Croydon Writers

Jane Austen stands high in the ranks of English writers. If we have to think of one example of painting, we are likely to pick the Mona Lisa: if we have to name one piece of classical music, it might be Beethoven’s fifth symphony. The play, I suppose, is Hamlet, but surely the novel must be Pride and Prejudice. However, it isn’t always appreciated that Austen was in some important ways an innovator. She was a pioneer and prime user of the technique of Free Indirect Style (the name varies a bit) in which the thoughts and feelings of a character are expressed through the voice of the narrator. She does it with such skill we don’t even notice, but some of her finest moments are delivered this way.