firerosearien's review against another edition
4.0
Copy/pasting my post from Reddit because I am lazy:
7.Emma - the protagonist is so vapid, and the novel so empty, I just can't appreciate it. I know that's the point, that it's about the emptiness of lives of upper middle class women, and I do really like Mr. Knightley, but I just can't make myself like Emma. And I've seen Clueless a bunch of times, too, and the movie, I think, is an upgrade.
6: Sense and Sensibility - Not bad, just not particularly great, either. It's a good way to start reading Austen as the plot is easy to follow and the characters are relatively few, but having read it once I have no real desire to read it again. Also I think Colonel Brandon would have been a better partner for Elinor, but that's just me.
5: Mansfield Park - here is your Jane Eyre/Cinderella story (which I'm a total sucker for), and though Fanny isn't strong in an extroverted sense, like Elizabeth Bennet, she is still able to keep to her morals, which says something amid many of the other horrid characters, refusing a marriage that almost any other female character in that novel would have taken without a second thought.
4: Persuasion - being honest, this was the last of the novels I read, and at this point it was super easy to predict the plot, so it didn't hold my attention very long. I'll need to reread it at some point to give it its due.
3: Northanger Abbey: A very strong start—actually laughed out loud, and the time that actually takes place AT the Abbey is fantastic, but the rest has some awkward pacing issues (they spend more time at Bath) and the ending feels forced. I kind of wish the Admiral had done a Rochester with his wife, but then I guess Jane Eyre wouldn't have been as successful...Earliest known reference to baseball, however, which is cool as a baseball fan/writer.
2: Lady Susan - As a diehard Game of Thrones/aSoIaF fan, you might imagine I loooove the complexity that a multiple P.O.V narration brings to a story, and I love the way the story unfolds unexpectedly. The only question here is whether LS actually counts as a novel, or if it's a novella.
1: Pride and Prejudice - The pacing is fantastic, the plot has twists that DON'T feel forced, as though the author needed something to happen to move events along, and while Elizabeth Bennet is an awesome heroine if ever there was one and Darcy epitomizes the brooding hero, some of the other supporting characters - Mr. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Mr. Bingley - are extremely likable as well. I finished P&P wishing I could go visit Regency England.
7.Emma - the protagonist is so vapid, and the novel so empty, I just can't appreciate it. I know that's the point, that it's about the emptiness of lives of upper middle class women, and I do really like Mr. Knightley, but I just can't make myself like Emma. And I've seen Clueless a bunch of times, too, and the movie, I think, is an upgrade.
6: Sense and Sensibility - Not bad, just not particularly great, either. It's a good way to start reading Austen as the plot is easy to follow and the characters are relatively few, but having read it once I have no real desire to read it again. Also I think Colonel Brandon would have been a better partner for Elinor, but that's just me.
5: Mansfield Park - here is your Jane Eyre/Cinderella story (which I'm a total sucker for), and though Fanny isn't strong in an extroverted sense, like Elizabeth Bennet, she is still able to keep to her morals, which says something amid many of the other horrid characters, refusing a marriage that almost any other female character in that novel would have taken without a second thought.
4: Persuasion - being honest, this was the last of the novels I read, and at this point it was super easy to predict the plot, so it didn't hold my attention very long. I'll need to reread it at some point to give it its due.
3: Northanger Abbey: A very strong start—actually laughed out loud, and the time that actually takes place AT the Abbey is fantastic, but the rest has some awkward pacing issues (they spend more time at Bath) and the ending feels forced. I kind of wish the Admiral had done a Rochester with his wife, but then I guess Jane Eyre wouldn't have been as successful...Earliest known reference to baseball, however, which is cool as a baseball fan/writer.
2: Lady Susan - As a diehard Game of Thrones/aSoIaF fan, you might imagine I loooove the complexity that a multiple P.O.V narration brings to a story, and I love the way the story unfolds unexpectedly. The only question here is whether LS actually counts as a novel, or if it's a novella.
1: Pride and Prejudice - The pacing is fantastic, the plot has twists that DON'T feel forced, as though the author needed something to happen to move events along, and while Elizabeth Bennet is an awesome heroine if ever there was one and Darcy epitomizes the brooding hero, some of the other supporting characters - Mr. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Mr. Bingley - are extremely likable as well. I finished P&P wishing I could go visit Regency England.
valerigail's review against another edition
5.0
Its Jane Austen, what more can I say? She was brilliant!
deanagrummons's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Sense and Sensibility the most. Having watched the movie for Pride and Prejudice, I thought that one would be my favorite. Imagine my surprise. I did enjoy Pride and Prejudice and even Persuasion. However, Emma was not at all to my liking. She rather annoyed me. Actually, I think Jane Austen must have known a lot of super annoying people. Because there is at least one (if not more) in each story. Probably would have been best to just remove those people from her life. Most likely wouldn't have been a great story though.
gracer113's review against another edition
5.0
I finally finished all of Jane Austen's novels!
These are my favorites:
1. Northanger Abbey
2. Mansfield Park
3. Emma
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Persuasion and Lady Susan
6. Sense and Sensibility
I honestly didn't like Sense and Sensibility that much, strangely, I found Marianne to be silly and selfish because she didn't care for Elinor's character at all. And poor Elinor had to exert herself to make Marianne happy even when she was depressed herself!
I throughly enjoyed Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park because I loved the heroines, the love interests, and the plot itself more than I thought I would, which is why Pride and Prejudice is a little bit lower on the list. I really like Pride and Prejudice, but I was pleasantly surprised by the others.
I just finished Emma, and I really enjoyed it! I liked how her character changed from beginning to end and I liked how her flaws rounded out her character and made her more alive in the book. It's nice to see how Mr. Knightley and Emma compliment each other as well.
Although I liked Persuasion and Anne's character, I did find it a little more boring than the other novels. Although I found Lady Susan to be hysterical, and I loved how it was done in letters! It was refreshing to see a main character be a villain, and see how other character perceived her in their "private" letters.
I'm most definitely going to read "Sandition and Other Stories" and I want read the Pride-and-Prejudice-based novel "Longbourn". I'm very glad I read these!
These are my favorites:
1. Northanger Abbey
2. Mansfield Park
3. Emma
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Persuasion and Lady Susan
6. Sense and Sensibility
I honestly didn't like Sense and Sensibility that much, strangely, I found Marianne to be silly and selfish because she didn't care for Elinor's character at all. And poor Elinor had to exert herself to make Marianne happy even when she was depressed herself!
I throughly enjoyed Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park because I loved the heroines, the love interests, and the plot itself more than I thought I would, which is why Pride and Prejudice is a little bit lower on the list. I really like Pride and Prejudice, but I was pleasantly surprised by the others.
I just finished Emma, and I really enjoyed it! I liked how her character changed from beginning to end and I liked how her flaws rounded out her character and made her more alive in the book. It's nice to see how Mr. Knightley and Emma compliment each other as well.
Although I liked Persuasion and Anne's character, I did find it a little more boring than the other novels. Although I found Lady Susan to be hysterical, and I loved how it was done in letters! It was refreshing to see a main character be a villain, and see how other character perceived her in their "private" letters.
I'm most definitely going to read "Sandition and Other Stories" and I want read the Pride-and-Prejudice-based novel "Longbourn". I'm very glad I read these!
thizlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
If you don't like Austen, we can't be book buddies
itsdanixx's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t believe it took me 25 years to read any Jane Austen. I love her. I love her so much.
lynn_k's review against another edition
3.0
My year of Austen is finished! I rated each book individually and then averaged out the ratings. I've never read Austen before and for the most part I'm glad I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan. Sense and Sensibility was quite good as well. Emma was enjoyable. I felt that Pride and Prejudice was overrated, Mansfield Park was long winded, and Persuasion was a waste of time and paper.
Northanger Abbey 5/5
Lady Susan 4/5
Sense and Sensibility 3/5
Emma 3/5
Pride and Prejudice 3/5
Mansfield Park 3/5
Persuasion 2/5
I thoroughly enjoyed Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan. Sense and Sensibility was quite good as well. Emma was enjoyable. I felt that Pride and Prejudice was overrated, Mansfield Park was long winded, and Persuasion was a waste of time and paper.
Northanger Abbey 5/5
Lady Susan 4/5
Sense and Sensibility 3/5
Emma 3/5
Pride and Prejudice 3/5
Mansfield Park 3/5
Persuasion 2/5
rafinator23's review against another edition
5.0
I love Jane Austen and this is a great collection to someone who enjoys her or wants to have classic English Literature at their disposal.
mariberries's review against another edition
3.0
Dec 2 2017 - Read The Beautifull Cassandra, which is part of the Juvenilia Part 1 collection. Juvenilia is a collection of stories she wrote when she was very young. And boy oh boy does it show. This is clearly a story written by a child. I did not like it. 1 star.