Jane Austen: Lady Susan

Hi again

Lady Susan was written by Jane Austen long before her other novels.
My copy has 119 pages and I got it at Waterstones.
You can find all my Jane Austen reviews here.

Lady Susan is an great character and I loved despising her. I couldn’t help rooting for everyone else and hoping they’d see through her schemes.
Enjoyable book and very different from Austen’s other works; it’s much darker.
The characters are brilliant and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end for all of them.
Austen’s writing is very absorbing and easy to read.

Happy reading!
Helena

Jane Austen: The Beautifull Cassandra

Hi

This is my last Jane Austen book of the year and it is the only one I hadn’t read before.
You can click here to find all my other Jane Austen reviews.
This little gem has only 55 pages and I got it from The Book Depository.

The book contains a selection of Austen’s earlier work; her so-called Juvenilia and it is a parody of the then popular melodramatic novels.

This was never meant for publication and she wrote it for her own and her family’s entertainment so it’s very different from her later works. If you read them be sure to adjust your expectations.  

That said, I enjoyed it and it made me smile. I’m glad I read it.

Happy reading!
Helena

Jane Austen: Persuasion

Hi

Persuasion was Jane Austen’s last completed novel and it is one of my favorites.
The novel has 249 pages and 6 pages on the story by Elisabeth Bowen.
This was also a reread for me.

“Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?”

I absolutely adore this novel.

The story is melancholic, it has a feeling of loss but at the same time, the story is never hopeless.
The book is short and I flew through it and I think a smile never left my face. I just loved it.
The writing is amazing, it’s flowery, it’s passive and delicate. Truly exquisite prose.
It's just so lovely, romantic, sweet, careful, contemplating and calm.

Captain Wentworth letter is beautiful, sweet, full of love and so tender.
Anne is an admirable character. She never puts herself forward, she cares for everyone even those who don’t care for her, she’s realistic, she’s intelligent and she has common sense and founded opinions.

Go read it, you really have to.

Happy reading!
Helena

Jane Austen: Emma

Hi

This is my review of my reread of Emma by Jane Austen.
The story is 476 pages and it has a 10-page essay by David Lodge.

“Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.”

I enjoyed this more then my first time reading it. I got more out of it because I could see beyond Emma’s flaws, Mr. Knightley’s preaching and almost every other character’s nagging and complaining. 

Emma is very different from Austen’s previous novels. Emma is a woman who doesn’t need to marry because she has financial stability. There’s no pressure for her or her family to find her a man with enough money.

But because her life is so dull, she has to imagine things to do to keep her mind occupied and thus comes to matchmaking and inventing drama.
Emma can get away with her meddling, her snobbism, condescending remarks and manipulating of Harriet because she’s rich but also because she’s, loving, devoted, cheerful, and intelligent.
Emma matures and grows as the novel progresses and that’s one of its main appeals.

I abhor Frank though. Frank is not a nice character. He abuses Jane to others even though they are engaged and he tries to ‘seduce’ Emma and thus causes her pain intentionally. Emma is not in love with him, but that doesn’t change his intentions and his actions. I think he would have done the same thing even if he believed Emma did have feelings for him. He only cares for what he wants.

Mistakes in communication, flawed characters, natural, clear dialogue and very human emotions make this a great novel.

Happy reading!
Helena

Finishing this beautiful couple.

Jane Austen: Mansfield Park

Hi

This is my review of my second time reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
The novel is 469 pages long and has a 34-page note at the end.

“Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever.”

Mansfield Park is my least favorite Jane Austen novel but it is still a good novel and this for several reasons. 

I disliked Fanny a lot. She is weak, insipid, boring, passive, too virtuous, too perfect. She’s painted as a perfect model who’s a much better person than everyone else.
But I do feel for her. The way she’s treated, especially by her Aunt Norris is hurtful and she is always treated as less and made to feel that way.

Moreover, Edmund, the novel’s hero only realizes he loves Fanny as a sort of last resort, which he admits in his proposal. Furthermore, he is blind to Fanny’s needs and ignores her very often. He is the one who has ‘shaped’ her into someone just like him. What kind of love is that?

I do believe Austen must have been writing about her fear of the changes her society was going through. The simple, traditional country life as it had been was changing into something different and I think she wrote about this fear here.

I also believe the novel handles about what would later be called ‘Nature Versus Nurture’. Is a person’s character innate or (partly) formed by his/hers environment? Fanny is a perfect character in a not so perfect environment. That same environment gave way to Maria who is clearly not perfect. The same can be said for the three sisters; Fanny’s mother, Lady Bertram and Mrs. Norris who all grew up in the same house but turned out very different.

This novel is more about the pursuit of wealth and status as opposed to love. It’s about relations; what was thought proper behavior and what could and should be expected. It’s about the changes the whole society was going through; about the differences between classes.

Read it with this (or someone else’s opinion) in mind and enjoy it. Read it and think only of the characters and I’m afraid you won’t enjoy it as much.

Happy reading!

Helena

Perfect evening with my husband.

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

Hi

I’m halfway through reading Austen’s work for the second time.
Pride and Prejudice has 396 lovely pages.
You can find all my Jane Austen reviews here.

“Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.”

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett lack serious judgment and they didn’t raise their daughters vey sensibly.
Women back then depended completely on the men in their lives (father or husband) to support them. So finding a husband with the means to do so was the most important goal in a woman’s life. Seen in that light, Mrs. Bennett’s reactions are (although irritating and annoying) understandable. Mr. Bennett clearly does not understand the importance of this. I love his remarks but he needs to be serious in his duty to find loving, providing husbands for them. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett should have done something about the two airheaded sisters Kitty and Lydia. Overindulging doesn't make them sensible, kind or smart.

I LOVED this novel.
It's so easy to read it’s almost unbelievable it is 200 years old. I flew through this. It’s ironic, wise and just beautifully written. It made me smile, it made me feel warm and I enjoyed every minute.

Happy reading!
Helena

Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility

Hi

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen’s first published novel but the second novel she wrote. This is my second time reading it.
It has 405 pages and a very beautiful cover.
You can find all my Jane Austen reviews here.

“Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.”

I think this novel is not just an argument for more sense or more sensibility but for a balance of both. Happiness is only possible when one learns to accept both sides.
Jane Austen’s writing is sassy, ironic, witty and subtle. The way she conveys her criticism of the disagreeable characters is (when reading carefully), very, very funny; especially in the introductions.
Mr. Palmer is a perfect example of her subtle humor. By reading his papers, Austen mocks the overly dramatic and irrational women in the novel.
Willoughby is a unique Austen villain. Next to faults, he has merits. He gets a chapter to explain himself and he gains more depth in it. As far as I remember, this is the only time she does that.

The ending is a bit too perfect in my opinion. I know, all her novels end well, but this one is a bit too perfect, a bit too convenient.

Happy reading.

Helena

Sunny afternoon!

Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey

Hi

I decided to reread all Jane Austen novels. This time I’ll read them in the order she wrote them. This means I have to start with Northanger Abbey; even though it was published posthumously.
I own Austen’s novels in the very, very beautiful Penguin English Library editions. My copy of Northanger Abbey has 236 pages plus a 10-page article by Susannah Carson.

“The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.”

I’m quite surprised to say so, but this novel is a true parody of Gothic Fiction. Which is probably why it is so different from her other works. Austen sounds much younger in this novel; she’s trying to find herself.

Northanger Abbey is a lighthearted, young and simple novel with a humble, charming, pure and genuine protagonist. Catherine is so much fun; she’s so innocent and naïve, she’s a bit crazy and I loved her.
John and Isabella are really, really irritating but it brought out the best in Catherine (and mrs Allan).

Reading this novel was pure joy; the kind that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

Happy reading.
Helena

Finishing this one tonight!