Reception history of Jane Austen
High society liked and approved of Austen's novels. However, they received few reviews while she was alive. There were two for Sense and Sensibility. Pride and Prejudice received three. Mansfield Park received none. There were seven for Emma. Most of the reviews were short, careful, and approving. They mostly focused on the moral lessons of her books. Brian Southam writes about these reviewers: "their job was merely to provide brief (short) notices, extended with quotations, for the benefit (good) of women readers compiling their library lists and interested only in knowing whether they would like a book for its story, its characters and moral".