"Even many of her admirers are ready to admit that though she is a great novelist, it is not to Jane Austen that we should go if we want to be deeply moved: she is great for other reasons. I am ready to admit numbers of reasons for which she is a great novelist; but I find no need to apologize for her in the area of her main concern. My contention is that her subject was love, and she knew her subject." (from the Foreword).