"Love and Friendship" was really terrible; it was obvious that it was written by a 14-year-old.

"Lady Susan" I enjoyed, but I didn't care much for the title character.

"Northanger Abbey" I can't seem to remember at all.

"Sense and Sensibility" I enjoyed very much.

"Pride and Prejudice" is one of my all-time favorites!

"Mansfield Park" was also unmemorable.

"Emma" was very good; it took me a long time to read it, but I loved it, especially having seen the modern adaption movie "Clueless."

"Persuasion" I don't remember.

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

These books are romantic & delightful, while some of the phrases are foreign to me I love the beautiful prose. I love the strength of her heroines, Elizabeth (mind & opinions) and Fanny (morality). As I finish her novels, I am left wanting more - I wish she had writen more about after her heroines get married!

I only read Sense and Sensibility 4⭐️ and Mansfield Park 3⭐️. Probably no Jane Austen for a while.

OK so I admit it -- I am a Jane Austen fan - have been since I was a teenager. My favorites are Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice. Persuasion contains the consummate love letter and Pride and Prejudice is just a wonderful story. It helps to also have "can't watch them enough times" film adaptations of these stories.

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. :)

What a delight to reread all of Austen’s works together. It was interesting to contrast her heroines as each of them are quite distinctive. It was also interesting to see her growth as a writer and the ways in which she tackled feminine suffering, morality and growth in her heroines.

I was surprised to have loved the one novel I had put off reading for so long because the main character was supposedly so unlikeable, but which given my own early experiences in life, I could well understand and relate too, which was Mansfield Park.

I did enjoy the reading experience of Persuasion a little better the second time around but will never be persuaded as some contend, that this is her best work and best female character.

Northanger Abbey was the only book to remain unchanged in my opinion with the reread. Though I appreciated Austen’s sharp wit the story and heroine did not engage my interest. Also, it rather suffered when read alongside Austen’s other works. It just isn’t the same quality.

Interesting to read Lady Susan who is pretty much amoral and an all round bad bitch. Really resonates with the observation of how Austen wrote of many different types of women as her main characters and it’s a satisfying ending for Lady Susan who is utterly despicable under a beautiful and manipulative facade.

Sense and Sensibility 5*
Pride and Prejudice 5*
Mansfield Park 5*
Persuasion 4*
Northanger Abbey 3.5
Lady Susan 4* (not a fan of epistolary novels, tho this was better than most)
Emma 5*

Emma: I really enjoyed Emma, and I found the characters provided a variety of personalities. Each of them were clearly flawed, which, personally made me feel a deeper connection to them, as they came across as relatable and real. Austen commented that Emma was a character only she would love, and I did find her attitudes and judgement of others grating. However, I do appreciate she did change through the course of the novel, becoming more understanding of others positions and feelings, even though she did retain many aspects of her snobbishness and self-importance. Personally, the lack of a specific plot worked for me, as I found the novel to be able to be more of a study of the characters and their society.

Northanger Abbey: I'm not a huge fan of the gothic genre, so I was really excited to read what is typically billed as a parody of it. I wasn't disappointed, I loved the characters and the dismantling of the traditional gothic tropes. It felt like a very accurate portrayal of friendship and understanding who is truly there for you, and I loved the romance and drama of the ending. Austen's narrative style and tongue in cheek humour when writing about the traditional heroines and novel reading. As I work my way through this collection, I appreciate more and more Austen's style of commentary on society, and even across the centuries, how relatable she makes her characters and the situations they find themselves in.

Pride and Prejudice: This is the Austen story I am most familiar with, and I’ve always loved it. I’ve actually read Pride and Prejudice before, a few years ago but couldn’t really remember it when it came to reading it this time. I loved the characters, they were a perfect balance between the complex histories and personalities of people such as Elizabeth and Darcy, as well as lighter entertainment in Mr Collins. The wittiness of the characters, and the humour in this book really shine through, and you cannot but help be transported into the rooms of Longbourn, Netherfield and Pemberly.

This may not be a "mans" book, but it is a good read. There was a little too much chattiness for my liking at times, but the story resonates with me as it resembles (fondly) my courtship with my wife. I see myself in Mr. Darcy (prideful and not outgoing), and something of my wife in Lizzy (opinionated and strong (and strong headed).

n  Here’s my list of Austen novels, from favourite to least favourite:n

1. Persuasion- My favourite Austen! It is the shortest and the one with the most enduring romance plot. And it is also the one where she attacks society with the most vigour. Not a word is wasted: it is compact and moves quickly.

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”



2. Sense and Sensibility- Two protagonists for the price of one! I didn’t actually know how this one would end, which kept it interesting. The romances are usually quite predictable. Austen also explores ideas of the picturesque and how higher society often pretend to appreciate what they clearly don’t understand. A sharp piece of writing.

“The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!”



3. Northanger Abbey- This was my first Austen. And I loved the way she defended the novel and reading throughout. Though she was an advocate of proper reading and not becoming disengaged from reality to the point where you think your life is a gothic romance. A very amusing read!

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”



4. Pride and Prejudice- Austen is not interested in fleeting moments of heat and sexual lust; she portrays true and lasting romantic attachments, relationships that are strong and real. For her, such things transcend class boundaries, wealth and intelligence. And I enjoyed seeing the characters realise this.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”



5. Emma- Austen attacks society again very strongly here, though I think the novel lacked a real plot driver. It was saved in my estimation by a very compelling heroine who knew exactly what she wanted from life and sought after it. Emma isn’t a woman to be walked over.

“I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control. ”



6. Mansfield Park- What can I say? The only Austen I didn’t give five stars. It was just boring with an absent protagonist. I was glad to finish it.

“I was quiet, but I was not blind.”



n  What do you think? Do you agree with my list? I would love to hear other people'sn

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Insta | Academia

Pride And Prejudice:-

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So the writer states right in the beginning.

That is because while this is assumed to be a romance it is really a very astute picture of society that transcends time and geography and social boundaries and cultures, and applies universally to any place where there are young women at an age ripe to marry without dowries to bring out grooms out of the woods swarming. This is all the more so when the young women in question are not about to while away time with pretense of careers and attempts at education while the men they school and party with are getting ready, or any other subterfuges of societies they belong to.

Marriage is the beginning of the life they are going to lead with homemaking and child rearing and building of social fabric and of future as their occupation, since time immemorial. It can be said to be the most important occupation in the world, and yet few societies make a provision of how the young women can go about securing their life in it, with few structures and storngholds and little if any security.

Jane Austen writes extensively about this in various settings in her works, and offers much light to guide people - not only young women but men and women of all ages - with good counsel. This is her most popular work and most famous one, and with good reason.

It seems like a romance and at some level it is but only after normal intelligent and prudent women - young and old - use decorum and wise counsel added to commonsense. This like other books by the author is about how to live well and safe and be good and decent, sensible and honourable, prudent and not blinded by illusions, and find love and romance and marriage as well.

Often people of a bit less comprehension are likely to make the mistake of a common sort, where they conclude "Elizabeth married Darcy not out of love, but for his money". She - the writer - herself makes a joke of the sort, somewhere along towards the end, but it is clearly a joke for all that. Elizabeth might not have been sighing and fainting with passionate abandon at first sight, but that is because unlike figures of trashy pulp she is a person with a mind and other concerns as well, and for a normal young woman passion does not necessarily come as the blinding flash at first sight any more than it does for - say - a writer or a poet or an artist or a scientist. Which does not reduce the final outcome of a certainty when it does come. Elizabeth married for her conviction of love, respect and rectitude, not for money.

If that were to be true she would not have refused him, or indeed even been off hand, and not fawning or manipulative, even before with all his standoffish behaviour.

But she behaved normally, and refused him with a growing wrath when he proposed - it was not his money, but to begin with the truth of his letter, and then the regard his household had for him, the people who knew him the most, and subsequently his more than civil behaviour towards her relatives who were only middle class, and his obvious attempts to have his sister know her and have her for a friend - these wer the successive steps that changed her more and more.

The final clinching one was of course his taking all the trouble to make amends to the grievous injury caused to her family by his silence, about someone he should have and did not warn people about, and keeping not only silent about it - the efforts he made to make sure about making amends to the injury caused by his reticence - but making sure her uncle would not tell anyone either.

In between was his aunt arriving haughtily to obtain a reassuarance from her to the effect that she would not marry him - which not only made her stubborn but made the three concerned (the two and the aunt) realise that she might be considering it seriously, although his offer had not been left on the table indefinitely.

So if anyone out there still thinks Elizabeth married him for his money - I suppose you did not read the story, really.
............................................................................


Sense and Sensibility:-


This one gives the clash of values characteristic of the writer, with wealth and temptation and opportunity versus rectitude and character and propriety as well as prudence playing the major part. How love itself must give way to rectitude and character is the chief theme, with the obvious lesson that giving way to temptation for now might close the door to happiness, love and future in fact.
............................................................................


Mansfield Park:-


The writer of the universally popular Pride And Prejudice explores another angle of the conflicts of dealing with life as it is dealt out - wealth and relative status, temptation and opportunities, family and relationships, extended family and relatives, and love that never might be attained. Above all are rectitude and character and values, to be never lost whatever the temptation.
..............................................


Emma:-


Perhaps arguably the second most popular of the writer's works vying with Mansfield Park for the title, this one again explores values and conflicts from another angle, with growth of character and perception, and temptation to meddle in social affairs, as the chief theme.

It is more serious than it looks, as is usual with a good deal of her work, where the seemingly most superficial and romantic turns out to be most serious and worthy of note.

More people than would care to acknowledge or admit even to themselves do meddle in affairs of others, especially those of heart, with a fond illusion that they can do good to others and provide their happiness for them. But lacking in perception and maturity and judgement and discrimination they often spoil more than they would like to admit, often ruining lives.

Couples that might change the world with their love are torn asunder by a disapproving bunch of relatives or even religious heads with their "concern" for the "soul" of the one who might bring wonderious gifts but is not one of them (hence the gifts of course), and the miracle that would have been the families and souls generated with such love are nipped in the bud. Of course, it is only the couple that knows the tremendous love and the pain and suffering of being torn asunder, while others merely go about congratulating one another for having averted an unsuitable match with an outsider.

Of course, meddling is not limited to that - couples that could have changed the course of the universe with their love and their gifts combined often get torn apart by meddling others who delude themselves that they were acting in good faith for the betterment of society, and if it is clear they were tormenting a woman or a daughter, well that is what they are for - so they can learn to do the same to others in turn, if so lucky, and so goes the chain. Jackals manage to devour the marriage and the love and even the children on all but physical level.

Meanwhile gifts of heaven go squandered into dust because the couples are either too weak to hold on to each other and to their heavenly gift of creation of a new world, or even worse, because one gets turned against another and hurts until the one hurt is no more, which is when the survivor might realise if lucky of what has been lost, even though it might be too late. Often such realisation awaits death of the one who hurt the other one into death.

None of this happened in Emma - she was lucky, to have good counsel and love guarding her, and her weakness of character of meddling with others nipped in bud and her mistakes of perception corrected by someone wiser and stern about serious faults. She was lucky indeed.
...............................................


Northanger Abbey:-


The not so well to do young woman is taken to a resort by comparatively well to do relatives and is invited by the master of the Northanger Abbey, the father of the young and eligible gentleman who has a mutual attracted to her and courting her, to stay with him and his family, under the impression the she is going to inherit the relatives' money.

The character of this father, the rich owner of the home that is the title, unfolds, and there are confusion, test of virtue and character, and separations and misunderstandings.

The young man however has excellent character and fortunately realises what is what, and love triumphs even without money.
...............................................


Persuasion:-


The most gentle love story from Austen repertoire, with the usual cache of gentle women and men following a normal course of life for their day while falling into easy traps of faults or follies and realising their mistakes and generally rising above, with their counterpart of men and women of small follies or serious faults of character providing examples of how not to be or behave.

Someone (name escapes me, having read this long ago, two decades or more) had once pointed out that in Austen nothing happens page after page and yet one reads it with great interest, and to that one might only add, time after time again and again with the interest not diminished at all. And the most interesting are those of her tales that have the gentlest of stories, characters, et al.

................................................


Lady Susan:-


If one never knew anyone of this sort, one would think the character is entirely invented. At that it is not that uncommon to come across men who deal with their own children, especially daughters, this cruelly or worse, but they are excused or even pressured to be this cruel and admired for it in various cultures (not excepting west or US for that matter) while women are usually this cruel with children of other women, say a lover's wife or a sister in law. But the character therefore is entirely possible, especially in an era when a woman could only obtain wealth and consequence by marriages her own and her relatives'; and the only area she could use her mind however sharp was in fields related to intrigues of social sort, marriages, love affaires, and so on, especially gossip and vile gossip about other women. This unfortunately is what far too many women and even men use their minds for, even now, for sport and not for want of subjects that could use the sharp minds. Sometimes it is the heart of such a gossiper and mud thrower that is at fault seriously in that destroying another person is the pleasure, and use of mind and other facilities is merely a means.

Lady Susan comes as a surprise therefore not because of the subject but the author who chose to write it, since Jane Austen usually is as clear as a sunny day in desert about virtues and vices, and condemning not only the latter but even faults of character that might seem only human today but do lead to follies or tragedies even today often enough unquestionably.

Here Austen chooses the letter form prevalent in her time, and avoids commentary, except in letters of another character, giving equal voice to two opposite characters as it were. The story ends well as all Austen tales do to reward virtue, protect innocent and punish vice or folly only in measure.

A window as always to her time, and informative in that as well.
..............................................................................................

I have ready every Jane Austen book at least ten times. I never get tired of them.