Why are we so fascinated with Jane Austen's novels? Why is Austen so universally beloved? Bringing many perspectives to bear on the subject, this collection includes commentary by Eudora Welty, C.S. Lewis, Alain de Botton, Harold Bloom, E.M. Forster, W. Somerset Maugham, Jay McInerny, Martin Amis, and A.S. Byatt. Virginia Woolf speculates on how Austen's writing would have changed had she lived another 20 years, while Anna Quindlen examines the enduring social issues that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever.