I have perused the posts but have found no comments regarding the conversation between Catherine and the Tilneys on history. This was a favorite part of mine (perhaps because I was a history major) and I wonder what JA's thoughts on history were. I think she was forward thinking on this subject, for she has Catherine say, "The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and harly any women at all, it is very tiresome;" - this is an interesting comment that even today turns many people off to history - that it is written by and about those in power, so it tends to focus on 'rich white men' and 'women's history' as we know it today is much more interesting because it contains social history. If there had been more of this type of history written in JA's day, perhaps Catherine would have liked it more.