'A MOST LUXURIOUS STATE': Men and Music in Jane Austen's Novels with Gillian Dooley

In Austen’s novels, musicianship is mainly the preserve of the female sex. The main role of the true gentleman, as far as musicianship is concerned, is to be an appreciative listener. More than once, this is the shortest route to falling in love. But what does this mean for the musical man? 

GILLIAN DOOLEY is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in English at Flinders University, Adelaide, where she also works in the Library. She has published extensively on Jane Austen and a range of other novelists. Her latest book is Never Mind about the Bourgeoisie: The Correspondence between Iris Murdoch and Brian Medlin 1976-1995 (2014).