The Mathematics of Jane Austen & Other Stories by Elizabeth Smither

Hardback with d/w, both in excellent NEW condition. Published by Godwit (1997). 224pp. Happy to combine purchases for post.

"Jane Austen must have been very fond of the number two. Have you never noticed it? Two proposals by Darcy; two good sisters (and three foolish ones); two ill-mannered matriarchs, Mrs Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh; two unsuitable suitors, Mr Collins and George Wickham." So begins a recently published short story. Readers outside New Zealand may not yet be aware of this book by Elizabeth Smither, an established writer from Palmerston North. While the other stories in this collection do not share an Austen theme, they contain many other literary allusions which add much to the readers enjoyment and reflect Ms Smithers' background as a librarian. This collection of short stories which portray a selection of women who will not be defined by the music they listen to, the men they love (and leave), or the money they have (or don't have) includes:

• Francophilia
• Rose Madder
• Cricket
• A Turkish proverb
• The Mathematics of Jane Austen
• The Ladies Chatterley's Gardener
• Big Bertha
• The Pulley
• Genealogy
• Money
• Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
• The Lark Quartet
• Abraham, Edward Ernest, Jacob and Nina
• Milly-Molly Mandy
• Six Sisters from Ouse