lost in Austen

One day I realized the only Jane Austen book I had read was Pride and Prejudice. I'd seen most of the movies but I hadn't read the books. So I made a goal to read all six of her books. It took me over a year to do between reading other books, but I just finished Emma so I finally made that goal. Here's the rundown.

Pride and Prejudice-probably my favorite one, not just because of the movies, but because it's actually pretty funny. Austen created great characters and some of the best lines for this book. Elizabeth Bennett is the greatest of all Austen's heronies. There are a bajillion spinoffs of this story. Most of them bug me. Especially the zombies one. My favorite is a three book series of Mr. Darcy's point of view by Pamela Aiden. She did a decent job. Of all the movie versions I'd have to say the Kiera Knightly version is my favorite. I like the way they made it in the country, their clothes were actually dirty, the sets were amazing, and it's not six hours long like the other one. Second place would go to the A&E Colin Firth version, of course. But it's not very realistic to watch because it's soooo long.

Mansfield Park-I had trouble with this book because I saw the 1999 movie version first. In the movie Fanny Price has a lot more gumption and speaks her mind more. In the book she is more docile and speaks less. She's just kind of in the background while all this stuff happens. Austen does get a little political when she talks about the slave trade, but it doesn't go on for that long. I also get mad becasue Fanny's relatives treat her like crap. In the end, Edmund wises up and realizes that Fanny is the girl for him. I really like the 1999 version with Jonny Lee Miller and Frances O'Connor. They changed the story a little and added a little of Jane to Fanny's character to make her more fiesty. There are many funny parts. The 2008 BBC version is decent but not as good. I didn't like the girl who played Fanny.

Persuasion-my least favorite. It's like you spend the whole book waiting for the two to get back together but you aren't entertained in the meantime. I do appreciate her commentary on society though. Anne and her family move to Bath and become involved in society there. It is easy to picture the people getting caught up in the gossip and everyone trying to get ahead of one another. I don't remember much more because I read it so long ago. Also, the only movie version I saw of this was like the 1985 BBC stage version, and I think they acted out the entire book. It was so long and boring.


Sense and Sensibility-I love the sisters Elinor and Marianne. They are so different but love each other a lot. I love their stories, Elinor, who is quietly in love, and Marianne, who is so passionate that everyone knows of her love. They do the best they can in their situation, things get tangled up, and then they get untangled. I hate Lucy Steele for making Elinor keep her secret that she is secretly engaged to Mr. Edward Ferrars. I thought it was interesting that in the book, towards the end when Marianne gets sick, Mr. Willoughby stops by and tries to see her. I don't remember if he gets to, but it shows that he has remorse for ditching Marianne. My favorite movie version is the Emma Thompson written, Ang Lee directed 1995 version. Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, I mean that is a great cast. Kate Winslet does a great Marianne who is up and down all over the place. The sets and costumes are great. And one of my favorites is a minor character, Mr. Palmer, who is so sarcastic. He's played by the guy who is House on tv, Hugh Laurie. But Colonel Brandon is still weird to me because I saw Harry Potter first and Alan Rickman is Snape. So I can never trust him as Brandon. The 2008 BBC version is good but not quite as good as the 1995 one.

Northanger Abbey-Probably the only one I read without seeing a movie version first. My mom told me that it was her least favorite. I actually ended up liking it. Catherine is only 17, probably the youngest of all the Austen heroines, when she is invited to go to Bath for awhile and try society. There she is adopted by people who try to groom her for society and use her for their best interests. She follows along for a little while but then realizes they are not who they pretend to be, often say one thing but do another, and get mad when she tries to be honest and keep her word. Thankfully, Catherine is friends with another family, the Tilneys, who invite her to stay with them after they leave Bath. Catherine is also interested in the brother, Henry, and keeps her eye on him. The book then completely changes themes and turns to a gothic novel motif. Catherine is obsessed with staying in an Abbey and keeps thinking it is haunted. Certain events help her to grow up and become who she needs to be. In the end, her and Henry get together. I don't know why I liked it so much, I think because I didn't know the story beforehand, and it was a lot shorter than the other ones. That was a plus.

Emma-I was a little dissappointed. Again, I blame the movie versions. But you have to love Emma and her match-making skills. A lot of funny things happen in this book, there was also a great line in there but I forgot where it was. Emma learns a lot about herself and grows up a lot. I love her dad, always afraid that he will be left behind by his daughters, and Mr. Knightley, who sort of helps to raise Emma, but falls in love with her in the end. Mr. Elton is so stuck up and Miss Bates can't shut her mouth. Great characters. I'm torn between which movie version I like best. The 1996 version with Gwenyth Paltrow is great, it's shorter, Emma is a lot more fanciful, and it has Ewan McGregor. The 2009 BBC version is pretty great though. The costumes and sets are more colorful than a lot of Austen films. I like the girl who plays Emma and Jonny Lee Miller is Mr. Knightley. It also has the whole storyline, but it's a million hours long. So probably like P&P it's just a matter of how much time you have. Also, Cluless, which is based off of Emma, is pretty great. I think it's hilarious, and genius the way they turned it into a modern day take. So funny.

Congrats if you made it through this far. In summation, from favorite to least favorite

Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Northanger Abbey
Emma
Mansfield Park
Persuasion

(Honestly, Jane Austen can get pretty boring at times, but stick with it because it's classic.)