Andie’s Comments (group member since Jun 26, 2014)

Andie’s comments from the Austen August: A Pride and Prejudice Read-A-Long group.

Welcome Verena! Lovely to see you join missus!

wasn't Bath an amazing city? I mean, god I'm in love with it, even without the Austen references. I forgot you worked in an Art Gallery- that's cool!

Personally I agree, he is lovely but Verena hit the description on the head there- he is a bit of a pushover!

I can't wait to read Longbourn, it's going to be so interesting to read alongside P&P during this re-read, just for the shift in perspective!

I've seen some retellings where the titles just make me cringe! Although I am intrigued by "pride and prejudice and zombies"...

Fyi: one of my friends actually argues that Bingley is a better Austen "hero" than Darcy. What do you think?

yes! there is a Marvel Northanger Abbey I have been eyeing up for months!! Do want!

oooh those drop cap versions are stunning

brilliant! Which ones do you have? I have the penguin new english library edition and the penguin classica edition. I'm giving the classics one away to a friend so she can join in the group

how many versions have you got, Annette?!

Patty, juat "YES" to everything you said! I get bitten by the Austen bug every year but it will be fun to add a social element to it.

Elen- Congrats on finishing your A levels! Can't believe it has been 7 years since I sat mine!! Enjoy your well earned summer :) Im glad youve chosen to spend some of that time with us

Welcome to Goodreads, Renee! Ive not really been very active in groups myself so I'm new to it too! I hope you enjoy it!

hi guys! thanks for joining the group, looking forward to having some bookish fun with you!

Here is a place for you to recommend books of a non-austen nature which you think other readers may enjoy, be it from other classics like North and South to modern day fiction, like Sophie Kinsella's works!

"'We have all been more or less to blame ...
every one of us, excepting Fanny'

Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. A subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen's most profound works."

"'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love." (Goodreads 2014)

"Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?" (Goodreads 2014)

"A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.

The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art" (Goodreads 2014)

Go ahead! Do you love Lizzie, or dislike her? Do you find her endearing or frustrating? Is she really one of the "greatest female heroines" in literature?

...You know the drill by now, right? right.

I cannot have a series of posts on "character appreciation" and NOT include Mr Bingley.

Basically, here is your chance to gush about how sweet Bingley is. (Or do you go against the grain, and do you find him irritating? hmmm)

Lydia, because of events in the book, gets a whole post to herself, purely to discuss whether she is actually quite loved among the readers, or disliked?

What do you think? Do you forgive her for her actions or does she wind you up?