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Novel top 3: Jane Austen


emelee

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Hoping this little thing will work out....
 
I post one author - you guys post a top 3 list of the novels (or shortstories) by that author that you like the best. Then after a couple of days, I'll give you a new author and so on. In the end, we will get a list of awesome books. The winning novel of each author will qualify to the "Best Novel List". 
 
Edit: After some advice, I will start one new thread for each selected author on the board section that the author belongs to. So Jane Austen - The classics. Here you can discuss your top 3 list more in detail and discuss with others about their top list of Jane Austen novels. 
 
 
 
 
 

First up, the one and only, the lovely

 

Jane Austen

 

Born December 16th, 1775 in Steventon Rectory, Hampshire (England) to parents Reverend George Austen (1731–1805) and Cassandra Leigh Austen (1739–1827). Jane grew up with six brothers and one sister. She never married, but she was associated with a few men. Her first true love was Thomas Lefroy, but their relationship ended when Thomas' family decided they wanted someone more suitable for their son. 

Austen suffered from illnesses and died 18 July 1817 at the age of 41 in Winchester. She rests at Winchester cathedral in Hampshire.

 

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Works by Ms Austen;

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen#List_of_works

 

 

 

 

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen's first major novel was written in 1798-99, when she was in her early twenties. It is a comic love story set in Bath about a young reader who must learn how to separate fantasy from reality. Miss Austen sold the novel (then entitled Susan) to a publisher in 1803, and the work was advertised but never published. She bought it back many years later, and her brother Henry Austen published the novel as Northanger Abbey after her death in 1817.

 

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be published. She began to write it sometime around 1797, and she worked on it for many years before its publication in 1811. The title page said that it was written "By a Lady", and only her immediate family knew that Jane Austen was the author. Impetuous Marianne Dashwood tumbles into a fairytale romance that goes sour, and her practical older sister Elinor copes with the family's financial problems while hiding her own frustrated romantic hopes. The book was a success, and it even earned a profit!

 

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice was first written in the late 1700's, then rewritten in 1811-1812 and finally published in early 1813. It is probably the most-read of all of Jane Austen's novels and is a popular favorite among many. Originally entitled First Impressions, the novel deals with the misjudgments that often occur at the beginning of an acquaintance and how those misjudgments can change as individuals learn more about each other.

 

Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park was written between February, 1811 and the summer of 1813. It was the third novel Jane Austen had published and it first appeared on May 4, 1814. During her lifetime, it was attributed only to "The author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice", and the author's identity was unknown beyond her family and friends. It is Jane Austen's most complex novel and deals with many different themes, from the education of children, to the differences between appearances and reality. The version of the novel housed here at Austen.com is slightly annotated.

Lovers' Vows: This is the play that the Bertrams wish to enact in the first volume of Mansfield Park. In addition to the text of the play, a synopsis is provided here, as well as a short analysis explaining some of the objections to the play within the novel and a cast list.

 

Emma

Emma was written in 1814-1815, and while Jane Austen was writing it, it was suggested to her by a member of the Prince Regents' household that she dedicate it to His Royal Highness. Austen took the suggestion as it was intended--as a command--and Emma was thus dedicated, but the dedication itself is rather slyly worded. Emma deals with a young woman's maturation into adulthood and the trouble she gets herself into along the way. The version of the novel housed here at Austen.com is slightly annotated.

 

Persuasion

Persuasion was written in 1815-1816, while Jane Austen was suffering from her fatal illness. She was still working on some revisions at the time of her death in 1817. The novel was published posthumously by her brother, Henry Austen. Persuasion is a novel of second chances, expectations of society, and the constancy of love. You can also read the preface which Henry wrote telling the world of his sister's authorship, life, and untimely death: A Biographical Notice of the Author.

 

(Source http://www.austen.com/novels.htm)

Edited by emelee
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I haven't read any Jane Austen yet myself but I think I will start with Pride & Prejudice when I do, since that one seems so well loved by many people.

 

You should. It really is amazing! 

 

So far, it's the only Austen novel I've read. I fell in love with it. And because of that, I will read more of her. Sense and sensibility is next. 

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1. Northanger Abbey

I love Gothic novels and I love Austen's slightly humorous take on them, with a flighty young heroine (Catherine), a dashing young handsome hero (Henry Tilney - my favourite Austen leading male!), and a mysterious stately home (Northanger Abbey). It's a wonderfully fun novel and I love it from start to finish.

 

2. Mansfield Park

This one took a while to grow on me, as Fanny Price is too good to be true, but I love the meta-ness of it, with a play being performed and the rehearsals interfering with various relationships. And I ended up rather liking Fanny too.

 

3. Pride and Prejudice

I know this one is usually listed as the favourite, but it ranks number 3 for me. I love the characters and the story, but although many swoon over Mr Darcy (myself included!), he's just no Henry Tilney!

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Nope .. can't have Mansfield Park in there at all  :P

 

 

I bloomin' well can .. and MUST!!!!  It's a masterpiece!  :drama: 

 

 

What? .. instead of Northanger Abbey or Pride and Prejudice? I can't allow it  :P  :D 

 

:lol: :lol: (I'm with poppyshake, MP is my least favorite :blush:)

 

As for my answer: 

 

Northanger Abbey 

Persuasion

Pride and Prejudice

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I bloomin' well can .. and MUST!!!!  It's a masterpiece!  :drama: 

 

I'm with you on that one!

 

What? .. instead of Northanger Abbey or Pride and Prejudice? I can't allow it  :P  :D 

 

I'm with Claire on this one: certainly superior to NA which I think, pleasant as it is, is one of her weakest - least mature.  Instead of P&P?  Somewhat trickier.

 

Not for the novels … adaptations, yes (who can resist Colin Firth :wub:) but if I'm reading the novels, it's just edged by Sense and Sensibility :D

 

Oh you wise, wise, woman!  S&S edges everything!

 

My top three today is:

 

1. Sense and Sensibility

2. Emma

3. Persuasion

 

but tomorrow (aside from S&S as number one) it could be different!

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  • 4 weeks later...

1. Sense & Sensibility

2. Mansfield Park

3. Persuasion

 

I've got your back on this Claire!  I love the idea of Pride & Prejudice, and can watch every film version known to man, and swoon with the best of the them, but the novel itself just didn't do it for me as much.  It used to be up there until I read the MP and Persuasion.

My disclaimer is: I haven't read Emma nor Northanger Abby, and have only read the others once.

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  • 1 year later...

Mansfield Park.

Although the heroine is a little too goody-two shoes for my taste, there are darker aspects to this novel which make you question exactly how the fortunes were made by the owners of all those stately houses.

 

Pride and Prejudice

The funniest and most cynical.

 

Northanger Abbey

Just shows where a young girl's  unbridled imagination and penchant for Gothic novels can lead...

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