Jane Austen (1775-1817) is one of the greatest English novelists and, since the First World War, has become a national icon. This module provides an opportunity for in-depth study of her six full-length novels. It explores the various ways in which she transformed the genre of the women's domestic novel into a vehicle for social analysis and commentary. Her novels are full of signs which conveyed to her contemporaries opinions about economics, class, religion, and politics. We shall decode those signs and explore their significance.