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| 1960s Paul Elek cover (source) |
I finished Pride and Prejudice this morning and loved it! Thanks to #AusteninAugustRBR I’ve finally read a novel by Jane Austen. Huzzah! I’ve seen many of the film adaptations and have read about Austen and her works, but never actually sat down to read her.
All of the characters are delightfully drawn–it was as if I could feel the joy Austen had in developing them. I admire the way Austen weaves her plot to reveal everyone’s character as well as many of the consequences.
I was most curious to see what I’d think of Mr. Bennet. Over the years I’ve come across arguments about whether or not he’s a good father. While I don’t think him a horrid father, Mr. Bennet is certainly a detached and rather careless father, which makes him, I think, a negligent father considering the precarious financial position his daughters are in due to the entail.
What happened to him and to the family that the first two daughters are so well-adjusted and the youngest two are so socially dysfunctional? Not to mention Mary, the lost middle daughter?
I’m only one book in and can understand why some Janeites devour fan fiction about these characters. Is there a novel about a young Mr. Bennet?
According to my Kobo stats it took me 2.7 hours to read P&P. My average reading session was only 2 minutes long which just goes to show that you can get a lot of reading done if you always carry a book with you to dip into while waiting at the doc, standing in line, or between bouts of boogie boarding at the beach.
What should I read next: Sense & Sensibility or Emma?
I'm so glad you liked it. It's my favorite book. I love so many things about it – but mostly hanging all a young woman's hopes for a prosperous life on the a good marriage. Yikes!
One of my favorite fan fiction movies is “Lost in Austen” because it takes a modern day P&P fan and thrusts her right into the very beginning of the storyline. We get to see how a modern woman mucks everything up with the simplest things she does, says and wears.
Next up? My favorites, after Pride & Prejudice, are: (in order)
2 – Mansfield Park
3 – Persuasion
4 – Northanger Abbey
5 – Sense & Sensibility
6 – Emma (only because she's a bit annoying)
Enjoy them all!
HI Jennifer! I loved Lost in Austen and must re-watch it as well as all the P&P adaptations I can get my hands on now that I'm so much more in the know. I've heard people either love or hate Emma. I'm off to check out Mansfield Park…don't know much about that one….
Yeah, I don't think Mr Bennet was a very good father, either. He was careless with his money, detached and negligent with his daughters, he makes fun of his daughters and wife to their faces in front of the entire family, and he is willing to embarrass Mary when he tells her with such a lack of tact to let some of the other ladies exhibit their skills at the pianoforte. But he did love Lizzie. That's for sure.
Sense and Sensibility is my favorite of Austen's novels, though it is a little less romantic than Pride and Prejudice. Emma can be a difficult read because she is not a very likable character. She has very many flaws. On the other hand, she's the character in Austen's books who makes the most personal development in the story.