--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man…" description: "\"I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the line - it's George Eliot, it's Dickens, it's Dr. Johnson, it's Jane Austen.\" — Howard Jacobson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg" --- # I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the… ![“I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the line - it's George Eliot, it's Dickens, it's Dr. Johnson, it's Jane Austen.” quote by Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg) > “I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the line - it's George Eliot, it's Dickens, it's Dr. Johnson, it's Jane Austen.” [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker identifies with classic English literature, emphasizing traditional literary values. **In simple terms:** Loves classic English authors. Key Takeaway Explore timeless literature. Themes literature tradition identity culture Mood nostalgic educational Type literary personal When to use this quote - education - reading habits - cultural heritage Key Concepts canonical works literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Why are classic works still relevant? - How can we balance tradition with contemporary voices? A Different Perspective May overlook diverse modern voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down/) [Dr johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dr-johnson/) [Eliot Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eliot-dickens-2051114/) [English Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-lit/) [Fashioned English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashioned-english-2051115/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/george-eliot/) [Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jane/) [Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/line/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) ## Related quotes > [“When you asked me to speak about women and fiction I sat down on the banks of a river and began to wonder what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/when-you-asked-me-to-speak-about-women-and-fiction-i-sat-down-on-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Jane Austen was born before those bonds which (we are told) protected women from the truth were burst by the Brontës or elaborately untied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/jane-austen-was-born-before-those-bonds-which-we-are-told-protected/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [My role models were childless: Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, George Eliot, the Brontes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/my-role-models-were-childless-virginia-woolf-jane-austen-george-eliot/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Without those forerunners, Jane Austen and the Brontes and George Eliot could no more have written than Shakespeare could have written without Marlowe, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/without-those-forerunners-jane-austen-and-the-brontes-and-george/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [There's a history of English literature where the best boils to the top, and Jane Austen stands right at the top of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jj-feild/there-s-a-history-of-english-literature-where-the-best-boils-to-the/) [JJ Feild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jj-feild/) > [For me a Writing Day was an occasion for self-reproach and panic, a time to lament the passing of the years, stare out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/for-me-a-writing-day-was-an-occasion-for-self-reproach-and-panic-a/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I won't go so far as to say that novels sell in inverse proportion to their worth, for just occasionally, someone like Dickens or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-won-t-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-novels-sell-in-inverse-proportion-to/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I was a 'reverence for life' man - 'see life steadily and see it whole' - in my days as a lecturer in English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-was-a-reverence-for-life-man-see-life-steadily-and-see-it-whole-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [No good writer ever merely cheered us up. But there's an unblinking stare into the darkness of things we have to go elsewhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/no-good-writer-ever-merely-cheered-us-up-but-there-s-an-unblinking/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I'm a Jewish Jane Austen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-m-a-jewish-jane-austen/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“I was strong in English, and thankful for it. I knew the great Dr. Johnson from his friend Mr. Boswell. There is a friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/i-was-strong-in-english-and-thankful-for-it-i-knew-the-great-dr/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [I'm an advocate of the great Dr. Johnson, the English man of letters who said that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/i-m-an-advocate-of-the-great-dr-johnson-the-english-man-of-letters/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [“How are you coming with your home library? Do you need some good ammunition on why it's so important to read? The last time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/how-are-you-coming-with-your-home-library-do-you-need-some-good/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Listen, I wanted to say, I don't need your judgment, okay? I have enough to deal with without you contributing, so can we just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-verdi/listen-i-wanted-to-say-i-don-t-need-your-judgment-okay-i-have-enough/) [Jessica Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-verdi/) > [“I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-think-i-can-understand-that-feeling-about-a-housewife-s-work-being/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Howard Jacobson > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [There's a simple arithmetical logic at work. Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The novel is a thing of irony and ambiguity. That's at the heart of 'J', a world that has stopped arguing with itself. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-novel-is-a-thing-of-irony-and-ambiguity-that-s-at-the-heart-of-j/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I was a 'reverence for life' man - 'see life steadily and see it whole' - in my days as a lecturer in English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-was-a-reverence-for-life-man-see-life-steadily-and-see-it-whole-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [How Donald Trump has come so far with so few words - how he even managed to keep up conversationally with all those beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/how-donald-trump-has-come-so-far-with-so-few-words-how-he-even/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [It is a nonsense to me when people come along and tell me not to be pessimistic; or that culture has always been going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/it-is-a-nonsense-to-me-when-people-come-along-and-tell-me-not-to-be/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [For me a Writing Day was an occasion for self-reproach and panic, a time to lament the passing of the years, stare out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/for-me-a-writing-day-was-an-occasion-for-self-reproach-and-panic-a/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Even the wordiest of men know there's a time to button it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/even-the-wordiest-of-men-know-there-s-a-time-to-button-it/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [That a nation's statuary will reflect beliefs and attitudes that are no longer current or congenial hardly needs arguing. In most instances, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/that-a-nation-s-statuary-will-reflect-beliefs-and-attitudes-that-are/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“Was he a bad man or just a foolish one? He didn't feel bad to himself. As a husband he believed himself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/was-he-a-bad-man-or-just-a-foolish-one-he-didn-t-feel-bad-to-himself/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The young come in many guises: vigorous and passionate, vindictive and mean-spirited. And not every person over 65 is dozing in a retirement home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-young-come-in-many-guises-vigorous-and-passionate-vindictive-and/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [To a philosopher like Nietzsche, the Jew is culpable not for rejecting Christianity but for inventing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/to-a-philosopher-like-nietzsche-the-jew-is-culpable-not-for-rejecting/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Shakespeare's always been sitting on my back, since I began reading. And, certainly, as a writer, he's who I hear all the time. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/shakespeare-s-always-been-sitting-on-my-back-since-i-began-reading/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [A novelist should make you realize nothing is stable. If you don't believe anything with robustness, you're doing something more radical than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/a-novelist-should-make-you-realize-nothing-is-stable-if-you-don-t/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The Stop The War Coalition is a sort of home to Jew-haters because its hate music about Israel is so catchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-stop-the-war-coalition-is-a-sort-of-home-to-jew-haters-because/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Explore all 235 Howard Jacobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## More Austen quotes > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-van/you-know-somewhere-a-jane-austen-angel-just-lost-her-wings-over-you/) [Nichole Van](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-van/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/gratitude-not-merely-for-having-once-loved-her-but-for-loving-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I grew up on Jane Austen novels and was a massive literature fanatic when I was a kid - I read everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-king/i-grew-up-on-jane-austen-novels-and-was-a-massive-literature-fanatic/) [Georgia King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-king/) > [“I don't care a whit for Society. I think people should only marry someone who can offer them some bit of affection. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-st-george/i-don-t-care-a-whit-for-society-i-think-people-should-only-marry/) [Harper St. George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-st-george/) > [“Does everybody know everything in this town!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishnavi-nair-k/does-everybody-know-everything-in-this-town/) [Vaishnavi Nair K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishnavi-nair-k/) > [“People don't say what they mean very often. You have to read between the lines of their behavior, of what they say, to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/people-don-t-say-what-they-mean-very-often-you-have-to-read-between/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) [Browse all 292 Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the line - it's George Eliot, it's Dickens, it's Dr. Johnson, it's Jane Austen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Jacobson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-straight-down-the-line-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-straight-down-the-line-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/howard-jacobson-1484_austen_i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-str_2613943.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man. Straight down the line - it's George Eliot, it's Dickens, it's Dr…” — Howard Jacobson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Howard Jacobson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm an old-fashioned English lit. man....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-straight-down-the-line-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-m-an-old-fashioned-english-lit-man-straight-down-the-line-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```