Classics > Jane Austen Classics > by Title (First Letter)

Advantages: Austen's sharp, irreverent wit and keen eye already evident in the young writer.
Disadvantages: Too short!

At the tender age of sixteen, Jane Austen ("Pride and Prejudice", "Emma" etc.) set upon writing her own version of the history of England. Oh, dear reader, we should all be so glad that she did, for today we can enjoy her delightful parody of the history of the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, the Stuarts and the Tudors. Witness the simultaneously self-important and self-mocking title page of the work: "THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND From the Reign of Henry ...
...Miss Austen, eldest daughter of the Revd. George Austen, this Work is inscribed with all due respect by The Author N.B. There will be very few Dates in this History" And thus, the tone of the book is set. Jane was inspired by Oliver Goldsmith's gravely serious, 4-volume "History of England", a set of books that was required reading for every English child at the time. Yes, Jane's version is chock-full of inaccuracies, illogicalities and personal ... Read review

Advantages: for a true austin fan you need completeness!
Disadvantages: a fragment and a juvenillia

...of the back Lady Susan is a 'juvenillia' - a minor work by the immature Austin. It is written in the form of letters between the major charactors, a popular device at the time and I believe how PnP was originally conceived. However as Austin seems to have realised this does place a certain amount of constraint on the possibilities of plot as it relies on at least 2 charactors at all times being only able to communicate by letter, but not prevented ...
...and in the character of Lady Susan you can see, perhaps a forrunner of Emma. The plot itself is fairly conventional but what makes it stand out is that most of the letters, and hence view point, are written by Lady Susan the 'villan' of the piece. The Whartons is merely a fragment a couple of chapters long, incomplete at the time of Austin's death. It certainly seems to have had the potential to rival the rest of her work, but because of this it ... Read review

Advantages: clearly written, wonderful characters
Disadvantages: a little unbelievable

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was my introduction to the so called Classics. Having studied a few Dickens at school, I wasn't really that impressed, but a chance purchase of this book changed my mind. A classic romantic novel, Mr Darcy meets Elizabeth Bennett and begins to fall in love. However, she dislikes him, allowing herself to be influenced by how others think of him, and by some out right falsehoods from a friend. When she rejects his ...
...sisters actions threaten to bring disgrace to the whole family... I wont spoil the rest! If you have seen the BBC version, or seen the film, then you should definately read this book, so much is missed out, it really is worth the effort. Elizabeth Bennett is a brilliant character, and in many ways Austen was far ahead of her time, creating a character who knows her own mind, and won't simply go along with what others would have her do if it doesnt ... Read review

Advantages: Witty, brilliant characters
Disadvantages: Quite lengthy, as predictable as any other love story

Emma makes for superb reading, better in my opinion than Austen's rather more popular Pride and Prejudice. Austen writes, as always, with great wit and puts forward a rather tongue-in-cheek insight into the life of a young woman, very conscious of social order and hierarchy, whose failed attempts at match-making and trying to understand the relationships between the people around her lead her to realise that she cannot ever comprehend the ways of ...
...Emma contains some excellent characters, my favourites being the talkative Miss Bates, who, although irritating is depicted as very worthy, humble and grateful to those of better social standing than herself and is overall a truly endearing character, and the repulsive Mrs Elton whose puffed up view of herself makes her perfectly detestable. I would always recommend Jane Austen as an excellent example of period romance writing, and Emma is the favourite ... Read review

Advantages: Enjoyable use of language, and interesting changes in central character
Disadvantages: May be less appealing to people wanting faster pace

Driving fom Norfolk to the Midlands on a dull Sunday afternoon, with the car radio fixed on BBC Radio 4 and unable to switch over in case it woke my (sleeping) partner in the passenger seat, I was mesmerised by the first instalment of their production of this book. So much so that I had to rush out and buy a copy, reading it avidly and recalling the embarrassment of my own callow youth - mistakes made, divided loyalties, unconscious growth of personality ...
...intricacies of growing up are truly timeless, as is the author's perception of character, and I certainly enjoyed this novel. Maybe not for everyone, some of the language/situations being a little outdated, but that need not get in the way of the story. "Plain Jane" Catherine grows up unspoilt, given an opportunity to mix in appropriate society (= marriage market), makes first "real" friend, meets "TDH" Henry, friend's family overplay Catherine's ... Read review