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I was 13 years old when I first read a Reader's Digest condensed version of Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice." Unbeknownst to me, a love of all things Jane was going to be a real part of my life in the near future. To say that Jane Austen changed my life might be melodramatic; to say that she greatly enriched my life and continues to do so in more ways than I can count might be a less scary way of saying the same.
Young teenage me was already a lover of classic literature, and soon my bookshelves were filled with real versions of her novels. Each of her heroines became my friends. Opinionated Elizabeth, staid and steady Elinor, naive Catherine, quiet Fanny, lively Emma and sweet Anne have been my companions through many hours of reading and re-reading. I have seen fourteen different film versions of these six books, and more if you count Bollywood or modern-day re-tellings. I can debate the merits of different screenwriters, tell you which adaptations are most faithful to the texts, and quote some versions forwards and backwards. It is simply an established fact: I love Jane Austen.
It took me by surprise, however, just how much I enjoyed myself when I sat down a couple weeks ago to read a completed version of Austen's final work, "Sanditon." Jane Austen wrote the first 11 chapters shortly before her death in 1817. As I began to read through them, loving Austen's rich ability to bring an entire community vividly to life and often laughing out loud at her turns of phrase, I was struck by an observation. I was treating myself to something I would rarely or perhaps never experience again: reading something by Jane Austen for the first time. As an avid reader, a number of the authors I enjoy are still alive and bringing new releases into the world. But with Jane, someone so established in my life yet nearly 200 years dead and buried, it was like a precious gift to have such a new encounter with an old friend.
Reading a new Jane Austen as an adult was a fully satisfying venture. With hundreds of titles in my reading repertoire, I can attest that she is as talented an author as any. Her phrasing conveys so much with such ease, using words to please the senses and delight the mind. Her observations of human character ring so true that even today we recognize how right she is to scorn societal weakness and ridicule the absurd. All while calling up the noble and compassionate forces of our own nature and asking us to observe our lives with the candor with which she has observed her characters. Will we find within ourselves the passivity of a Mr. Bennet or the snobbishness of a Mrs. Elton? Or will we desire to be a faithful family member such as Colonel Fitzwilliam, a friend like Eleanor Tilney, or a mentor like Anne Taylor?
Austen is a true classic. I know I'm not alone in those who seek out the literature section in bookstores just to smile at the sight of her name and feel in that moment that this is one of the things that is right with the world. I'm so very thankful to be surrounded by fellow Austen lovers in my life and to have the ability to spread the joy of Austen to others I know. Who knows where my love of Austen will continue taking me in the future, but for now I can say along with our author: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." A library that includes the works of Jane Austen!
Young teenage me was already a lover of classic literature, and soon my bookshelves were filled with real versions of her novels. Each of her heroines became my friends. Opinionated Elizabeth, staid and steady Elinor, naive Catherine, quiet Fanny, lively Emma and sweet Anne have been my companions through many hours of reading and re-reading. I have seen fourteen different film versions of these six books, and more if you count Bollywood or modern-day re-tellings. I can debate the merits of different screenwriters, tell you which adaptations are most faithful to the texts, and quote some versions forwards and backwards. It is simply an established fact: I love Jane Austen.
It took me by surprise, however, just how much I enjoyed myself when I sat down a couple weeks ago to read a completed version of Austen's final work, "Sanditon." Jane Austen wrote the first 11 chapters shortly before her death in 1817. As I began to read through them, loving Austen's rich ability to bring an entire community vividly to life and often laughing out loud at her turns of phrase, I was struck by an observation. I was treating myself to something I would rarely or perhaps never experience again: reading something by Jane Austen for the first time. As an avid reader, a number of the authors I enjoy are still alive and bringing new releases into the world. But with Jane, someone so established in my life yet nearly 200 years dead and buried, it was like a precious gift to have such a new encounter with an old friend.
Reading a new Jane Austen as an adult was a fully satisfying venture. With hundreds of titles in my reading repertoire, I can attest that she is as talented an author as any. Her phrasing conveys so much with such ease, using words to please the senses and delight the mind. Her observations of human character ring so true that even today we recognize how right she is to scorn societal weakness and ridicule the absurd. All while calling up the noble and compassionate forces of our own nature and asking us to observe our lives with the candor with which she has observed her characters. Will we find within ourselves the passivity of a Mr. Bennet or the snobbishness of a Mrs. Elton? Or will we desire to be a faithful family member such as Colonel Fitzwilliam, a friend like Eleanor Tilney, or a mentor like Anne Taylor?
Austen is a true classic. I know I'm not alone in those who seek out the literature section in bookstores just to smile at the sight of her name and feel in that moment that this is one of the things that is right with the world. I'm so very thankful to be surrounded by fellow Austen lovers in my life and to have the ability to spread the joy of Austen to others I know. Who knows where my love of Austen will continue taking me in the future, but for now I can say along with our author: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." A library that includes the works of Jane Austen!
