Jane Austen's honey-and-vinegar spirit is alive and well in Rachel Pastan's delightful novel. She has grasped, with style and authority, the Austen paradox: that women's independence can be laced with the need for love, both given and received; and that wit and a critical eye can -- must -- serve a moral and, finally, forgiving vision. This Side of Married may mark its author's debut, but she has commanded the dance floor like a pro.