about the relative lack of long conversations in the other novels. I wonder if this is another sign of the youthful high-spiritedness of NA and its author: do you think the older JA is, in some sense, suspicious of people (esp. men) who talk too well? I'm thinking of bad-boy characters like Willoughby, Wickham, and Mr. Elliot -- all described, if not shown, as gifted at keeping the conversational ball rolling -- versus good guys like Edward Ferrars, Mr. Knightley, and Captain Wentworth, who tend to be men of relatively few, but well-chosen, words. Henry is a striking contrast to all that, which is perhaps why he reminds me much more of the witty Lizzie than of the other heroes.