Kevin's Watch

Just a couple of weeks ago I finally finished reading my first Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice.

I was a reluctant reader at first, it seemed very "chick-lit", all manners and superficiality, albeit well written, but the scene where

Spoiler

Elizabeth turns down Darcy's hand in marriage

was brilliant, and I was captivated from that moment on. In P&P Austen has a wonderful grasp of character, and her wit and charm throughout the novel is a joy to read. She writes very attractive female heroines too!

Which of Austen's novels should I read next? Emma?

Damn, where's LoreMaster when you need him? Maybe somebody else could recommend something.

--A

duke wrote:I was a reluctant reader at first, it seemed very "chick-lit", all manners and superficiality, albeit well written

For me, it is a wonderful portrayal of my favourite era and has excellent writing. Well said, duke.

But you didn't recommend something for him.

--A

I recommend, Emma.

Thanks for the recommendation Loremaster, I'll get to 'Emma' early in the new year.

Hey, another Australian!

You only just noticed? Been a bit of an upsurge lately in fact.

--A

This Wednesday my English Novel class will be watching the BBC presentation of Pride and Prejudice. I'm going to finish the book itself tonight. Yummy!

There is also a great film from a few years back of Austen's Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I highly recommend it.

Lord Foul wrote:This Wednesday my English Novel class will be watching the BBC presentation of Pride and Prejudice. I'm going to finish the book itself tonight. Yummy!

What did you think? Were you won over by Wickham's story?

I just received for review DARCY'S STORY by Janet Aylmer (originally published 1996). Scavenging around for a little background, I discovered it is followed by 4 other books on the same topic (source Amazon.com):

The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy by Marjorie Fasman 1998
The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy by Mary Street 2003
Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange 2005

And, due out next:
Mr Darcy's Diary by Maya Slater (Oct 2007)

How on earth did get so many books get published on the same topic? On a story with such a limited range of possibilities.

Dragonlily wrote:I just received for review DARCY'S STORY by Janet Aylmer (originally published 1996). Scavenging around for a little background, I discovered it is followed by 4 other books on the same topic (source Amazon.com):

The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy by Marjorie Fasman 1998
The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy by Mary Street 2003
Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange 2005

And, due out next:
Mr Darcy's Diary by Maya Slater (Oct 2007)

How on earth did get so many books get published on the same topic? On a story with such a limited range of possibilities.

Ridiculous.

Some psychologists think Jane Austen had Asperger's Syndrome. I'm about half way through Pride and Prejudice, and it's amazing how many AS traits Mr Darcy exhibits. He's quiet, emotionally distant, can be rude, shows little care or understanding of the emotions of others, is brutally honest, has an extreme view of right and wrong, thinks in absolutes, if he does speak he has a tendancy to monologue, communicates better in writing, is disturbed by his own emotions, will eavesdrop openly, will stare at Elizabeth without caring how it affects her, has no understanding of the rules of social interaction. And he's the hero.

I also think Charlotte is Jane Austen in disguise, her view of herself. That's an intuitive response. I have no clear evidence for it.

Khaliban wrote:Some psychologists think Jane Austen had Asperger's Syndrome. I'm about half way through Pride and Prejudice, and it's amazing how many AS traits Mr Darcy exhibits. He's quiet, emotionally distant, can be rude, shows little care or understanding of the emotions of others, is brutally honest, has an extreme view of right and wrong, thinks in absolutes, if he does speak he has a tendancy to monologue, communicates better in writing, is disturbed by his own emotions, will eavesdrop openly, will stare at Elizabeth without caring how it affects her, has no understanding of the rules of social interaction. And he's the hero.

I seriously doubt that.

But that's just Darcy. No offence, but she wrote other books with a wide variety of characters. So I seriously doubt she has Autism. Further, autism, like ADD, is overdiagnosed. But you can't diagnose a character, much less a writer based upon her characters. Anyway, Darcy was written as being the product of late 18th century wealthy landowner society. The purpose and theme of the book to social commentary, so any traits the man possesses reflect society, not herself.

Well said.

Ok, I've just started reading "Emma". I'm still adjusting to how dense the prose is - Austen really packs it in.

One quote I've read so far on Emma is "Emma never fails to fascinate and annoy".

Emma so far is quite dry - I often find myself wishing for humour to be thrown in amongst the clever conversations. If only Austen had a touch of Oscar Wilde's wit about her, she'd be even better.

Khaliban wrote:

Some psychologists think Jane Austen had Asperger's Syndrome.

I think it would be very hard to describe someone like Darcy if you had Aspergers syndrome - I think it shows that she knows very well what is accepted behaviour and what is not (and you are supposed to take an disliking to Darcy from the very beginning - how else might Wickham seem like a nice guy to Lizzy?).

I hope you will enjoy Emma Duke! (she has several books written about "her wit" you know. But I suppose Wilde might be more witty... "There is only one thing worse than being witty - and that is not being witty..." Monty Python strikes again)