The unique force of Jane Austen's novels lies in the interplay of her characters. Nothing much happens, on the surface; but, as in life, minor shifts and changes evoke enormous consequences in the lives of individuals. In this stimulating book, Ivor Morris anatomises one of her best-loved characters, Mr Collins: "conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly". His obsequious flatteries, parading self-approval, witless blunderings and hapless endeavours in romance have delighted generations of readers. By focusing on this entertaining figure, Ivor Morris has produced that rare thing - a seriously analytical and genuinely amusing study. Ivor Morris has also published on Elizabethan drama and elsewhere on Austen.