Chapter seven talks about Jane Austen's use of comedy in her novels. ''Jane Austen, in her letters and novels, Treats life not as tragedy, not sentimentally, but primarily as comedy ….the incongruity between a person's pretensions and his abilities, between his words and his actions that makes her primarily ironic writer'' (sherry 102).
Irony comes under comedy. According to sherry: she is constantly ironic, so that her novels are like photographs in which the subject has moved and we have one likeness with another likeness just behind. But the second likeness, in this case, reverses the first. the contrast between the two gives rise to comedy (sherry 103-104).
Chapter eight talks about character in Jane Austen's novels. At the beginning of this chapter, sherry says:
Jane Austen's methods of drawing characters are in one respect remarkably straightforward. the basis of her character presentation is the character sketch. we have already mentioned her placing of the character in relation to society, which is part of this technique. The rest of the sketch is concerned with appearance, character, and the person's history (sherry 115).
Jane Austen's characters are divided into two types: fixed and developing characters. Mrs. Allen, in Northanger Abbey, is a fixed character as she does not move from certain character traits such as " the air of a gentlewoman' Northanger Abbey 2.20. Elizabeth Bennet, in pride and prejudice goes through a process of self – knowledge which matures her.
In Jane Austen's novels, dialogues between characters make revelation. sherry gives a good example for this, he says: ''the dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy not only reveals effectively the antagonism between the two of them, but also intelligence of both'' (sherry 123).. what think you of books ? said he (Darcy ) smiling ''Books – oh ! no – I am sure we never nead the same, or not with the same feeling'' pride and prejudice 18.93.
The title of chapter nine is " The physical and social background " In this chapter sherry discusses the social background which includes the background of gossip and rumour which has a lot to do in the novels, " It is responsible to some extent for giving the impression of a solid social background, a convincing society behind the characters '' (sherry 137). In addition to this, he also discusses the physical background which includes three things: descriptions of place, the importance of setting and Home and character.
Chapter ten discusses Jane Austen's style. Jane Austen's style is eighteenth- century, based on her favourite Dr. Johnson and probably also on the sermons she was fond of reading. It is a style capable of many nuances with in a narrow range of devices ' (sherry 150).
Generalization is one of the characteristics of Jane Austen's style. Her characters make generalized conclusions from the behavior of others (sherry 150) thus Emma on Mr.weston: " General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be'' Emma 38.320 Balance is another characteristic of Jane Austen's style. Sherry says: ' we are often struck by the symmetry of her style, and this symmetry rests on her habit of using a rhetorical balance which in turn establishes a sense of logic and order in her work (sherry 152)
Parallel sentences are frequently introduced to reveal effective and forceful character, and to heighten the confrontation between characters Mr. Collins proposes marriage to Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Bennet differ absolutely over Elizabeth's rejection of him to emphasise. this conflict, Jan Austen uses parallel clauses (sherry 152, 153).
''Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr.collinr and I will never see you again if you do''. pride and prejudice20, 112
About Jane Austen's style, Mary lascelles says: " she tends to suggest social variants in speech by syntax and phrasing rather than vocabulary " (lascelles 95).
Mary lascelles also wrote an essay entitled " Jane Austen's style " saying: " she never misuses words (unless when she is recognizably quoting Mrs. El ton ) ; then, not one of her sentences can fairly be called confused, their structure and movement are as neat and brisk as her person " (O'Nell 36).
Concerning Jane Austen's style, Norman sherry talks about generalization and balance as two characteristics of her style, while Mary lascelles talks about her interest in suggesting social variants in speech by syntax and phrasing rather than vocabulary and also her cleverness of not misusing words.
Therefore, it becomes clear that sherry and lascelles complete each other and each one of them add new information to the reader about Jane Austen's style.

The review tackles ten topics. the first two topics are about Jane Austen's life and literary background and how her life was in an essential period in English literary history. Topic three discusses Jane Austen's limitations and strengths. Topic four and topic five talk about her six novels and the focus is on her heroines. Topic six is entitled " Marriage and Morals " but it is examined very briefly. topic seven talks about her use of comedy in her novels. Topic eight talks about character in her novels. Topic nine is entitled " the physical and social background " but this topic is examined very briefly like topic six. Topic ten discusses her style which includes generalization, balance and use of parallel sentences.
Jane Austen by Norman sherry is a rich book as it tackles a lot of topics related to Jane Austen like the ones that were mentioned a bove.
The style of the writer is simple and straightforward. Most of the information that sherry mentioned in the book are followed by quotations from Jane Austen's novels and this gives credibility to his speech. concerning the topics of the book, they are not new because they were tackled before by many writers for example, Darrel Mansell talked about Jane Austen's novels in his book.
The Novels of Jane Austen. Another example is that Julia kavanagh wrote an essay under the title of " Jane Austen's strengths and limitations " in a book entitled critics on Jane Austen by Judith O'Nell. By the end of the book, sherry managed to achieve his two aims that made him write the book. He achieved the first aim by talking about Jane Austen's personal and literary life in detail. He also achieved the second aim by tackling Jane Austen's novels in a parallel way. In other words, He discussed her novels from the same points such as the structure of the novels, the main characters, the other characters and the main themes.


Bibliography:
Primary source:
Sherry, Norman. Jane Austen, London: Evans Brothers limited, 1966.
Secondary sources:
-B.,C.Southam. Jane Austen: the critical Heritage Great Britain: Barnes and Noble INC, 1968.
-Lascelles, Mary: Jane Austen and Her Art, London: Oxford University press, 1939.
-Mansell, Darrel. The Novels of Jane Austen, London: Macmillan press limited, 1973.
-O'Nell, Judith: Critics on Jane Austen, 1970.