Jane Austen Every Day and Every Way

Last night was our monthly book club meeting--always a highlight of the month for me! When I suggested we read Jane Austen (also meaning I would lead the discussion), I didn't specify a particular Jane Austen book but recommended members pick one they'd like to read. As I was preparing for the monthly meeting, I began to regret that decision because I thought I then should read each and every one myself! However, time did not permit me to do that.

My spouse and I have been Jane Austen fans for years but mostly through BBC and other DVD versions of her books and "date night" frequently finds us watching a Jane Austen DVD. In preparation for book club, I purchased paperback Dover editions of "Emma," "Mansfield Park," "Northanger Abbey," and "Sense and Sensibility" then checked out a hard copy of "Pride and Prejudice" and a paperback copy of "Persuasion" from our library. I love Dover Thrift Editions because they have beautifully illustrated covers and are reasonably priced -- in this case from $3.00 to $4.50.

I was now ready to begin reading but I found the demands of daily life were interfering with my reading time. What to do? I checked out audio copies of all the books from the library but there still wasn't enough time to listen to all of the books so I ended up listening to most of "Persuasion" one day then finished the last few chapters by reading the book. I started listening to "Sense and Sensibility" but wasn't able to finish all of it. I loved discovering little things that were different from the DVD's we've watched.

My spouse suggested we start watching one version of each movie on the 4-5 nights before book club then I read parts of each book to see how different the book was from the movie. Surprisingly, the movies seem to include most of the actual quotations from the books but often have to be shortened, of course, to make for a good viewing length.

My spouse read "Northanger Abbey" as did one of the other males in our book club. My husband likens the heroine in that book to "Little Red Riding Hood" because of her naivete about the world in general. Everyone else chose to read either "Sense and Sensibility" or "Pride and Prejudice" and it was an evening of lively discussion.

I have to admit that "Pride and Prejudice" is probably my personal favorite. My hardback library copy had a chronology of Austen's life along with some of her contemporaries and world events of each year and I found that very interesting. It was so interesting, in fact, that I did further on-line research about her cousin, Eliza de Feuillide, whose French Army Captain husband was guillotined in 1794 after only thirteen years of marriage. She took her sickly son and returned to England where she eventually married one of Jane's brothers. I also researched "The Reign of Terror" in France and the Spithead and Nore mutinies lead by sailors of the English Royal Navy in 1797. Jane Austen writes about the world she knows and lives in and the distinct class consciousness as well as illustrating how little rights women of that time had and how dependent they were on marrying well. I'm sure her stories were also impacted by what was happening in the greater world which was what lead me to research some of those events mentioned in this chronology.

Reading guides are also available on line which list the characters in each book and a summary of each story. One of our book club members found a diagram on wikipedia of the characters in "Pride and Prejudice" and how they are related throughout the story which is fascinating. There are so many ways to experience and learn about Austen's books!

In addition to Jane Austen, I'd recommend watching "The Jane Austen Book Club" as I found it an excellent way to introduce and interest me in Jane's books. (It's also available in book form.)

For his birthday my spouse ordered himself a complete set of the BBC Jane Austen DVD's that we have yet to start watching so it will continue to be a Jane Austen festival in our house for days, months, and years to come!

pazt