Dear Reader,
I was introduced to Jane Austen (1775-1817) later in life. Austen wasn’t on my high school or undergraduate college curricula (men dominated the lists). But it also never occurred to me to read Austen’s novels on my own. I had been deeply entrenched in heavy Victorian novels since the age of 16 (I thought Victorian fiction made me look cool, but more on that in a future essay). Plus, Charlotte Brontë was critical of Jane Austen’s novels. I allowed her opinion to cloud my judgment against the Austen novels. Years later, I read a fabulous fiction novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler. The main character accidentally wakes up in Regency England and has to live in Jane Austen’s world. The plot is funny, Regency-accurate, and romantic. I don’t know what possessed me to pick it up. I think I liked the time-traveling aspect of it. And it’s this very novel that turned me into a full-blooded Janeite. I promptly read Austen’s novels (some I liked more than others), her letters, and a couple of excellent biographies. I also made my way through all of the adaptations. I owe a debt of gratitude to author Laurie Viera Rigler for introducing me to Jane Austen. (I emailed Ms. Rigler in 2007 to tell her this. She was very warm in her response and sent me a signed bookplate.)
Austen was an astute observer of life and an avid letter writer. In her surviving letters to her beloved sister, Cassandra, she gossiped about family, acquaintances, and English society. She used her observations to write sparkling, witty, entertaining novels that depict contemporary English life.
It’s difficult for me to rank Jane Austen’s excellent novels because I can’t fault her on anything stylistically. Instead, I’ll rank the six novels based on how I feel about the plots.
6.
Mansfield Park is my least favorite novel. Published in 1814, Mansfield Park is Austen’s heaviest novel, in terms of plot and themes. Slavery hovers in the background and adultery simmers in the air. The plot follows Fanny Price. As a young girl, Fanny is sent to live with relatives because her large family is too poor to take care of her. Her well-off relatives raise her, but she isn’t treated very kindly. While she is a part of this family, she never really belongs to them. This is made obvious throughout the novel. Mansfield Park is a story of finding your place in the world, finding love, and trying to not let outside immoral forces tackle you. Admittedly, one of the reasons I’m not fond of this novel is because it involves romantic love between first cousins.
5.
When it comes to Emma, published in 1815, Austen said: “I'm going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” Emma Woodhouse is rich and independent. It’s this freedom that guides her actions because, unlike Austen’s other heroines, Emma’s livelihood does not depend on finding a suitable man to marry. But Emma is a heroine who can’t seem to mind her business. She meddles in the affairs of others, going as far as attempting to play matchmaker. Her actions lead to many misunderstandings and awkward encounters. But despite Austen’s assertion, I find Emma likable. She means well and nothing is ever ill-intentioned. While not my favorite — I’ve only read it once and listened to a narration by Emma Thompson — it’s a good novel with a compelling plot for those who are looking to add more Austen to their reading lists.
4.
Sense and Sensibility (published in 1811) is the story of two sisters on the brink of destitution. Their very livelihood (and that of their widowed mother and 13-year-old sister Margaret) depends on finding suitable men to marry after their late father’s son cuts them out of the will and does not give them much money to live on. One sister, Marianne, is passionate and romantic; she’s the Sensibility from the book’s title. The other sister, Elinor, is Sense. Elinor is the sister who is capable of rational thought. She worries about the future, economizes to survive in their new life, and attempts to help her small family adapt to this new life. It’s an excellent novel with many memorable (and hilarious) characters. But there is also a sinister backstory that jeopardizes the future of one of the sisters. Luckily, this is an Austen novel so everything ends well. I enjoyed reading this novel very much.
3.
Pride and Prejudice (published in 1813) sparkles as a novel. Filled with wit and charm, it has unforgettable characters. Even if you haven’t read it or any of the other Austen novels, you’ve probably heard of Austen’s most famous hero, Mr. Darcy. This story follows the relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. It’s the original Enemies to Lovers trope. It’s fun to read and fun to watch the various adaptations.
2.
Northanger Abbey (published posthumously in 1817) is a fun satire on the gothic novel which was incredibly popular in Austen’s day. Austen used this novel to poke fun at the contemporary obsession with gothic novels. The heroine, Catherine Morland, is obsessed with gothic novels. Unfortunately, her imagination runs wild. This novel has abbeys, secrets, sinister intentions, and ridiculous characters meant to make you laugh. The town of Bath is also a main character. This novel has one of my favorite Austen heroes, Mr. Tilney. Northanger Abbey rarely makes it in the top three for most readers, but to me, it’s a gem of a novel.
1.
Persuasion is my favorite novel. It was published in 1817, posthumously. Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. Anne was persuaded not to marry Wentworth. Her family did not believe he would succeed in life. Against her better judgment, she took this advice and parted ways with Wentworth. But success he did find. Wentworth becomes rich from the Napoleonic wars and returns home as a hero. The novel begins seven years after their parting when they unexpectedly meet again. It’s a wonderful romance with one of the most romantic letters ever written in fiction. It’s also a comical tale; the Elliot family, apart from Anne, is ridiculous. Her father is vain and lazy. One of Anne’s sisters thinks far too highly of herself while another sister is a hypochondriac. It’s completely comical. I still laugh out loud when I read some of Mr. Elliot’s dialogue. It’s also one of the most romantic novels with two likable main characters. Anne, who spent the past seven years suffering in silence, has a quiet perseverance, a strong moral compass, and a kind heart. One of my favorite novels ever written, bar none.
How would you rank the Austen novels?
Can you guess which first lines belong to which Jane Austen novel? I’ll leave the answers in the comment section.
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.”
“Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed.”
“About thirty years ago Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet’s lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
“No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine. Her situation in life, the character of her father and mother, her own person and disposition, were all equally against her.”
“The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex. Their estate was large, and their residence was at Norland Park, in the centre of their property, where, for many generations, they had lived in so respectable a manner as to engage the general good opinion of their surrounding acquaintance.”
How did you do on the quiz?
1. Emma
2. Persuasion
3. Mansfield Park
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Northanger Abbey
6. Sense and Sensibility
Firstly, the quiz is too easy, too many clues! I think you should pick random sentences, from say, page 35 of each of the books, and see if the true fans can still identify them!
Nice piece, thank you! I adore Austen. I find it really hard to rank them, but I agree that Mansfield Park is my least favourite - I desperately wanted Fanny to marry Henry Crawford and save him. I think she could have done. Also, when I went back to Northanger Abbey recently I got so much more out of it than I did when I was younger - it is so clever and funny. Just last week I was describing to my husband the scene when Catherine is whisked away in the carriage just as she sees Henry Tilney coming round the corner, and we were both laughing so much! I love the letter scene in Persuasion, and every time we go to Lyme Regis, I have to say, 'Don't show me where Monmouth landed, show me where Louisa Musgrove fell off the Cobb' (original source? I can't remember). But Willoughby sweeping Marianne up in his arms was a romantic fantasy that powered my teenage years - it's too hard to choose!