Kingsley Amis What Became of Jane Austen? (1970)

Kingsley Amis What Became of Jane Austen? (1970) Amis wrote occasional pieces, mostly book reviews it seems, and 30-odd are gathered in this collection. The overwhelming impression is that of a man with a clear sense of his own taste, and a rarely disguised contempt for those who disagree with him. Amis is also given to gratuitous insult of people he doesn’t like, such a sociologists. Much of this rudeness adds nothing to his argument or explication, but appears in the form of well-turned epigrams or similes, which must have cost him some effort to produce, hence his inability to leave them out. That being said, the essays are entertaining enough, and I do happen to agree with his (late) recognition of the pernicious influence of the Leavises. The title essay attacks Austen on the grounds that Mansfield Park fails in its moral judgments. Not having read that book, I can’t comment; but his throw-away comments on Pride and Prejudice indicate that Amis prides himself on enjoying a contrarian taste.
     The couple of personal pieces that round out the collection, especially his memoir of his father, make him appear somewhat more amiable, which suggests that his curmudgeonliness was largely a pose, a judgment that he would no doubt strenuously deny. An entertaining collection, which makes me think that I should read a couple of his novels. * to ***