Love and Freindship

Love and Freindship

by Jane Austen

★★★★

At this point I’ve read and reread all of Austen’s novels. Each time I dive into her work I discover new things to reflect upon. This was my first foray into her juvenilia and I was surprised to find her sharp wit and sense of humor were already developed. She clearly improved her character and plot development with age, but these early works still have her tone.

I’d already read Lady Susan, which is included her, but the rest was new to me. I have to say the Penguin Clothbound Classics edition was excellent. The introduction includes information about the pieces in the book and Austen’s life, which provides context and depth.

"A remarkable feature of the juvenilia is its ability to subvert limitations imposed on young women, especially in the field of education."

Each of the tales focuses more on a single plot point than on character development. There's the girl who accidentally gotten engaged to two different men, and then commits suicide because she felt so bad. Another flirts at a ball and is scandalized. There are also quite a few glimpses of her later novels. In "From a Young Lady crossed in Love to her freind" we meet a young woman who is overwhelmed with heartbreak when she is betrayed by a man named Willoughby, just like Sense and Sensibility.

Austen’s sense of humor is particularly obvious in “The History of England”. She declares it is written by "a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant Historian". It includes lines like…

"During his reign, Lord Cobham was burnt alive, but I forget what for."

Her dedications at the beginning of each story became one of my favorite parts of the book. They’re intentionally overly serious and very amusing.

BOTTOM LINE: Austen’s juvenilia is playful and fun, but it also shows the promise of the writer that she will become. I loved having the chance to learn more about one of my favorite authors through her early work. A must for any true Austen fan!

Jane Austen Cover to Cover

Jane Austen 
Cover to Cover:
200 Years of Classic Book Covers 
by Margaret C. Sullivan 
★★★★★ 

I have a feeling that most people already know if they are going to like this book or not. You aren’t going to have very many people who hate Jane Austen debating on whether or not to pick up a copy. But for those of us who love her work, this collection is an absolute delight!   

I knew the book would have dozens of different covers of her work from over the years, but I wasn’t expecting the intricate background information it included. From Austen’s personal history to the path of publication of her novels, Sullivan provides some wonderful details. She walks us through all the different editions that were released, the peaks and valleys of Austen’s population over the past two centuries and more.

 

The photos of the covers themselves are obviously the main attraction. There have been so many different versions of the books and this tome doesn’t even include all of them. I loved seeing how different design trends affected the versions that were released in each decade. 

One of my favorite aspects is the author's snarky comments about some of the more melodramatic covers. I’ll admit that if I’d seen some of those cover before reading the books, I might have developed a distaste for Austen without ever trying her work!  Sullivan also includes pulled quotes from the novels and Jane Austen's letters, which was lovely. In one of her letters Austen refers to the books as her “children.”     

BOTTOM LINE: Just gorgeous, the book is beautifully done and is a must for any true Janeites' bookshelves.

*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Back to the Classics 2012 - Completed!

Woo hoo, I finished the Back to the Classics Challenge! I love this one because it gives me a chance to discover new classics in a ton of categories. It's hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much each year and I hope she does it again next year!

Here's my list and links to my reviews:

1) Any 19th Century Classic: Moby Dick and Bleak House

2) Any 20th Century Classic: Cold Comfort Farm (1935)

3) Reread a classic of your choice: Sense and Sensibility

4) A Classic Play: A Streetcar Named Desire

5) Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction: The Sign of Four and The Stand

6) Classic Romance: My Antonia

7) Read a Classic that has been translated from its original language to your language: The Count of Monte Cristo

8) Classic Award Winner - The Yearling (won the Pulitzer in 1939)

9) Read a Classic set in a Country that you will not visit during your lifetime: Villette (set in the fictional city of Villette)

Austen in August

I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone who is a regular reader here that I love Jane Austen. I’ve read all six of her completed novels and in the past few years I’ve begun re-reading them. I’ve also read Jane Austen fan fiction and biographies of her. I’m just a fan.

So when Adam at Roof Beam Reader announced he was hosting an Austen Event in August I couldn’t help myself, I signed up. I just finished re-reading S&S, but I was already planning on reading one of her unfinished books later this year. I’m planning on definitely reading Lady Susan for the event and possibly Sandition as well.

Here are a few reviews of some of her other work that I’ve read:
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Persuasion
The Watsons

Austen-inspired Books:
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
The Jane Austen Handbook 

Check out the details and join the fun here.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen
★★★★★

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters but their temperaments are wildly different. Marianne is full of fire and enthusiasm while Elinor is more reserved and logical. Despite this the two sisters are devoted to one another. When their father dies and they find themselves moving into a new cottage with their mother and younger sister they must find a balance between their divergent natures as they fall in love.

At its heart, S&S is a book about the relationship between sisters. You love them, you want to protect them and you want them to be happy, but often there’s no one more different from you. There is romance, but it takes a back seat to the unique bond shared by the Dashwood sisters.

SPOLIERS
Like all of Austen’s novels, there are some wonderfully funny characters and others that it’s a joy to despise (I’m looking at you Lucy Steele). The book also as one of the most heartbreaking love stories, Marianne and Willoughby, and one of the sweetest romantic scenes, when Elinor and Edward finally get together after she’s convinced he’s already married. Austen had an incredibly gift for making her readers fall in love with her characters.
SPOLIERS OVER

I think the reason this book resonated so much with me when I first read it, (10 years ago) and now again as a reread, is because I see my own relationship with my sister in this book. She met her husband and a year later, at age 20, she got married. Now, ten years later she has four kids. She’s not a fan of planning or traveling. She’s late everywhere she goes, she doesn’t like to read and she has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. She’s incredibly sweet and hates fighting with anyone.

I on the other hand, met my husband and we dated for 9 years before getting married. We’ve been married for 2 ½ years and we’re still not ready for kids. I have traveled to 12 countries and obviously love reading. I’m a type A planner and can be very confrontational if I’ve got an issue with someone. In other words, we have polar opposite personalities.

I identified with this book because despite our differences, we love each other so much. Like Elinor and Marianne, we don’t necessarily understand the other’s life choices, but we respect them and support them.

BOTTOM LINE: I love Austen’s work and this one is no exception. Though the plot certainly includes love stories; the passionate Willoughby, pining Col. Brandon and loyal Edward; the real story is about the relationship between the sisters. The unconditional love they share defies their differences. It’s a beautiful reminder to readers that sometimes the things that set us apart as individuals are the very elements that make our relationships stronger. We should learn from our friends and family member’s strengths and weaknesses instead of criticizing them.
 
“Elinor was to be the comforter of others in her own distresses, no less than in theirs; and all the comfort that could be given by assurances of her own compose of mind, and a very earnest vindication of Edward from every change but of imprudence, was readily offered.”

“I have frequently detected myself in such kind of mistakes,” said Elinor, “in a total misapprehension of character in some point or other: fancying people so much more gay or grave, or ingenious or stupid than they really are, and I can hardly tell why or in what the deception originated. Sometimes one is guided by what other people say of them, without giving oneself time to deliberate and judge.”
 
“Between them no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over.”
 

p.s. I read the new Bath Bicentennial edition and it is gorgeous! 

 

p.p.s. If you've never seen the 1995 film version of the book (starring Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson) go see it immediately! It's one of my absolute favorites.