Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2017 discussion
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On a personal level, I'm having a hard time hearing/understanding Nadia May, the narrator in the audio of Persuasion that I'm listening to! I'm doing SO MUCH rewinding. This must be one of Austen's shorter books, because I feel like I'm still moving right along even with all that rewinding!!! I love Anne, as always. My favorite Austen heroine is Elinor Dashwood, but Anne is wonderful. She's underappreciated, but competent, honorable, and wise. And I feel so badly for her broken heart heart while admiring how stalwart she is in coping with the difficult situation of seeing Wentworth again in a situation where they are decidedly NOT courting!
That's all for now. Time to get the kids up. We might start putting up the Christmas tree today!
Happy Thanksgiving, folks, in case I don't post again before then!
Mod
Bummer about the narrator being tough to hear.
I do like the way you see Anne and her behavior in the face of seeing the man she loves courting another before her eyes. I can't even imagine the pain that would cause.
Oh, have fun putting up your tree. :)
You have a lovely Thanksgiving too, Marlene!
Yeh for team Anne!! My favorite Austen character.
Teresa, you're making me second guess. Hmm. Elinor or Anne? Which of them is my favorite, as they have do have some similarities. Elinor I think. But Anne is such a close second!
I'm going to try to answer more of Sophia's questions!Going in, its generally understood that this is a story of second chances. Is this an element you like and why? Not sure? Can't stand?
Second chances is a trope that is a favorite of mine. I like "seeing" lasting love, even in the face of challenges. One of my Goodreads friends also calls these "lost love" stories.
What are your thoughts on the parent roles in the story? There is Anne who was close to her mother and Elizabeth their father- do you think it plays a role in how they have turned out (the old nature vs. nurture debate)?
Well, the answer in real life is always going to be a bit of both. Elizabeth really is a chip off the old block, though, isn't she?! Whenever I see her character in a movie adaptation, I think, "Really? REA:LLY? WOW." I just finished listening to Mr. Croft commenting on the excessive number of mirrors in Anne's father's room. LOL!
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Oh, I like that 'lost love' designation. Maybe 'lost and found'. :)
True, she'll have a house of mirrors when she gets that age. I laughed during that scene in the film when Admiral Croft said that. LOL
I just loved Admiral Croft!! He's a great character. The mirror comment is perfect!!
Love that scene in both the older version and the later one. It is a joke that never fails to make one laugh.
Austen makes me laugh. Just love her so much.Lost and found - true, true!!
I just came across one of my old reviews, and remembered that Ransome's Honor by Kaye Dacus is a Persuasion story. It's not a variation - just obviously inspired by Persuasion. I loved it, so I thought I'd mention it in this topic. A link to my review is below:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Oh thanks Marlene. Persuasion is my favorite Austen.
I just finished Persuasion. What happiness to read my favorite JA book! I enjoyed paying attention to what Austen wrote about Lady Russel (sp?), particularly at the end. I was struck again by "the letter." I was on my way to an appointment for my son, and Navigator kept interrupting the letter! Arrrgh!!!!! :-) I may have to read the last chapter or two on my Kindle before writing the review. :-)
I still am perplexed by Mr. Elliot. I may have missed something due to not hearing well, but (view spoiler)
I finished Persuasion and only one day late for the November read. The reason it took me so long (Persuasion is my fav Austen) is that it was my very first audible book!! Yay!! I was listening to it as I was going for my morning walks, which don't always happen everyday and while I was cleaning the house a few times. I enjoyed it overall. It was a free version I found on the net so there were a few different readers for different chapters. I found one extremely irritating as she pronounced words wrongly. The worst was calling Captain Benwick, Cp. Ben Wick!!!!!
Also the readers changed completely for the last chapter and I didn't think she did justice to 'the letter'!
However, I think I might enjoy another audible and have already loaded Howard's End. We'll see how it goes.
Were you using Librivox? I was going to give that a whirl, but found that I couldn't adjust the speed. I need to listen to books at .65-.85 times the speed, so that didn't work. Fortunately, my husband has several JA books from Audible already. 😊
Yes I was using Librivox Marlene but I'm afraid I don't know anything about changing speeds. Didn't even know you could do that!!! I'm a novice with audible.
I'm pretty new too. About six audio books this year. I'm also using Overdrive and Libby for free library loans.
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I was struck again by "th..."
LOL, Navigator woes, indeed. Right in the middle of THE letter of all things.
Good question about Mr. Elliot. I've always felt his motivations in the story are about status. He didn't care about it before and only cared about money, but now that he has money and sees how the world works, he wants the status. His comment to Anne about the difference between 'good' society and 'the best' society is telling. His desire to reconcile with his family, fawn over Lady Dalyrimple right alongside Sir Walter and Elizabeth, and marry Anne are all in keeping with his desire to be in the best of society. The story doesn't stick with him afterwards, but he doesn't lose anything in the majority of society's eyes by taking up with Mrs. Clay because he has no intentions of marrying her and it wasn't like he was ruining an upper class society lady like his cousins.
So, to sum up, I think William Elliot is all about the appearances and his own selfish wants.
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I've thought about trying the stories on Libravox, but it looks like I'll have to be prepared for that weird change of narrators throughout. Glad you were able to finish, Teresa, and enjoy your first audiobook. Walks and chores is when I enjoy them, too.
I never thought about Mr. Elliot not bring damaged by taking up with Mrs. Clay. Makes perfect sense. Such double standards. Had he already given up on Anne, then? Or was he SO worried about the direction he was concerned Mrs. Clay might be headed in otherwise?
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I can't remember the exact timing- whether Anne and Wentworth's understanding if not outright engagement announcement had been made yet or not, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. The issue with Mrs. Clay angling to be the next Lady Elliot was dire in his mind.
I think with Mrs. Clay, he probably promised to marry her just to get her away from Sir Walter and her chance to have a son who would cut Mr. Elliot out of the running for being Sir Walter's heir. The story never says he actually married Mrs. Clay, but I think he would know that just by running off with her that he scotched his chances with Anne and the approbation of the rest of his family. Doubt he cared as long as he protected his own future to be the baronet after Sir Walter and inherit the estate.
Promising to marry her I'd a very good guess. And I don't remember which came first either. I was thinking it was before the engagement, but I could be wrong.
I think it might have been before the engagement was announced but he had an inkling of the way the wind was blowing. He had so many irons in the fire I'm surprised he wasn't burned earlier. It must have taken some effort to try and juggle everything as he did. But he was a despicable character whatever way you look at him.
I think I take things to hear too much. I sympathize with the third party in a love triangle. I sympathize with Mr. Crawford also, but much more in Mr. C's case. I feel Mr. Elliot has some good sense in selling to have a genuine looking for Anne. I can't have it both ways, I suppose!
HAHAHA! swelling=selling=seeming! Maybe I just need to go to bed!
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Yes, both Crawford and Elliot showed good sense in wanting Fanny and Anne, but then they slipped.
That auto correct gets me frustrated, too.
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Yep! Either way, he'd already harmed Mrs. Smith by not taking care of her funds and her like he promised and he was already scheming to do something about Mrs. Clay (actually, maybe I should shake his hand for that one, LOL).
Auto correct... ye got to love it!!I wonder it Elliot was already shacking up with Mrs. Clay? Then when his situation tanked... he ran off with her and took her under his protection. That's era code for becoming his mistress... correct?
Was it to keep her for himself or to keep her from Sir Walter? Did she ever have a chance with Sir Walter? She had children that are never mentioned except at the very first. So where were they? At grandma's perhaps? She doesn't seem like a very good mother. I doubt Sir Walter would want kids around him.
Even Shepherd indicated that a renter without children was the best preserver of furniture. I figured that was for Sir Walter's benefit... made me think he wouldn't favor small children.
Mod
I wonder it Elliot was already shacking up with Mrs. Clay? Then when his situation tanked... he ran off with her and took her under his protection. That's era c..."
I always had the impression that William Elliot was fine dallying with Mrs. Clay and scratching an itch so to speak, but never saw her as marriage material. And, even though Anne worried about her around Sir Walter, I think he was too snobby to see the woman as marriage material, either. He liked getting the woman's fawning compliments, but not sure he'd marry unless he was marrying up in class. Just my impressions.
You're right that she had children from her first marriage which was odd b/c she was a divorced woman and back in the day, men usually got the kids in the split. Guess her ex didn't want his kids, either. Sad...
Mrs. Clay's children is a detail I didn't remember. VERY ODD about the divorce. Wallet being flattered but not interested is totally plausible!"Under the protection of" does imply mistress. Is that phrase used?
Wallet=Walter. I haven't gone to bed, you see!
"The news of his cousin Anne's engagement burst on Mr. Elliot most unexpectedly. It deranged his best plan of domestic happiness, his best hope of keeping Sir Walter single by the watchfulness which a son-in-law's rights would have given. But, though discomfited and disappointed, he could still do something for his own interest and his own enjoyment. He soon quitted Bath; and on Mrs. Clay's quitting it likewise soon afterwards, and being next heard of as established under his protection in London, it was evident how double a game he had been playing, and how determined he was to save himself from being cut out by one artful woman, at least.Mrs. Clay's affections had overpowered her interest, and she had sacrificed, for the young man's sake, the possibility of scheming longer for Sir Walter. She has abilities, however, as well as affections; and it is now a doubtful point whether his cunning, or hers, may finally carry the day; whether, after preventing her from being the wife of Sir Walter, he may not be wheedled and caressed at last into making her the wife of Sir William."
Mod
The actual words are good to have and clarify things. Thanks for doing that, Jeanne.
Hey, you gals might be interested in a mystery I'm reading now that is part of the Mr & Mrs. Darcy mystery series by Carrie Bebris. I haven't read far, but its got Mrs. Clay as the murder victim and Mr. Elliot is there in Lyme with her. I think Anne and Captain Wentworth and the Harvilles are in it, too.
Though its a mystery, it's also a Persuasion sequel, too (that includes the Darcys).
The Deception at Lyme: Or, The Peril of Persuasion
Gosh, I checked it out on Amazon and it is book 6 of 7 so far. The other books all feature a different Austen book. What fun!! Most are priced at $7.99, with the exception of two. So, if you have Unlimited... that is a good deal. For you mystery lovers... they are as follows: Book 1: Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged @ $7.99
Book 2: Suspense and Sensibility: Or, First Impressions Revisited @ $7.99
Book 3: North By Northanger: Or The Shades of Pemberley @ $7.99
Book 4: The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair @ $7.99
Book 5: The Intrigue at Highbury: Or, Emma's Match @ $9.93
Book 6: The Deception at Lyme: Or, The Peril of Persuasion @ $7.99
Book 7: The Suspicion at Sanditon @ $9.99
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I've enjoyed them, though the first was the least favorite for the mystery. I've enjoyed how she wrote a 'sequel' for each Austen story with the Darcy's somehow visiting each group when a mystery happens.
I think if you just wanted to read this one, you would be alright. Wow, the kindle prices are higher than the paper copies I've paid for as I bought them.
JW - Thanks! That settles that! Hey, I just realized that we're in DECEMBER, not November! Thanks, Sophie! I read that first one a long time ago and haven't tried any since. 😊
It's OK Marlene... sometimes a thread or discussion will go into the next month... no worries. We were just discussing the series. If they go on sale, we can put them in the Dec Promo discussion. Sophia, I don't understand why an eBook would be higher than print. That doesn't make sense. I don't understand all that is involved in publishing... so, what do I know?
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The first five were mass market paperbacks so they were less, easily, but the last ones in print are trade paperbacks so, I misspoke about them- they are a few dollars more than the kindle. I think I'm still remembering the days when a full-length novel on Kindle was considered high if it was $4 or $5 though still made it cheaper than the print copies. Now, half the time, its the same and sometimes more. Guess I need to get with the times. LOL
Sophia wrote: "I've thought about trying the stories on Libravox, but it looks like I'll have to be prepared for that weird change of narrators throughout."I thought I'd mention that there is a free audio version of Persuasion at Librivox narrated by Elizabeth Klett.
https://librivox.org/persuasion-by-ja...
I haven't listened to this particular version of this book, but I can vouch for Elizabeth Klett as a very good narrator, she has narrated several of Abigail Reynolds books.
Thanks for that Jeannine. I'm new to audible books. I found the changes of narrator rather odd. I've just started another and one chapter in I'm not getting on with this narrator at all.
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I thought I'd mention that there is a f..."
Thanks for the recommendation, Jeannine. Always looking for new narrators to love.
Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2017
Books mentioned in this topic
North By Northanger: Or The Shades of Pemberley (other topics)Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged (other topics)
The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair (other topics)
The Intrigue at Highbury: Or, Emma's Match (other topics)
The Suspicion at Sanditon (Or, The Disappearance of Lady Denham) (other topics)
More...
I listened to it back in the beginning of the year and found that the some of the background details suddenly made more sense and explained some of the character's actions more. Very cool how that happens, Teresa. :)