The Complete Novels

I love these books because they are easy to read and they are "written at walking pace". What I mean by that is, the pace of life when these books were being written was much more gently, and you can feel this rythm in the writing. It instantly transports you this other time. Sometimes it's nice to slow down , and take in the minutae of your surroundings. Also Miss Austen was an unsupressable romantinc and optimist, with a wonderful grounding of common sense. Many a young woman could learn a lot by reading Jane Austen at a young age.

Jane Austen has completed seven novels during her lifetime. I read her six big novels from November 2016 to June 2017, so it's been a hot minute (and I'm not opposed to rereading them), but I thought it'd be fun to rank them all, now that I've read Lady Susan as well:

1. n  n    Lady Susann  n (5 stars)
Well, what can I say? I'm more surprised than you are but this novella is now my favorite piece of writing that Jane ever put to paper. This epistolary novel is straight to the point, hilarious, petty, and jaw-dropping. Lady Susan is unlike any of Austen's other heroines – she's actually more of a villain/ anti-heroine, and I was absolutely here for her shenanigans. Who knew Austen writing about a homewracker who gave zero shits would be so much fun?

2. n  n    Mansfield Parkn  n (4.5 stars, initally 5 stars)
An unlikely fave, since most people would put this book at the bottom of their lists, but it has always been a favorite of mine. Fanny Price will always have a special place in my heart. In my opinion, she is one of the few introverted (not shy!) characters that have ever been authentically written. I could see a lot of myself in her and her need to not be around people. I also loved that it is more of a bildungsroman as opposed to a proper love story.

3. n  n    Northanger Abbeyn  n (4 stars)
Can you tell that I prefer Austen's sillier novels to her romances? Good. Because I sure do. Northanger Abbey was SO MUCH FUN! It was the first Austen I ever read and it got me immediately hooked to read her other books. Unpopular opinion incoming but Henry Tilney might be my favorite love interest that Jane has ever written. He was so damn charming, and hilarious. Also loved how fast-paced this story was!

4. n  n    Emman  n (4 stars)
This is the Austen that I love to hate. Like, for real, this book is an utter trashfest and probably the worst exhibit of Austen's writing (literally 80% of this book is dialogue and/or Austen using dashes and hyphens ... it was INSUFFERABLE) but for some fucking reason I ate this book up. I'm not particularly fond of Emma Woodhouse – may she be handsome, clever, and rich – nor of Mr Knightley, but I really enjoyed this book??? I'm still confused about it.

5. n  n    Pride and Prejudicen  n (3 stars)
Let's face it, folks, the Lizzie Bennett Diaries are better than its source material. There, I said it. So much has been written and said about this book, I have nothing to add to the conversation. For me, it was just okay. I didn't fan over Mr. Darcy, nor did I find Elizabeth to be particularly engaging. I feel like Austen was almost too fond of her as a character, and therefore sacrificed much of her other characters and possible plot points in favor of Lizzie. Also, Lydia deserved a redemption arc!

6. n  n    Persuasionn  n (2.5 stars)
This is the one Austen novel I am most curious to reread. I feel like I should've liked it a lot more the first time around, but I somehow didn't. The love letter was great ("I am half agony, half hope...") – I can still quote it from memory, so that's something. I may have been too young when I first read it, or simply running out of juice, since at that point I'd been reading ±an Austen a month, and Persuasion was last in line. We'll see how my opinion changes upon a reread.

7. n  n    Sense and Sensibilityn  n (2 stars)
By far, my last favorite Austen. And I don't think that this will ever change. This novel was the most dull and uninspired of the bunch. Both couples (Edward & Elinor and Marianne & Colonel Brandon) did nothing for me. I don't remember any of the plot, just that I was bored to death.

Overall, I am really happy that I dove so deep into Austen's oeuvre. I usually don't read much romance, and hers aren't even raunchy (lmao), but I somehow grew fond of her writing and stories. She's definitely a classic writer for all ages. Can't wait to revisit her work in the future, now that I am done with her complete works. :)

I purchased this in 2007 and finally got around to starting it, and you know what I realised about Jane Austen? She's boring! Ok, I know she's much beloved and Mr Darcy is some kind of heartthrob (at least when played by Colin Firth), but I just couldn't get into the regency game-playing and match making Ms Austen's writing relies on.

I couldn't complete Sense & Sensibility and gave up partway through Pride & Prejudice (which I started thinking I might enjoy it more given its popularity and the fact I've enjoyed a film version). Apologies to those who adore her, but Ms Austen is not to my taste.

Copy/pasting my post from Reddit because I am lazy:

7.Emma - the protagonist is so vapid, and the novel so empty, I just can't appreciate it. I know that's the point, that it's about the emptiness of lives of upper middle class women, and I do really like Mr. Knightley, but I just can't make myself like Emma. And I've seen Clueless a bunch of times, too, and the movie, I think, is an upgrade.

6: Sense and Sensibility - Not bad, just not particularly great, either. It's a good way to start reading Austen as the plot is easy to follow and the characters are relatively few, but having read it once I have no real desire to read it again. Also I think Colonel Brandon would have been a better partner for Elinor, but that's just me.

5: Mansfield Park - here is your Jane Eyre/Cinderella story (which I'm a total sucker for), and though Fanny isn't strong in an extroverted sense, like Elizabeth Bennet, she is still able to keep to her morals, which says something amid many of the other horrid characters, refusing a marriage that almost any other female character in that novel would have taken without a second thought.

4: Persuasion - being honest, this was the last of the novels I read, and at this point it was super easy to predict the plot, so it didn't hold my attention very long. I'll need to reread it at some point to give it its due.

3: Northanger Abbey: A very strong start—actually laughed out loud, and the time that actually takes place AT the Abbey is fantastic, but the rest has some awkward pacing issues (they spend more time at Bath) and the ending feels forced. I kind of wish the Admiral had done a Rochester with his wife, but then I guess Jane Eyre wouldn't have been as successful...Earliest known reference to baseball, however, which is cool as a baseball fan/writer.

2: Lady Susan - As a diehard Game of Thrones/aSoIaF fan, you might imagine I loooove the complexity that a multiple P.O.V narration brings to a story, and I love the way the story unfolds unexpectedly. The only question here is whether LS actually counts as a novel, or if it's a novella.

1: Pride and Prejudice - The pacing is fantastic, the plot has twists that DON'T feel forced, as though the author needed something to happen to move events along, and while Elizabeth Bennet is an awesome heroine if ever there was one and Darcy epitomizes the brooding hero, some of the other supporting characters - Mr. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Mr. Bingley - are extremely likable as well. I finished P&P wishing I could go visit Regency England.

I LOVE Jane Austen- I try to read her once a year. Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are true classics, and Emma and Persuasion are also wonderful. I cannot personally stand Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, but even a so-so Jane Austen is better than your average bestseller today.

Austen's ability to expose the foibles of her characters without actually holding them in disdain is what makes her books so enjoyable. Can you eviscerate someone with a fluffy knife? Not a good image, but in probing the psyches of her characters she shows a true understanding of human nature that is as valid today as it was then. There are so many Mrs Norrises in the world, and yet Lizzies and Darcys and Elinors seem to be in short supply. Nevertheless, there's enough wit and comedy and family and sisterhood and loyalty and friendship to keep you happy, if you go for that sort of stuff.

I have the old Modern Library edition of this book. Along with lots of other literary interests, I just love Jane Austen...can't say why really...she was definitely pushing the boudaries of the forms of the classical-era novel, and she reprsents an important feminist voice for her time. Mansfield Park is also an indictment against colonialism - she is one of the early (literary) critics of that phenomena.

Beyond the reasons why she might be important, the stories are just wonderful. Beyond rationality, I just feel good when I read her.

I can't express with complete fullness my delight in rereading these novels.

Having read all of these several times before, I cannot say there is any surprise...but by heaven there is joy...in them. No one paints her time with so much style and realism as Austen. She is the rarest of storytellers, whose language alone delights.