The Complete Novels of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility / Pride and Prejudice / Mansfield Park / Emma / Northanger Abbey / Persuasion (Leather-bound Classics)

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I struggled with much of the first 4/5ths, at times finding it hard to differentiate all the characters, especially the two Misses Bertram and to establish the connections between them all - especially so in the amateur theatrical week which proves crucial to all that comes later. Eventually I found myself intrigued as to how it was all going to resolve, making the final (sensational) fifth much more interesting.

This one gives the clash of values characteristic of the writer, with wealth and temptation and opportunity versus rectitude and character and propriety as well as prudence playing the major part. How love itself must give way to rectitude and character is the chief theme, with the obvious lesson that giving way to temptation for now might close the door to happiness, love and future in fact. The young man however has excellent character and fortunately realises what is what, and love triumphs even without money. Pride and Prejudice- the favorite of many, and with good reason. I can honestly say I appreciated it more than ever. I must say I still have a thing for Lydia and her "natural self-consequence." Is the whole thing too "light and bright and sparkling"? Of course not!

I read all six of Jane Austen's books this year for the Austen Anonymous Readalong and in general I enjoyed every single one for very different reasons. Lo and behold, by some miraculous intervention I was persuaded to try again to see if I could appreciate her work, and this time not just with one novel, but to plough through all her famous books. If you cannot judge a book by its cover, surely we should not judge an author by one book alone? Especially Austen, someone who has withstood the test of time and has entered the history books as one of England’s most famous authors. Would it be possible to overcome my prejudice that had become as unrelenting as Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s towards the mysterious Mr. Darcy?

The not so well to do young woman is taken to a resort by comparatively well to do relatives and is invited by the master of the Northanger Abbey, the father of the young and eligible gentleman who has a mutual attracted to her and courting her, to stay with him and his family, under the impression the she is going to inherit the relatives' money.Collected together in one volume, The Complete Novels show the development of Austen as a writer and social commentator. From the early optimism and youthful energy of Northanger Abbey to the quiet and subtle art of Persuasion, this collection reveals the breadth of one of the best loved novelists of all time. Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon near Basingstoke, the seventh child of the rector of the parish. She lived with her family at Steventon until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. After his death in 1805, she moved around with her mother; in 1809, they settled in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. Here she remained, except for a few visits to London, until in May 1817 she moved to Winchester to be near her doctor. There she died on July 18, 1817.

Austen writes candidly about - whether consciously aware, and deliberately writing, or simply taking them as facts of life - arranged marriage and caste systems of England in particular, Europe in general; things that since have been, falsely, identified exclusively with India, in line with Macaulay policy to break spirit of India. My dear, you are too particular," said her husband. "What does all that signify? You will see nothing of it by candlelight. It will be as clean as Randalls by candlelight. We never see any thing of it on our club-nights." Pride and Prejudice- Austen is not interested in fleeting moments of heat and sexual lust; she portrays true and lasting romantic attachments, relationships that are strong and real. For her, such things transcend class boundaries, wealth and intelligence. And I enjoyed seeing the characters realise this.An unlikely fave, since most people would put this book at the bottom of their lists, but it has always been a favorite of mine. Fanny Price will always have a special place in my heart. In my opinion, she is one of the few introverted (not shy!) characters that have ever been authentically written. I could see a lot of myself in her and her need to not be around people. I also loved that it is more of a bildungsroman as opposed to a proper love story. The final clinching one was of course his taking all the trouble to make amends to the grievous injury caused to her family by his silence, about someone he should have and did not warn people about, and keeping not only silent about it - the efforts he made to make sure about making amends to the injury caused by his reticence - but making sure her uncle would not tell anyone either. I’m not going to lie, I saw the movie before I read the book. I know that this is a major don’t, but I can’t do anything about it now. Anyways, I though both were fantastic. The best part about seeing the movie before reading the book was that I wasn’t let down by it, I liked it even more. Usually movies leave plenty of details out, which Pride and Prejudice didn’t escape from, and you’re let down due to reading the book first. In my case, I found the book fascinating because I got to know more about the characters and the plot itself. What I enjoyed even more was to find that Jane Austen wrote many of her characters in a similar way. Most of her main female characters are strong willed and sure of themselves, which was quite different from the stereotypical female of that time period. Therefore, not only are Austen's novels entertaining and lovely, they are also innovative. Upon the whole, Mr. Parker was evidently an amiable family man, fond of wife, children, brothers and sisters, and generally kind-hearted; liberal, gentlemanlike, easy to please; of a sanguine turn of mind, with more imagination than judgement. And Mrs. Parker was as evidently a gentle, amiable, sweet-tempered woman, the properest wife in the world for a man of strong understanding but not of a capacity to supply the cooler reflection which her own husband sometimes needed; and so entirely waiting to be guided on every occasion that whether he was risking his fortune or spraining his ankle, she remained equally useless."

Perhaps arguably the second most popular of the writer's works vying with Mansfield Park for the title, this one again explores values and conflicts from another angle, with growth of character and perception, and temptation to meddle in social affairs, as the chief theme. The only one I’ve liked is Pride and Prejudice. I still have Emma, Persuasion and Lady Susan to get through. Whether in the electrically charged chemistry of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, or the simmering romance of Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley, no one writes love and relationships like the incomparable Jane Austen. A great introduction to Jane Austen's work, or a collectible classic for someone who is already a fan. Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics. As this book has just celebrated 200 years since publication, and I’m not that much younger, I thought it was high time I read it and found out why its popularity is so enduring. None of the dramatisations had whetted my appetite; I found them slow-paced and tedious.A complete collection of Jane's much-loved classic titles, presented in a beautifully illustrated, bonded leather bound cover. This collection from Everyman’s Library provides the complete works of one of the most popular authors in English literature, including Emma,Mansfield Park,Northanger Abby,Persuasion,Pride and Prejudice,Sandition and Other Stories, and Sense and Sensibility. When I saw this beautiful edition in a bargain section in a bookstore, I just couldn't control myself so I bought it.