I find the adaptations of Austen generally help me with the books.

I did just manage to see the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility recently. I liked it, but it felt kind of slight in comparison to the book. I guess that’s inevitable – I pretty much have a rule that movie adaptions of beloved books are bound to disappoint if you see them after reading the book, because a book generally just has so much more depth and detail, and you usually lose that in a movie. Seeing the movie first doesn’t usually ruin the book, though.

I’m kind of torn now between trying Mansfield Park next or Persuasion next. I should probably just pick both of them up soon and figure out which to read first once I have them.

The people Fanny should be able to rely on to show good sense and good morals (her aunts and cousins) fail her and themselves on every count. Fanny stands alone in the novel in recognizing the difference between right and wrong and acting ethically at every test. And for this she is ridiculed, scolded, taunted, insulted and bullied. Even her uncle, who should have recognized that she was his only ally during his absence, betrays her and tries to force her to marry Henry Crawford (who would have tired of her, discarded her, and destroyed her in no time flat).

It’s a tough, complicated book, but I’ve come to love it. Mrs. Norris has been described as the most evil character in all of English fiction, by the way.

But for straight-up romance , Persuasion and P&P are Austen’s best. I think Captain Wentworth’s and Mr. Darcy’s letters almost stopped my heart the first time I read them.

I find the adaptations of Austen generally help me with the books. Whenever I was frustrated with Anne, I mentally imagined her staring into the camera crying or soemthing like that, and for me, it worked as a reminder that I was supposed to be frustrated, and sad for her.

And Rupert Penry Jones is so good! If anyone ever watched MI-5, it was like a revolving door of JA adaptation heroes!

I actually found the heroine in Persuasion to be a little too passive,

Yes, that’s exactly what makes me want to shake her, but it’s kind of the point. And in the end it’s not just how her character changes but how Wentworth appreciates that change that makes it so worthwhile. Btw – with you on the running pell-mell through the streets at the end of the recent version, but Rupert Penry-Jones made it well worth the watch.

I’m new to Gaskell and have seen both North and South (a favourite) and Cranford. I have read North and South and loved it, and have Wives and Daughters in my tbr.

And Jane Eyre is a true favourite. Love the latest adaptation with Toby Stephens.

Jennie look at what you’ve stirred up! LOL

What I want to know is, why is it mostly Austen and Charlotte Bronte who come up when discussing classic romantic novels. It’s like nobody reads E.M. Forster anymore. And he wrote some beautiful and romantic books. A Room with a View. Maurice. Where Angels Fear to Tread. Anyone?

Anthony Trollope’s Ayala’s Angel is also worth reading, if a bit too long.

The BBC did an amazing mini-series of North and South, also by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Yes, I saw and loved that. I saw the TV adaption of Cranford after I saw North and South; I like them both a lot, though they are very different – North and South is more gritty and romantic; Cranford is more humorous and slice-of-life. I happened to buy the book version of Cranford simply because that was what Borders had – if i like it I will definitely pick up Gaskell’s other novels, including North and South.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (OMG excellent finished in a day).

I like Jane Eyre a lot – I’ve read it twice. It’s fun to see all the devices in this book and have somehow made it into the romance tropes hall of fame: hero has dark secret, heroine is poor and plain but plucky, heroine thinks hero prefers beauty who is only after his money, and more. But what I love about Jane Eyre is that it presents a heroine who feels unusually feminist for her time; not feminist in the modern sense of being concerned with Women’s Issues, but simply having a will and a conscience that supercede any notions of obedience. Jane rocks.

My only problem with that version is I sort of wanted Brandon and Elinor to end up together b/c Rickman and Thompson had such lovely chemistry in their scenes together!

I just remembered that I bought the DVD version a few weeks ago after seeing it on sale at Borders – I will have to watch it soon. There were times even in the book where I wondered if Elinor and Brandon would end up together because they did have a certain “fit” that Brandon lacked with Marianne, IMO.

Which reminds me of the problem I alluded to in my review – I’m still not sure about Marianne and Brandon. For sure, I wanted her to grow up and stop being so silly and melodramatic. And Brandon was a great guy. But there was something about that resolution that I didn’t like, exactly. Maybe it was partly the age difference, but I also think it was simply that however much Brandon had a thing for Marianne (which I’m guessing was mostly based on her looks, since they really weren’t that suited tempermentally), it almost felt to me like pairing them in the end amounted to punishing Marianne for her silliness. She got slapped down in her infatuation with Willoughby, and in some ways she seemed to be settling for Brandon, as a safe choice. I’d liked to have seen more to convince me that they had really learned to appreciate those qualities in each other that would make them ideal life partners.

I loved Mansfield Park when I first read it at age 14. I was really a sucker for victim heroines who are perfect but are hated by her extended family and have a secret, unrequited love for a guy who is being seduced by that worldly other woman. However, looking back at it, I don’t think I will like Fanny as much now as I did then. If you read it, don’t read it for the characters, but for the plot. I

it is basically Anne & Wentworth's story, with fewer tangents.

I love Persuasion too, but think it goes beyond “basically Anne & Wentworth's story” — you might say it’s the story of a woman who slowly, purposefully, learns how to give up everything she was born with, to get the world, the man, and the British Empire on the high seas.

Emma is a trial, a frustration, and ultimately worth it — but I’ve been learning to read it for 40 years. Hint: it’s a trick. It’s not about Emma herself, but about the community she has to learn to live in. The least romantic of Austen’s books, imo (except for the hidden romance, which is not the Emma/Knightley story). The most like a brilliant, problematical literary novel (and a little like a detective story). I’m posting about it today at History Hoydens.

P&P just barely edges out Persuasion as my favorite Austen. The former has a sense of commedy and immediacy that mitigated the writing when I first read it and that continues to draw me in. However, I’ll soon find myself skipping to favorite parts or watching a certain film or series to fit a particular mood.

Persusion often receives full rereads because so much nuance is forgotten and as much as I like the 95 film, the slower, introverted nature of this story is best depicted by the book.

My only problem with that version is I sort of wanted Brandon and Elinor to end up together b/c Rickman and Thompson had such lovely chemistry in their scenes together!

That probably had something to do with Hugh Grant’s underwhelming portrayal of Edward. I guess it means he did a good job seeing as his character bored me stupid. He and Emma Thompson had no chemistry whatsoever.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (OMG excellent finished in a day).

Agreed.

Persuasion* tied with P&P
I believe Austen wrote this last and it certainly reflects the maturity she probably has gained over the years of writing. The characters come from a more modest background (though Anne’s family may be a little delusional) when compared to that of P&P. For jaded romance readers, this one will probably hit all the right spots since the romance is subtle but you still can feel the “passion” (it’s weird to use the word for any of Austen’s books) between Anne and Wentworth.

P&P
This is by far the most popular literature of all time, and I think it’s because it’s got all the right elements that romance readers (or people who just appreciate literature) love. Our hero (Mr. Darcy) is sort of your typical wealthy, cold CEO-type personality and Elizabeth is your smart heroine with yet another modest background (where have I encountered these people…oh yeah EVERYWHERE). But this book has a lot of wit and humor. I didn’t actually truly appreciate P&P until I’ve read it 3 times! You just have to take the characters as they are and think of them as the spices to the main dish (Eliza and Darcy).

Emma
You know the move Clueless is supposedly a modern adaptation of Emma. I love Emma because…(well I first love Kate Beckinsale in the film adaptation) she is full of faults (which fits well with her situation) but she learns from her mistakes. She is smart and generally quick to act on her mistake, whereas some of Austen’s other characters really takes a long time to realize their problem.

Northanger Abbey
This one is just so cute (and so is the girl who played Katharine in the adaptation). This is supposedly her first work though published last. I think it really reflected what Austen’s was reading. I read somewhere that it was a common approach for a first-time writer…write something you read about. So she wrote a book about books! (I think I stole that statement from the aforementioned person.)

S&S and Mansfield Park
I never read these though S&S is up there in terms of popularity with P&P. I think it’s the second sister that I can’t get over…I like me girls to be unattached until they meet the hero — old school I know.
The same goes for Mansfield – I really don’t like Fanny Price or Edmund for that matter. Though I do like the Crawford characters.

Some other suggestions from other authors…most people probably already read these
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (OMG excellent finished in a day).
Wives and Daughters – I only watched the film though, apparently the author didn’t actually finish the book. For some reason I always think of W&D as very similar to Mansfield Park.
North & South – again the adaptation is great.
Princess Bride – hilarious, I love all the tangents and I write a lot like that when I post on DA

Wow long post :P

For a lark you might try Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton. It’s very Jane-Austen-y but with dragons.

I find that my urge to reread it is just as well satisfied by watching the Colin Firth in a wet t-shirt BBC adaption as by actually reading the book. (Never the Kiera Knightley version. That thing is a travesty)

Concur on all points.

For me, Austen is all about the wicked depiction of flawed individuals – and it is about making the right choices. Marianne in S&S is much more overtly lovable than Elinor, but her choices are poor and her responses to the consequences of those choices even poorer – she has the excuse of being a ditzy teenager, and she does learn her lesson, but I am never convinced that she grows up fully.

They are wonderful books – but for my real desert island romantic novel, I’d take Middlemarch by George Eliot, which really has it all.

If you want to watch a film version, I vote for the Amanda Root/Ciaran Hines version, which is great, OR the 70s BBC adaptation, which is fantastic, once you get past the avocado gowns and the Farrah Fawcett wings. The recent BBC adaptation is meh, not least because of the random tacked on “action climax” in which Anne Elliot goes TEARING through the streets of Bath to find Wentworth.

Persuasion is her most mature work, I think, and is certainly the most serious. It's also my favorite film adaptation of an Austen, with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds (swoon)

This is a fantastic adaptation, and it really captures how difficult Anne’s life is due to her previous decisions. Persuasion is the only one of Austen’s books that feels like a book about real adults as opposed to a fairy tale, which is what Emma and Mansfield Park seem like.

I bought Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell a few weeks ago

The BBC did an amazing mini-series of North and South, also by Elizabeth Gaskell. You can see it on youtube: here.