Jane Austen's private language is rarely studied, yet her letters are a linguistic goldmine. This sociolinguistic study analyses the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary of Jane Austen's letters -- many of which were addressed to her sister, Cassandra -- providing readers with a deeper understanding of Austen as an author. thoroughly and painstakingly provides the linguistic evidence for a number of assertions which might previously have been based on intuition or common sense ... clearly an excellent example of the sociolinguistic approach to written text.