I don't own this set of leatherbound. I do have the complete works in one bound volume, though. I LOVE Jane Austin. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. Then Emma and Sense & Sensibility, then Mansfield Park, then Persuasion and Northanger Abby.

Jane Austen, ovvero... il Romanzo
Partiamo dall'edizione: oltre ad avere l'indubbio vantaggio di essere decisamente economica (14 euro per sei romanzi non è male), si presenta anche bene: copertina rigida, un interessante (per quanto breve) saggio introduttivo e addirittura una filmografia e un elenco dei siti Web dedicati alla Austen e alla sue opere.
Per quanto riguarda le traduzioni, un paio (quelle di Emma e di Persuasione, per essere precisi) mi hanno dato l'impressione di perdersi in certi passaggi, resi in maniera troppo contorta rispetto ad altre edizioni che mi è capitato di sfogliare. Si tratta comunque di un fenomeno circoscritto ad alcuni passi dei due romanzi citati, per il resto sono contenta dell'acquisto e, soprattutto, di aver finalmente letto l'opera omnia (Juvenilia a parte) dell'autrice che tanto mi aveva incantato con Orgoglio e Pregiudizio.
Ognuno di questi romanzi, a suo modo (anche se con alcuni alti e bassi), è un piccolo (o grande) capolavoro. L'aspetto più incredibile è come la Austen abbia il potere di ammaliarci narrando alla fine di avvenimenti comuni, quotidiani, che non hanno proprio nulla (o pochissimo) di straordinario. Le sue eroine non vivono avventure o casi particolarmente drammatici, al contrario: conducono tutte la medesima, monotona esistenza (che poi era quella condotta da Jane Austen stessa): un'infinita processione di balli, pranzi, tè, visite, pettegolezzi, piccoli scandali, qualche viaggio di piacere e relazioni amorose più o meno coronate dal successo. E quindi? Come mai questi romanzi e queste eroine così poco eroiche hanno ancora oggi tanti estimatori? Cosa li rende così speciali?
L'ironia, in primo luogo. Quello sguardo lucido e divertito con cui l'autrice analizza e prende in giro la propria classe di appartenenza (pur senza metterne in discussione i valori di base), e in particolar modo le stravaganze e i difetti di molti dei suoi appartenenti. Ma questo da solo non sarebbe sufficiente a spiegare il fenomeno. Quale interesse potrebbero rivestire, infatti, per noi lettori moderni, le abitudini e le bizzarrie dei borghesi e degli aristocratici inglesi di due secoli or sono? Quello che rende la Austen grande, e i suoi romanzi universali, è che nel dipingere l'ambiente che conosceva così bene ha finito per descrivere dei caratteri e delle figure che vanno al di là del contingente. Gli ipocriti, gli adulatori, gli ignoranti, i superbi, i boriosi, i pusillanime, gli invandenti, gli indiscreti, gli avidi... tutti costoro camminano ancora per il mondo e sempre lo faranno, e siccome tutto il mondo (e il tempo) è paese, basterà darci uno sguardo intorno per riconoscere i Wickham e i Collins, le signore Bennet e le signore Norris, i signori Woodhouse e le Lady Catherine, le Mary e gli Henry Crawford, le Miss Bates e via dicendo. Così come riconosceremo sentimenti e situazioni che, a quanto pare, si ripetono sempre uguali. Passando dalle figure di secondo piano ai protagonisti, viene fuori la caratteristica fondamentale della Austen: la sua incredibile bravura nell'analisi dell'animo e dei sentimenti umani. I protagonisti di questi libri (le protagoniste, in particolare) sono personaggi a tutto tondo, con una psicologia profonda e complessa. L'autrice indaga, scandaglia, spiega caratteri, stati d'animo e azioni con tutta la perizia e la lucidità di una vera figlia del secolo dei lumi. Che le giovani lettrici (messe fuori strada da certe edizioni apparse di recente) non si lascino infatti ingannare: Jane Austen era una razionalista, non una romantica. Credeva nei sentimenti, ma anche nella ferma necessità che questi fossero temperati dal senno e dalla prudenza. Come ebbe a dire qualcuno, aveva troppo buon senso per essere una romantica!

I read all six of Jane Austen's books this year for the Austen Anonymous Readalong and in general I enjoyed every single one for very different reasons.

Since this is a bind up, I'm not entirely sure how I want to do this, but I think I'll just break it down generally for each book.

In January, I read Northanger Abbey. This was my first time reading it and I enjoyed it, but after reading all of Austen's novels, I can say it's not my favorite. For Austen's first novel it was fun, but compared to some of her other works, it's not her strongest. This is a parody/satire on gothic romance novels and I really loved that aspect of the plot. I found Catherine to be a delightful protagonist, despite her naivete. I loved her arc throughout the novel and the romance was fun to read about. All in all a solid Austen book, but not my favorite.

In February, I read Sense and Sensibility. Once again this was my first time reading this novel and I loved it so much. Marianne and Elinor were delightful protagonists and I loved their dynamic so much. Willoughby is forever the worst and I hate him. He's just absolutely despicable. I loved how adorably awkward Edward was and I really liked Colonel Brandon. I just found everything about this book to be delightful and honestly relatable.

In March, I read (or I should say reread) Pride and Prejudice and of course I loved it. This was only my second time rereading it, but it's a story I've come to know really well. Lizzie and Darcy are iconic and I absolutely adore them. Always. I still can't stand Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Bennet got on my nerves a bit too. This time around I found myself really focusing on Jane and Bingley's storyline more. In a way the novel really is all about them. And it's interesting to me that people say P&P is super romantic, but really that's not what the novel is about. Still I loved and will always love P&P and I had a lovely time rereading it this time.

In April, I read Mansfield Park for the first time and it's definitely not my favorite of the lot. I literally hated every single character except for Fanny. I honestly just wanted her to be happy. I liked the play aspect quite a bit though. I found the ending to be frustrating and rushed in a way. But I really did love Fanny and found her to be relatable in a way. So while it wasn't my favorite, it was interesting nonetheless.

In May, I read (or I should say reread) Emma. Emma is the one that was the freshest in my mind since I read it for the first time at the end of last year. Emma is such a frustrating character, but I always find the dynamic between her and Harriet to be very interesting. I also love Mr. Knightley. He's definitely one of my absolute favorite Austen heroes. I do really enjoy watching Emma's growth throughout the novel though and it's fun to see all the trouble she gets into, even if it's also insanely frustrating. This time I noticed the mentions of the age gap between Emma and Knightley a lot more and I just didn't like that much. I love the ending of Emma a lot and getting to see her and Knightley post-engagement is just a delight. Definitely one I have mixed feelings on, but so enjoyable to read regardless.

Finally, in June, I read (reread) Persuasion and I think it's safe to say that for now, it's taken my top spot for favorite Austen novel. I love Anne so much and understood her motivations completely. She's got a subtle snark to her that I love and the PINING ANGST is just delightful! I also adore Captain Wentworth and I also understand where he's coming from. I loved watching his interactions with everyone around him and the jealousy was also delightful for me to read as well. I didn't really hate anyone in this novel, I really understood where most of them were coming from. That's not to say they didn't get grating at times, they absolutely did, but I just loved everything about it. And the ending of this book always destroys me. It's SO GOOD. Definitely one of my favorites and one I'll reread in the future.

So to recap briefly. My ranking as of June 2020 is as follows:
1.) Persuasion
2.) Pride and Prejudice
3.) Sense and Sensibility
4.) Emma
5.) Northanger Abbey
6.) Mansfield Park

My Hero Rankings are:
1.) Darcy (I'm basic)
2.) Wentworth
3.) Knightley
4.) Edward
5.) Henry
5.) Edmund

Heroine ranking varies.

All in all I really enjoyed my read/reareads of all of these and if you haven't picked up any Jane Austen before, I strongly urge you to as her works are timeless and still relevant to today in all kinds of ways.

TW/CW for the novels generally: mentions of slavery, derogatory words for different groups (Romani is an example of one group), loss of family members, depictions of illness and severe injury, mention of nonconsensual relationship, parental abandonment, mentions of underage preganancy. (If anyone wants specifics as to which books any of these belong to, let me know.).

Making my way through all seven Jane austen novels. So far, Pride and Prejudice is still my favorite.

Nonostante non sia un'amante dei genere adoro come scrive la Austen. È un po' pesante, ma rende il romanticismo di queste storie non troppo sdolcinato, ma comunque abbastanza intenso da far battere il cuore!
La lettura, come già detto, è stata leggermente pesante, dato anche il diverso stile di scrittura rispetto ai romanzi di oggi.
L'unica pecca è stata, per me, Mansfield Park, che ho trovato veramente difficile finire perché troppo noioso per me!

Orgoglio e Pregiudizio: 4/5
Ragione e Sentimento: 3.5-4/5
Persuasione: 3.5-4/5
Northanger Abbey: 4.5/5

A great set of books and a great deal !....

If you're a Jane Austen fan and want a complete and elegant-looking collection in your library, definitely give this one a shot!.

This set is perfect for every Jane Austen fan out there. The font is the perfect size, the covers are beautiful, page quality is amazing and it comes with all the six books.

(1) Pride And Prejudice
(2) Sense And Sensibility
(3) Mansfield Park
(4) Emma
(5) Persuasion
(6) Northanger Abbey

I love Jane Austen! True, the book has no real story, and Emma is fairly despicable in so many ways, but still, having just read it for my second or third time, I again could not wait for her to realize her true love was (the much, much older, almost like a brother) Mr. Knightly and for them to fall hopelessly in love. And in between I loved the humor, the beauty of the writing and pure honesty when it came to the ridiculousness of the elitism.

RAGIONE E SENTIMENTO:
Mi ripromettevo da anni di cominciare a leggere qualche classico delle grandi scrittrici della letteratura inglese dell'800, e Ragione e sentimento è il mio primo.
Che dire, delicato, affascinante, completo. Mi sono innamorata dello stile di Jane Austen, Dell'ambientazione inglese, dei panorami, dei personaggi. Credo che farò una pausa riflessiva e andrò avanti con piacere a leggere i suoi romanzi.

Voto: 8/10

Jane Austen è in assoluto la mia scrittrice preferita...Partendo da Orgoglio e Pregiudizio con gli indimenticabili Elisabeth e Darcy,a Ragione e Sentimento con Marianne e Elinor,per poi passare per Mansfield Park (forse un po noioso),arrivando all'organizzatrice di matrimoni Emma,e alla paurosa Catherine Morland nella presa in giro del gotico,per finire con Persuasione,con la storia a lieto fine di Anne...Bellissimi,mi fanno venir voglia di tornare in quell'epoca...

What can be said? I am still a fan of Mansfield Park and Persuasion especially. Pride and Prejudice is unbeatable -- and, finally, after many years, I have been convinced that the BBC series is pretty good. I have been reading Austen many decades.

I had a high school English teacher who loved Austen and was saving one novel to keep looking forward to. I have always wondered whether she managed to get it read.

**Content Warnings at the end of each novel section**


After an impulse purchase in the middle of 2024, I decided that I wanted to start 2025 by addressing a literary blind spot, Jane Austen’s works. I am not a huge classics reader aside from Jane Eyre, which is one of my favorite books, and knew very little about Austen outside of what anyone can pick up via osmosis via popular media. I couldn’t have told you what the plot of any one of these novels was, aside from Pride and Prejudice as it is the one most adapted and Mansfield Park which I read during a Women in Literature course in college. As Austen still influences literature and adaptations to this day, I figured it would make sense to finall read the original texts. Hence, Jane-uary was born (thanks Amy for the perfect name). As people much smarter than I have written whole dissertations on Austen’s work, I am not going to write whole reviews for each novel. Instead, I am just to give some quick thoughts on each novel.


Sense and Sensibility


While Sense and Sensibility is part of the common vernacular, I had no idea what the plot of this book actually contained. What I didn’t expect was that this to be more of a story between Elinor and Marianne than a focus on the romances of the two women. Through various miscommunications, we see Elinor and Marianne navigate the attachments and disappointments known to women of a certain class. Austen’s satire about the landed gentry is done in making everyone in this novel seeming rather silly and self important. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Elinor was one of my favorite heroines (though I think Anne takes that spot) because she is consistent, sometimes to a fault, must shoulder the burden of an emotional mother and sister and the inconsistency of everyone around her with grace and decorum. While I was happy with the happily ever after that we were given, I am still at a loss of how Marianne and Colonel Brandon became a couple besides they were in the same place for a long period of time. I am hoping some of the adaptations will flush this relationship out as in the novel there is not a single recorded conversation between Marianne and the Colonel. The warm feelings I had at the end of this novel were unexpected and it sits high in my feelings. Willoughby can absolutely choke and deserves only bad things.


**Content Warnings**


Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death of parent, Death, Medical content


Pride and Prejudice


How I have lived 33 years on this planet without seeing a single Pride and Prejudice adaptation should probably be a record of some sort. Still, I knew most of the plot beats of this novel via osmosis and enjoyed reading through this novel for the first time. This was the first novel that I tandem read along with audio and really helped the reading experience for me. While I found every character in Sense and Sensibility a little silly, Pride and Prejudice are more well-rounded characters, but it makes the silly characters stand out more. Now, I know that there have been many words devoted to the protection of Mrs. Bennet, but I found her rather annoying on page. I think seeing these characters may help with some of the eyerolling I did while reading about them. The romance between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was fun even though I knew everything that was going to happen. It was also interesting to see the blueprint from animosity to romance that so many people still try to follow, with mixed success. He changes himself due to what she said and therefore makes himself worthy of her. They also have multiple conversations on page, which is a huge benefit from Sense and Sensibility. Austen’s comments on the state of a women’s predicament if she does not marry was also very evident in every woman in this novel from Mrs. Bennet to Miss Bingley.


**Content Warnings**


Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Incest, Death of parent, War

Mansfield Park


As the only Austen work that I had read before, I expected to be happily back at Mansfield Park and returning to well trodden paths. To my surprise, my return to Mansfield Park made me think much worse of the heroine Fanny. This tale almost reads as a fable with the lesson at the end is that if you are quiet, good, and constant, eventually your clergymen cousin will be insulted by the woman he truly loves and eventually will marry you. Fanny is such a passive character that Miss Crawford is more memorable than she is. Fanny doesn’t do anything to achieve her own happiness and even when she is attempting not to get engaged, she does it in such a timid way as to not completely make the man realize there is no chance. In fact, I liked Mr. Crawford’s change in character up and to the issue that causes everyone’s fortunes to change for the worst, besides Fanny. The Crawford siblings are, by far, the most interesting characters in the novel and I would have been more interested in following them. True, they are troublemakers and inconsistent, but at least they do something. The main frame work reminds me a lot of Jane Eyre, Fanny being set apart form her cousins and treated as inferior, but in a much less bleak way. Unfortunately while Jane is known to not be good looking, but strong in spirit, Fanny is pretty but barely says a word to anyone about anything. Expect Edward because he has “shaped her thoughts and feelings”. We are not going to get into all of the issues with that. While this is my least favorite of the novels, I didn’t dislike my time reading it. It is just not one I will be returning to any time soon. This was my least favorite of them all.


**Content Warnings**
Incest, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Slavery, Colonisation, Child death, Alcoholism


Emma


I can see how this might be some people’s least favorite novel and how many people find Emma an unlikeable character, but honestly, I adore her. I think the reason she did not bother me is because Austen very deftly shows that Emma is being impertinent and silly without making her a comical character. Without hitting you over the head, Austen shows the reader that all the conclusions that Emma jumps to are incorrect, even though she doesn’t seem them. Sometimes this is done via Mr. Knightly and other times in the prose itself. It was easy to see everything Austen had learned writing her previous novels as the romance between Emma and Mr.Knightly had a lot of build-up on the page (Ignore the age difference if you will). Emma is proud and thinks she is smarter than she actually is, but who couldn’t say that about themselves at 21 years old. She is also alone with people who do nothing but praise her and nothing to engage her overactive imagination. Is Emma my favorite heroine or someone I would want to be friends with, no, but I love her and will defend her with my last breath.




The supporting characters, even those who were annoying, were in the novel just enough to give them character without be too annoying like some of the previous novels. The incident on the lane was uncomfortable to read with a modern lens, slurs and all, but this was written many years ago. It doesn’t make it right, but it isn’t as if the scene was written in 2024. Much like Sense and Sensibility, I have such warm feelings when I finished this novel. I really want to watch an adaptation because I can see this being very comical visually.


**Content Warnings**


Classism, Sexism, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy


Northanger Abbey


I find it very interesting that this was the first novel that Austen wrote, even though it wasn’t published until after her death, because of how strong the authorial voice is. Multiple time the narrator cuts in with her thoughts on books, publishing, women’s plight, and numerous other topics. I really enjoyed it, but it really set it apart from all the other Austen novels. I’ve seen some people say that this novel as Juvenile, but I liked the wonder and overactive imagination that Catherine has. Yes, she seems young, but she is sheltered and only eighteen years old. The scene in the Abbey when she scares herself with her own fanciful imaginations was so relatable that I hold Catherine in a special place in my heart. Henry was one of the most likable heroes (though Frederick Wentworth takes the top spot) because even though his father wanted him to throw himself at Catherine via false information, he was always kind and gentlemanly to her. Also I loved that Austen showcased the difference between a good female friendship and a toxic one.




**Content Warnings**


Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Classism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Murder, Adult/minor relationship


Persuasion


The last novel of those completed by Jane Austen and it ended up being my favorite. This is the type of second chance romance that gives me life, separated by external forces and then brought back together to find that they still love each other. When done right, I eat those romances up every time. Anne is the perfect mixture of overlooked and timid with having a backbone and doing what is needed to secure her own happiness. Frederick Wentworth is not perfect, his ego and emotions were hurt, but he wasn’t so prideful to spur Anne forever and let himself even be jealous when she is given notice by someone else. There is no playing with emotions for others, just others being interested in them. I think that this novel is the most focused on the romance compared to all the others, after the beginning of the novel when they are talking about the financial woes of Sir Walter. I just, I really loved Anne and Fredrick so much, the letter at the end. Yes, please.




**Content Warnings**


Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fatphobia, War, Death, Grief


Overall, this was a great way to spend a cold and gloomy January. I am happy that I finally got to reading these novels and see myself revisiting them again and again. If I had to give them a rating right now it would be Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. That being said, even Mansfield Park was a 3.5 star. This collection is a five-star all together because what else could it possibly be?