This volume offers a unique contribution to both postcolonial studies and Austen scholarship by:

* examining the texts to illumine nineteenth century attitudes to colonialism and the expanding Empire

* revealing a new range of interpretations of Austen's work, each shaped by the critic's particular context

* exploring the ways in which the study of Austen's novels raises fresh issues for post-colonial criticism.

Bringing together work by highly-respected critics from four continents and a range of disciplines, this newly paperbacked volume allows sometimes surprising and always fascinating new insights into some of the most frequently studied - and best loved - novels in the English language.