A puzzling kerfuffle.

[barometric]

There has been a recent flurry of articles discussing evidence that Jane Austen's style was actually due to an editor, and people, I am confused by the discussion.

There's been some interesting discussion of this topic on Language Log, but I still feel it misses the point, which is this: surely many writers get enormous feedback from their

Comments

[tartary_lamb]

Go team on the writing goal!

As for the argument in question, I have to agree with you. To my understanding, everyone has an editor and for good reason. I can't imagine that her contemporaries wouldn't have had outside input on their work.

[barometric]

Exactly! There's this myth of the lonely genius producing impeccable unedited prose, but I don't think it actually exists anywhere.

(And re: writing goal, the end of November has come exactly as soon as necessary, as I have run out of things I can say without doing careful research first!)