* Bonus * Jane Austen
“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” - Jane Austen
I reread all of her novels every couple years, and my favorite has changed time and again. With my most recent read through, I determined that four of the books are equally but differently good, whilst Mansfield Park stands on its own as clearly inferior.
Renee’s Ranking of Jane Austen Novels
1. Emma, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility
5. Mansfield Park
A few thoughts on each novel:
Mansfield Park
This is the worst one, but it’s still a Jane Austen novel, so there are worse authors you could read. All of the other books are equally enjoyable, except this one, which I think of as her “experimental” novel. This story flips the other stories on their heads and instead of having a strong female protagonist, we have timid, conventional Fanny Price. About a third into the novel, I always realize I have no respect for Fanny, and begin to hope the bad girl (who is actually much more like Lizzy or Emma!) will win the guy. There are movie adaptations of this book, but why suffer yourself to watch them? I’d like to see a version where Fanny is Actually the villain of the novel.
Emma
Emma is a family comedy, and the more I have reread this one, the funnier I find it. Emma herself isn’t really relatable (unless you happen to be extremely rich, young, and popular), but Austen skillfully shows enough of Emma’s heart where a reader can’t help but hope for her anyway. I think the fact that she makes mistakes and goes about fixing them even when it’s difficult is what makes her loveable. Plus, Mr. Knightly is charming. (sidenote: I am a fan of the 2020 Emma—I think it captures the humor the best. I think I feel a draft around the knees…)
Sense and Sensibility
I have two younger sisters, and our personalities are similar to that of Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, so I always enjoy and relate to this book (though my romance with my husband was nothing like that of Elinor’s!). I think that this book incorporates elements of many of Austen’s other novels, and could be a good introduction to Austen if you want to be less conventional and not start with P&P.
Persuasion
The best romance. That LETTER at the end? Anne suffers (like Fanny) but has a spine as well as a moral code. I liked how Wentworth was an imperfect character, yet perfectly dashing, and how they had to re-fall in love. This one is my personal favorite if I had to choose the most beautiful novel.
Pride and Prejudice
Strongest female lead. Elizabeth Bennet is priceless, and the five sisters personalities are all interesting to examine in contrast to each other. Austen is clearly teaching us something about being a lady, but doesn’t clock us over the head with it. It’s obviously her best known and most read novel, and I think that is deserved.
Northanger Abbey
The most fun and most suitable for a younger reader (highly recommend for teen girls!). The love story is pretty direct, but in this novel, Austen is parodying the gothic romance. Catherine’s biggest obstacle is probably her active imagination. I thought this book was second-funniest, next to Emma, and particularly fun to read after reading Wuthering Heights.
So fun, thanks! This has made me put Northanger Abbey and Persuasion on my list! I did end with Mansfield Park last and I think got stopped by it and didn't love Emma as much as P&P and S&S. I voted for S&S :)