Tag: classics

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Ranking Jane Austen

This may be a controversial post, but this is how I would rank Jane Austen’s novels.

  1. Persuasion – While Pride and Prejudice is many readers’ favorite book and I do love it, I love Persuasion even more. Something about Anne Elliot’s relatable character and her second-chance romance with Frederick Wentworth just resonates with my soul.
  2. Pride and Prejudice – There is so much to love about this book. It is just a wonderful story all around; it is witty and timeless and has such amazing characters. I mean, who wouldn’t love Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy?
  3. Sense and Sensibility – I love the juxtaposition of Elinor and Marianne’s personalities, as well as the ups and downs of their romantic lives.
  4. Emma – I don’t relate as well to Emma as to the main characters in the top three books, but I do appreciate this novel and Emma’s journey to becoming more self-aware and grown-up.
  5. Mansfield Park – I don’t have any specific reasons for putting this in fifth place.  It just didn’t draw me in and make me care about the characters very much.
  6. Northanger Abbey – Perhaps I need to re-read this one, as I don’t remember much about it other than I didn’t enjoy it.

Do you agree or would you rank them differently?

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Jane Austen (Author Spotlight)

Another of my all-time favorite writers is Jane Austen. I tend to be the kind of person who perversely avoids things that everyone is raving about, but in this case, I don’t mind being part of the crowd of admirers. Here is a list of her books with their publication date:

She also had two unfinished works, The Watsons and Sanditon (included with Lady Susan in the book I linked to above). Although Pride and Prejudice is probably her best known book (who doesn’t love Mr. Darcy?), my favorite of her novels is Persuasion. I have always identified with the personality of Anne Elliot and love the way the romance unfolds between her and Frederick Wentworth. I especially enjoyed the 1995 movie version of Persuasion with Amanda Root.

Her novels have been retold and added onto by countless writers and filmmakers over the years with varying amounts of success. I have read (and viewed) lots of these and enjoyed many of them, although sometimes they are overwhelmingly bad.

Do you like Jane Austen? Do you have a favorite novel of hers?