Looking forward to the book club…how can one not be charmed completely by Emma? The first page was enough for me to say, “oh I get why Austen is a master.” Then I read Persuasion and really got it! The “fluff” is my favorite part, I think
Your early response, Oliver, to Emma reminds me of mine to Northanger Abbey. But likely, mine had more to do with maturity than yours to Emma did. Regardless, now I’ve matured several decades and have not, perhaps, so much of Catherine in myself, I find it more interesting. Still not my favorite but more interesting, and ironic, certainly.
Thank you for offering this Jane Austen reading group. In this, the 250th birthday celebratory year, there's going to be a lot of focus on bonnets & balls and so I'm counting on the Common Reader for a bit of academic literary rigour, and I've got myself a substack profile to follow the action. Happy New Year, Henry.
Spot on. The stories are perfectly pleasant on film, but her genius is brightest at the level of the sentence and must be experienced that way.
exactly
Reading Austen is like having a layer of skin removed, she is so sharp and perceptive in her irony, it flays.
The older I get, the sharper I find it.
Great post. Mansfield Park is the masterpiece but Persuasion makes your soul sing.
Thanks! I cannot *wait* to re-read MP!
Looking forward to the book club…how can one not be charmed completely by Emma? The first page was enough for me to say, “oh I get why Austen is a master.” Then I read Persuasion and really got it! The “fluff” is my favorite part, I think
I no longer think there is any fluff, I was just wrong about that
Your early response, Oliver, to Emma reminds me of mine to Northanger Abbey. But likely, mine had more to do with maturity than yours to Emma did. Regardless, now I’ve matured several decades and have not, perhaps, so much of Catherine in myself, I find it more interesting. Still not my favorite but more interesting, and ironic, certainly.
I’m looking forward to joining in.
very much not my favourite either but perhaps I will find it different this time
Thank you for offering this Jane Austen reading group. In this, the 250th birthday celebratory year, there's going to be a lot of focus on bonnets & balls and so I'm counting on the Common Reader for a bit of academic literary rigour, and I've got myself a substack profile to follow the action. Happy New Year, Henry.