1. Pride and Prejudice -- I love this book. It was the first Jane Austen book that I read (and I think that I read it the first time for a class in college), and I still think it is her best book. It is such a commentary on the society life at that time, full of humor and satire. Also, being the legal geek that I am, I cannot help but enjoy a book that contains the archaic (and in the US now, illegal) fee-tail property ownership where the property only passes to male descendants of a man, or to his brother's family at his death.
2. Persuasion -- This book almost surpasses Pride and Prejudice, but not quite. I could not put this book down. I think that I read it quicker than I read all the other Jane Austen novels. I think it might be shorter than the others (except maybe Northanger Abbey). If you cannot get into the story of Pride and Prejudice, I would suggest reading this book instead.
3. Sense and Sensibility -- Who cannot love the Dashwood sisters? The movie just does not do the book justice in my opinion. I love the fact that Jane takes her heroines through so much adversity before the happy ending that always seems a little rushed. The journey is what matters to Jane and she makes fun of the customs and manners of her society while getting her characters through the journey.
4. Northanger Abbey -- This was probably the hardest book for me to get interested in. I think I was halfway through the book before I really wanted to continue to read on to find out what happened in the end. Once I finally got to that point, I could hardly put the book down. I love the way that Jane Austen pokes fun at the gothic novels that were popular at that time and that women were reading for entertainment.
5. Mansfield Park -- Maybe I am just a little weirded out by the fact that it was ok during that time period in England to be in love with and marry your first cousin. This heroine seems to be the least strong of all of the Austen heroines, so maybe it was just harder for me to connect with her. Sure, I felt sorry for her, and was impressed with her discernment, but that was as far as it went. This would probably be the easiest to turn into a modern movie (once you make the cousins a little further removed ... or adopted instead of by blood), and maybe that is what I did not like about it.
Once I read Emma, I will add it to the list or at least post about where I think it belongs in a list. I was encouraged at one point in the past year to read all that an author has written in order to see the style of the author and how that person developed over time. I am glad I was given that advice, and followed it, because it is interesting to see the common themes and structure in Jane Austen's novels. A lot can be learned about English society during the time period that she lived from reading her novels, and that has been entertaining for the history nerd in me.
1 comment:
Have you seen that movie about the people who are in a jane Austen book club. It was a good movie.
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