So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autistic Spectrum in 'Pride and Prejudice'

'Jane Austen was an astute observer of people and relationships and she describes and obviously knew people who today could have been referred to a clinician for a diagnostic assessment for Asperger's syndrome.'. - from the Foreword by Tony Attwood, author of Asperger's Syndrome and The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. 'Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer has given us a treasure… We shall always appreciate these new insights into the personalities and behaviour of the people in the novel, and this reinforcement of our belief in the genius of Austen's characterizations.'. from the Foreword by Eileen Sutherland, former President of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Autism was not a recognised disorder in Jane Austen's lifetime, nor for well over a century after her death. However there were certainly people who had autism, and Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer proposes that Austen wrote about them, without knowing what it was that she was describing. So Odd a Mixture looks at eight seemingly diverse characters in Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice , who display autistic traits. These characters - five in the Bennet family and three in the extended family of the Fitzwilliams - have fundamental difficulties with communication, empathy and theory of mind. Perhaps it is high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome that provides an explanation for some characters' awkward behaviour at crowded balls, their frequent silences or their tendency to lapse into monologues rather than truly converse with others. This fascinating book will provide food-for-thought for students and fans of Austen's classic novel, and for anyone interested in autism spectrum disorders.