Northanger Abbey

By Jane Austen

Catherine Morland is 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.

When I read the synopsis for this Jane Austen novel I was smiling to myself and thought it would be entertaining and was a bit confused as to why it is one of the less popular novels. I now know why. Catherine Morland is so vapid and really quite idiotic at times. She says and does things that I would equate with the modern “dumb blonde” stereotype. Henry Tilney deserves someone better than Catherine. She drove me crazy. The funny thing is I honestly don’t know why Catherine loves Henry other than the fact he is a gentleman and pays attention to her; on Henry’s side it seems he fancies himself in love with her because he likes to improve her mind and mold her into a better person…not the best basis for a good relationship, but she is so simple she might enjoy the experience. This was a strange addition to otherwise enjoyable books by Jane Austen. I won’t be re-reading this one like I have some of the others. Of course there are also movie adaptations, of which I recently watched the newest version from BBC, which my sister and I just laughed and laughed at; we both loved Henry Tilney’s facial expressions when Catherine was being silly.

You can actually watch the entire movie on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqrfXsDshqg.

This gets a 3 out of 5, but only just. 

Sense and Sensibility

By Jane Austen

The Dashwoods have just lost their beloved husband and father, have been forced to move away from their beautiful home, and have little to recommend themselves to men for their future comfort besides their beauty and personality. Marianne is the romantic, untempered, unfettered. Eleanor is ever practical and reserved. When they both gain and lose love, will they find it again? Can this new life of theirs be endured?

Finally. I have wanted to read this for years. I’m in love with the movie with Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon and have been dying to read the novel. As with all of Jane Austen’s novels, the heroine’s win the day at the end and while they wade through pain and despair, everything turns out great. I was a bit disappointed in Edward’s character. He seemed kinda…whiney. Oh well, my favorite character was good. I feel a little ashamed to admit this though, I don’t think I’ll ever read it again. I like the movie and TV versions better! There I said it. Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice are top notch books though. Even though Colin Firth is awesome as Mr. Darcy, you can’t beat reading the book.

I give it a 3 out of 5

Persuasion

By Jane Austen

First published in 1818, Persuasion was Jane Austen's last work. Its mellow character and autumnal tone have long made it a favorite with Austen readers. Set in Somersetshire and Bath, the novel revolves around the lives and love affairs of Sir Walter Elliot, his daughters Elizabeth, Ann and Mary, and various in-laws, friends suitors and other characters. In Anne Elliot, the author created perhaps her sweetest, most appealing heroine.

At the center of the novel is Anne's thwarted romance with Captain Frederick Wentworth, a navy man Anne met and fell in love with when she was 19. At the time, Wentworth was deemed an unsuitable match and Anne was forced to break off the relationship. Eight years later, however, they meet again. By this time Captain Wentworth has made his fortune in the navy and is an attractive "catch." However, Anne is now uncertain about his feelings for her...

I, like so many other women, adore Jane Austen's works. Having never read Persuasion before, I was immediately struck with a deep attachment to this novel. Anne is all that is good and sweet, but often too passive in regards to her letting others persuade her into situations that she does not like. Captain Wentworth is a gentlemen and is greatly liked by all. In the characters of Anne's father and sisters, we find little to admire and much to find fault with, and therein lies the anguish for Anne; often overlooked and unloved. While very unlike the fiesty heroine Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Elliot is a tender figure and I found myself hoping that she would find happiness in the end, and knowing Jane Austen, I knew she would get it. I must say that I greatly enjoyed Persuasion and it went directly on my favorites shelf. This is only the third of Austen's novels I've read, and all three have been absolutely wonderful.