Mad World Paperback

The UK paperback edition of Mad World has now been published and is being widely reviewed. It includes a "P.S." section with additional materials about Paula and the book.

JANE AUSTEN AND THE THEATRE Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize. ‘I relished every page. [Byrne’s] knowledge of everything Austen wrote has an enviable thoroughness and perception which is rare among Austen scholars and which illuminates the whole of her text. I am tempted to say this is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read.’     Paul Johnson, The Spectator ‘A refreshingly different view of the novelist’     Kate Chisholm, Books of the Year, Evening Standard ‘Byrne’s study, which is the first book-length treatment of the topic, opens the reader’s eyes to an almost entirely neglected layer of meaning in Jane Austen’s fiction … Jane Austen and the Theatre must dispel lingering impressions of the novelist’s indifference to, or even disapproval of, the theatre … it is the definitive and pioneering work on the subject … Byrne’s perspective as a theatre historian exposes much that is original … Jane Austen and the Theatre has much to say to the theatre historian about an extraordinary member of the late eighteenth-century audience, and a great deal more to teach the literary critic about that theatregoer’s own art.’ Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement ‘This scholarly, perceptive book leaves you wanting more from the same author.’    Loraine Fletcher, The Independent ‘Fascinating and elegant … invaluable as an academic study of the way that Austen, like Henry James after her, made brilliant use of theatrical techniques. Byrne’s book should also attract readers with an interest in theatre-going during the Georgian period.’    Miranda Seymour, The Spectator ‘Substantial and detailed … Byrne’s well-researched work offers something close to a panoramic view of the theatre in the late 18th and early 19th century, encompassing all kinds of curious information about the daily lives of actors and dramatists … Dispels the myth, pace the embarrassing theatrical sequence in Mansfield Park, that Austen detested the theatre. The truth is altogether more revealing of her artistic method.’ Paul Bailey, Sunday Times ‘At the heart of her book, Paula Byrne’s subtle analysis of the analogies that Austen creates between Lovers’ Vows and Mansfield Park shows that readers who know the play will be most rewarded when they read the novel … Byrne interestingly takes us to the novels via the love of theatrical allusion evident in Austen’s juvenilia … The influence of drama on the development of the English novel is a rich and neglected theme. Byrne suggests the range of possibilities in some incisive passing remarks on the designedly theatrical novels of two former playwrights, Henry Fielding and Elizabeth Inchbald … Byrne pursues the productive and pragmatic thought that Austen got a training from drama in the construction of scenes and dialogues.’     John Mullan, The Guardian