Jane Austen July 2025 discussion
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Bonnie
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Jul 21, 2020 02:18AM
There is a very good audiobook of Pride and Prejudice on youtube for free. Also the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley is on Netflix now, also for free (with Netflix membership). I’m listening to Pride and Prejudice and reading along in my book and have watched the movie for the umpteenth time, and will watch it again soon!
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I've just finished A Visit to Highbury by Joan Austen-Leigh, and it was incredibly charming. I loved seeing the story unfold from Mrs. Goddard's POV, and the new story of her sister who lives in London was just as engaging. The author (a great-great-great niece of Jane) was very pointed in her characterization of Mr. and Mrs. Elton, which I found hilarious because, really, they're complete weasels.
Jennifer wrote: "I've just finished A Visit to Highbury by Joan Austen-Leigh, and it was incredibly charming. I loved seeing the story unfold from Mrs. Goddard's POV, and the new story of her sister who lives in Lo...""Complete weasels"...love it!!! :)
Am reading a slim book called Fashion In The Time Of Jane Austen. A slim book. Great photos and history in this book. I'm enjoying it so much because I love fashion and the clothes were unique and romantic.
Margaret wrote: "Am reading a slim book called Fashion In The Time Of Jane Austen. A slim book. Great photos and history in this book. I'm enjoying it so much because I love fashion and the clothes were unique and ..."If you want way more detail than that, I highly recommend Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion. It's an incredible resource!
Bonnie wrote: "There is a very good audiobook of Pride and Prejudice on youtube for free."I think I found it, read by Karen Savage. So far, I love it!
From Jane Austen's Unbecoming Conjunctions:"In Mansfield Park, Fanny and Mary displace their attraction for Edmund onto an affinity for riding his horse; but in doing so, both women become the punch lines to bawdy jokes that situate them libidinously in terms of riding: Austen maneuvers the unwitting Edmund into making fun of his cousin when he remarks to Miss Crawford that "every sort of exercise fatigues [Fanny] so soon ... except riding" (95); and the narrator gets trank when she says that Miss Crawford has so "very much surpass[ ed] her sex in general by her early progress" in learning to ride that she is "unwilling to dismount" from Edmund's horse (67).3 "
"One of Austen's most unsettling and comic inversions makes Fanny, our presumed moral representative, the most brilliant actress in the novel. Fanny exclaims, "1 could not act any thing ifyou were to give me the world" (145), but she transparently can and does. "Full of jealousy and agitation" (159), she disguises her love for Edmund. At the end of the novel, the narrator ruthlessly-and comicallyexposes Fanny's pretended sympathy for Edmund's "disappointment and regret" over Mary: Fanny "was sorry; but it was with a sorrow so founded on satisfaction, so tending to ease, and so much in harmony with every dearest sensation, that there are few who might not have been glad to exchange their greatest gaiety for it" (461). Such examples demonstrate how spectacularly successful Fanny is at hiding the breach between her feelings and the social self she projects."
To me reading Mansfield Park is like peeling an onion. That's why it's my favorite, with Emma a close second. What a shame that there was no read-along of MP.
Our Mutual Friends: A Charlotte House Affair features a dog named Pug after Mansfield Park's Pug but unlike Lady Bertram's Pug. There's also a cameo by a Mrs. Senett who has 5 daughters. She confesses she doesn't love them all equally. She loves her youngest the most. She fears her husband's favorite is too judgmental ever to find a husband. ;-)
Zuzana wrote: "Katie, can we have a separate thread for books and movies or TV shows we've already finished this month?And maybe a thread for recommendations? Though that's not so pressing. :D
BTW I would like..."
Hi, Zuzana. Thanks for the John Mullan links, they are wonderful.
I watched Clueless and the 1997 Beckinsale Emma. I have to admit that my favorite Emma is the 1996 Paltrow version because none of the other Mr. Knightlys come near to equaling Jeremy Northam.Last night, I finished What Matters in Jane Austen: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan. The book and author are delightful. His enthusiasm, knowledge, and understanding of JA and novels are contagious and poured right in. My favorite chapters were on the importance of money (enlightening) and the meaning of blushes. I also enjoyed watching his delightful videos, thanks to Zuzana.
Currently reading Lady Susan, and for the first time ever am noticing instances of Jane Austen using the word equivocation or some other form of it. She also uses it in Emma once near the end. Does anyone else know of times where Jane Austen uses equivocation, equivocated, and equivocating?
1)NA 2)The Generous Curate and Ode to Pity.My last one to finish is #5. At 28% of The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. Not bad, not great.
I have completed all the challenges! After musing, I believe I know why MP is so irritating and hard for me to enjoy. The level and duration of Miss Fanny Price’s oppression, neglect, and suffering combined with her reacting with anxiety, fretfulness, and sometimes, self-denigration is unattractive and depressing. However, all of Fanny’s victimization, neglect, and anxieties about her value and place in her family and home prepared her for matrimony by the love, gratitude, and preference of home, restraint, and tranquility; by the joy of mutual love, affection, and high esteem of the man she was to marry. In spite of all the oppression she suffered under Sir Thomas Bertram and her mistaken belief that he held absolute power over her, Fanny did use her self-knowledge and understanding of her duties to decide her fate. Fanny did not allow her uncle to guide, advise, or persuade her to abandon her principles, self-respect, or secret love of the moral and meritorious Mr. Edmund Bertram.
Lorri, I am glad you enjoyed the videos. John Mullan is so passionate about Jane Austen's work it's always such fun to watch his lectures and learn from him. Regarding your Mansfield Park observations, I wholeheartedly agree that the victimization of Fanny makes it at times really hard to enjoy the story. The sense of hopelessness, helplessness and anxiety when it comes to her dealings with Mrs. Norris, Sir Thomas and Henry Crawford is overwhelming.
The point I disagree with is your appraisal of Edmund as moral and meritorious. I see him as self righteous and hypocritical. In the end he decides that Fanny is the best choice for him based on the level of comfort her character so wholy formed by himself will bring to him. In short he groomed a perfect wife for himself. I will give him that he's done that unwittingly. There was no premeditation on his part. But that makes it only a bit less reprehensible.
"With such a regard for her, indeed, as his had long been, a regard founded on the most endearing claims of innocence and helplessness, and completed by every recommendation of growing worth, what could be more natural than the change? Loving, guiding, protecting her, as he had been doing ever since her being ten years old, her mind in so great a degree formed by his care, and her comfort depending on his kindness, an object to him of such close and peculiar interest, dearer by all his own importance with her than any one else at Mansfield, what was there now to add, but that he should learn to prefer soft light eyes to sparkling dark ones?"
Yup. Fanny deserves better than Edmund.
Question for others who read Lady Susan and found it funny, could someone please explain why that one is humorous? It is the only Jane Austen work I struggle to find anything humorous in it.
Rebecca wrote: "Question for others who read Lady Susan and found it funny, could someone please explain why that one is humorous? It is the only Jane Austen work I struggle to find anything humorous in it."I'm not sure the novella is all that funny but the movie is hilarious. Love & Friendship: In Which Jane Austen's Lady Susan Vernon Is Entirely Vindicated is a retelling of the original novella. Jane was a witty writer and I think she was experimenting and playing around with spoofing the genres of literature available at the time.
I finished watching Pride and Prejudice 1980. It was slow and stilted. Mr. Darcy never really unbent and there are too many voiceovers of Lizzie's thoughts. Mr. Bennet is supposed to be sarcastic and witty, that's where Lizzie gets her sense of humor from. This Mr. Bennet is super stern and mean.The first two parts were really good and explained a lot of the context of the stories. They need to keep that part of the script and merge it with Andrew Davies's version and hire a new writer who understands the humor to liven it up a bit. Splice in Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, move the outdoor scenes outdoors and it would be great.
Zuzana wrote: "Lorri, I am glad you enjoyed the videos. John Mullan is so passionate about Jane Austen's work it's always such fun to watch his lectures and learn from him. Regarding your Mansfield Park observa..."
Although Edmund is not my favorite Austen hero, he was not so much hypocritical as blinded by infatuation and eventually does deserve Fanny. I originally saw that Edmund merited Fanny because Mr. Henry Crawford said to her: “‘It is not by equality of merit that you can be won. That is out of the question. It is he who sees and worships your merit the strongest, who loves you most devotedly, that has the best right to a return.’” So, I knew the opposite of what he claimed must be the truth of the matter and JA agrees: "With so much true merit and true love, and no want of fortune or friends, the happiness of the married cousins must appear as secure as earthly happiness can be. Equally formed for domestic life, and attached to country pleasures, their home was the home of affection and comfort; ..." ~ Mansfield Park
I just finished Lady Susan yesterday. It was my first time reading it and I really enjoyed it, except for how she treated her daughter. I am now reading Persuasion for the first time and have started today.
Lorri wrote: "Although Edmund is not my favorite Austen hero, he was not so much hypocritical as blinded by infatuation and eventually does deserve Fanny...I agree about the infatuation. He couldn't have chosen a less compatible wife for himself than Mary Crawford. To be fair they were both blinded to the reality of their prospective marriage. Mary was confident that she could change the aspects of Edmund's character she wasn't so keen on - she wanted him to be more ambitious and sociable and Edmund was totally oblivious of Mary's flaws. After a while they would be both very frustrated with the other and in the end they would both end up miserable in the marriage.So I think it was a lucky escape for both.
Zuzana wrote: "Mary was confident that she could change the aspects of Edmund's character she wasn't so keen on.."
Mary wanted to do to Edmund what Edmund had inadvertently done to Fanny when he shaped her into someone he liked and approved of as she grew up. Obviously, it wouldn't have worked on an adult, and you're right that they would have been miserable.
Personally, I find the end of Mansfield Park disturbing because Fanny grows up in an abusive home and never escapes. Yes the dynamics change, and she is married to the man she wants, but she will still be closely connected to those who have mistreated her, and it's not as if she has been presented with better options. Had Henry Crawford been someone who could actually make her happy and Fanny had chosen Edmund over him, at least it would be her choice. But what she gets doesn't feel like a free choice, it feels like she's settling for the one person who has shown her any semblance of kindness which, in Fanny's case, isn't saying much.
Mary wanted to do to Edmund what Edmund had inadvertently done to Fanny when he shaped her into someone he liked and approved of as she grew up. Obviously, it wouldn't have worked on an adult, and you're right that they would have been miserable.
Personally, I find the end of Mansfield Park disturbing because Fanny grows up in an abusive home and never escapes. Yes the dynamics change, and she is married to the man she wants, but she will still be closely connected to those who have mistreated her, and it's not as if she has been presented with better options. Had Henry Crawford been someone who could actually make her happy and Fanny had chosen Edmund over him, at least it would be her choice. But what she gets doesn't feel like a free choice, it feels like she's settling for the one person who has shown her any semblance of kindness which, in Fanny's case, isn't saying much.
Rebecca wrote: "?. others who read Lady Susan ..., could someone please explain why that one is humorous? ... I struggle to find anything humorous in it."It's like seeing someone make a spectacle of themselves - one is caught between horrified laughter in embarrassment to witness it, being aghast at the behaviour, being relieved it's not us...
And then she gets her come-uppance ..., but at that point, a sneaking admiration comes at her insouciant handling of it.
But, as with all JA work, it's deeper than that. Stuff is hidden 7 steps deeper, each layer giving up some insights.
You in fact maybe hitting some of the deeper insights on your first reading itself. If you were to write down what you feel, at which point and why, it will be so useful and probably very satisfying, later.
I'll post something sometime. Have to read it again, though, for the fun bits. But I remember some chuckling after mid point ...
I finished Emma last night. Today I am going to watch Emma. I have read a few pages of Lady Susan.
Laura wrote: "Personally, I find the end of Mansfield Park disturbing because Fanny grows up in an abusive home and never escapes. Yes the dynamics change, and she is married to the man she wants, but she will still be closely connected to those who have mistreated her, and it's not as if she has been presented with better options."In a way the novel is more about the reformation of Mansfield Park, as a household, and the Bertram family under the influence of Fanny Price.
Jenny wrote: "I watched Bridget Jones's Diary and man that 2001 technology has not aged well! It's also quite problematic in a post #metoo era but so much tamer than the book which I had so many problems with...."
I love Bridget Jones's Diary. The movie and the book. I re read the book every year. Honestly, I don't see that it's "problematic" at all.
I love Bridget as a character. She is one of my favourite characters in movies and novels.
Juan Manuel wrote: "Laura wrote: "Personally, I find the end of Mansfield Park disturbing because Fanny grows up in an abusive home and never escapes. Yes the dynamics change, and she is married to the man she wants, ..."Juan Manuel replied: "In a way the novel is more about the reformation of Mansfield Park, as a household, and the Bertram family under the influence of Fanny Price."
Wonderful analysis.
But was the reformation of Bertram's family Fanny's doing or rather consequences of Maria's scandal and Tom's illness?
Zuzana wrote: "But was the reformation of Bertram's family Fanny's doing or rather consequences of Maria's scandal and Tom's illness?"Maria's scandal wouldn't have happened but for Fanny rejecting Mr. Crawford. Mrs. Rushworth would have lived the high life in London, Edmund would have married Mary Crawford and probably divided his time between his parish and London (in the novel clergymen that did that kind of thing are looked down upon). Sir Thomas Bertram would have been satisfied that his children (and eventually, Fanny) were marrying money. About Tom, that's a fair point. But Maria and Julia Bertram seem not to care their brother is ill. If he recuperated from his illness, he would find his siblings rich, married and having fun, so maybe his personality wouldn't have changed much. What remains in the end is the only person whose conduct, whose example they should have followed if they had noticed -- Fanny Price.
This is what Edmund has to say about her after the theatricals that foreshadow the rest of the plot: We have all been more or less to blame, every one of us, excepting Fanny. Fanny is the only who has judged rightly throughout, who has been consistent.
Sorry for the long reply.
I started Pride by Ibi Zoboi this evening, I very very rarely read young adult so I wasn't sure, some of the language seems slightly cringey to me but I think a better judge would be an actual young adult reader! But the concept is really cool and I'm having a lot of fun identifying how Zoboi has chosen to reimagine the characters and plot points in the context of 21st century New York.
Juan Manuel wrote: "Maria's scandal wouldn't have happened but for Fanny rejecting Mr. Crawford."Yes, but it was never her intention. I don't think she deserves credit for that. ;-)
Anyway, it is the outside influence that forces Bertrams to appreciate Fanny.
"What remains in the end is the only person whose conduct, whose example they should have followed if they had noticed -- Fanny Price."
I agree, but the point is they wouldn't have noticed but for the catastrophies.
No need to apologize. I really enjoy reading your comments.
P.S. I think that Maria's infidelity was bound to happen sooner or later. She had only contempt for Rushworth. His stupidity clearly annoyed her and I think that her dislike of him would have become only stronger with time. If it happened later she might have been smarter about it though, keep her affair(s) discreet and avoid the scandal. What do you think?
Finished reading the collection of Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition. Are there any good continuations of Sandition?
Rebecca wrote: "Finished reading the collection of Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition. Are there any good continuations of Sandition?"There are a few
Sanditon: Official ITV Tie-In Edition
Sanditon: Jane Austen's Last Novel Completed
Jane Austen's Sanditon: A Continuation
There are others mentioned in this article I haven't read.
Susan wrote: "I finished Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, and it wasn't great. The pacing was off, and I found some of the writer's quirks annoying. I read [book:Eligible: A Modern Retelling ..."I liked Eligible a lot, but I also enjoyed the twist of Pride, Prejudice & other Flavors having the female be the rich, prideful character. I just finished Recipe for Persuasion. It was a cute, modern take on Persuasion. I think Sonali Dev is creatively connecting the Austen stories with her Rajes series and I'm really looking forward to the next one!
QNPoohBear, thank you for the recommendations!
I've been an Austen lover for many years and love to read creative retellings and extensions on her books--probably because I can't get enough of these characters.Earlier this month, I read Heartstone, by Elle Katharine White. It is a very creative fantasy version of P & P. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
For those of you who didn't like Longbourn, you may want to try Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll.
Finishing the challenge with The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. 2.25-2.5 Longish, very confusing at times, over dramatic.
Jennie wrote: "I've been an Austen lover for many years and love to read creative retellings and extensions on her books--probably because I can't get enough of these characters.Earlier this month, I read Heart..."
Fitzwilliam Darcy: Gentleman, in 3 volumes. Highly recommend. No bodice ripper. Witty and very Darcy. Super banter between males. Very complementary to PP.
Kicking my butt into gear! 3 more challenges that I need to complete before month’s end.
Kelsey wrote: "Kicking my butt into gear! 3 more challenges that I need to complete before month’s end."Good luck!!!!!
I have completed all my challenges, and added Kim Wilson's At home with Jane Austen to it, plus Clueless, I rewatched several films\mini-series, discovered the YT series The Lizzie Bennet diaries, Lucy Worsley's Behind closed doors and so many more references ! I'm thoroughly happy and have a to-read list ready for the next Jane Austen july. In a couple of years, I'll re-read Mansfield Park, my least favourite Austen novel.
Kelsey wrote: "Kicking my butt into gear! 3 more challenges that I need to complete before month’s end."Have fun, no pressure ;)
I’m listening to an excellent free audiobook reading of The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe on youtube now. Once I finish this, I am so delighted to say I will have completed all the Jane Austen July challenges.
Oh dear, I spoke too soon regarding the free audiobook on youtube of The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe. The narrator for chapter one was excellent but there is a different narrator for chapter two which is simply dreadful (to my ears). I’m thinking of ordering the book. Or, I will find a different contemporary author of Jane Austen’s to read.
Bonnie wrote: "Oh dear, I spoke too soon regarding the free audiobook on youtube of The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe. The narrator for chapter one was excellent but there is a different narrator for cha..."There is a free downloadable LibirVox version of Ann Radcliffe's The Romance of the Forest. This may or may not be the version on YouTube. It does change narrators every few chapters. Good luck and here is the link: https://librivox.org/the-romance-of-t...
Bonnie wrote: "Oh dear, I spoke too soon regarding the free audiobook on youtube of The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe. The narrator for chapter one was excellent but there is a different narrator for cha..."Radcliffe's first book the Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne is very short. I read a version that was 110 pgs.
I have not met all of the challenges but I enjoyed Emma. I absolutely loved the 2009 Emma mini TV series. I am halfway through Lady Susan and I adore this epistolary novel.
Renuka wrote: "Jennie wrote: "I've been an Austen lover for many years and love to read creative retellings and extensions on her books--probably because I can't get enough of these characters.Earlier this mont..."
Thanks! I'll have to check them out.
I completed the challenge of reading something written in Jane Austen's time An American In Regency England or the original is titled Journal Of A Tour And Residence In Great Britain, During The Years 1810 And 1811. It was an interesting observation on the country of Britain and her inhabitants. He writes a lot about politics and government, also a lot about the Industrial Revolution. In Hertfordshire the homes are built along the hillside if that helps envision Longbourn!
Freya wrote: "Two challenges left to go. Don't think I'll get either done tbh."
Same here. I'll definitely be spilling over into August.
Same here. I'll definitely be spilling over into August.
I finished the challenges:Read Northanger Abbey
Read Love and Friendship
Read The Monk by M. G. Lewis (crazy gothic horror)
Read Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester
Read My Northanger Abbey by Jenni James that really didn’t adapt Austen’s story, but just used some character names to tell its own story.
Watched an adaptation of Northanger Abbey starring Felicity Jones
Watched Clueless
I’m already planning next year’s reading!
Jane Austen July 2025
Books mentioned in this topic
An American in Regency England: The journal of a tour in 1810-1811; (other topics)An American in Regency England: The journal of a tour in 1810-1811; (other topics)
Volume the Third: In Her Own Hand (other topics)
An American in Regency England: The journal of a tour in 1810-1811; (other topics)
Journal of a Tour and Residence in Great Britain during the Years 1810 and 1811 (other topics)
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