This critic offers a meticulously constructed argument that intertwines contemporary linquistic, psychological, and social theories with scrupulous analyses of the literary works themselves. It is a rare thing for an academic study of the appropriations of the language of class and gender to engage its readers so thoroughly... Gossip and lies might be subversive, might be defiant, might even be downright nasty, but never have they seemed so appealing.(The Wordsworth Circle)