Jane Austen's work has the medicinal sting of the G&T you crave at the end of a weary day.
'Persuasion' reloaded
I read Persuasion every single year. It’s the closest thing I have to a Bible. Whenever the world seems particularly mad (2017, anyone?), or midlife melancholia is lapping at my shins, Austen consoles me. Her imperishable wisdom is an antidote to any idiocy on the evening news.
Her wit has the medicinal sting of the G&T you crave at the end of a weary day. Of her six astounding novels, only four had been published, anonymously, by the time she died. For crying out loud, her black marble gravestone doesn’t even mention she was a writer! As long as readers love her, though, and millions of us hang on her every word, she is safe among the immortals.
Pride and Prejudice 1940s style.
A deepening relationship
Our relationship with Austen’s work changes and deepens over time. I’m glad I did Mansfield Park for Higher-level. It’s the most difficult and unyielding of her books, and I wouldn’t pick it up willingly.
Arguably, Sense and Sensibility never escapes its beginnings as an epistolary novel, although Austen wrote nothing more devastating than that scene in which Mr and Mrs John Dashwood persuade themselves of the virtue of giving a widowed mother and her daughters almost nothing to live on. Northanger Abbey bursts with first-novel high spirits, but for many it never goes beyond parody.
Emma resembles its interfering heroine, “perfect despite her faults”. As for Pride and Prejudice, the template for every romcom, it is much imitated but never bettered.
Everyone who loves literature will have their Favourite Jane. Everyone who loves gin has their favourite gin too.
Thank you for writing about the lasting value of Austen's work! I'm a such a huge Jane Austen fan myself. Followed you! I wish I would have found this post earlier. These days, I have to type search terms of the kind of stuff I want to read into the tool bar to find good posts like this.
What do you think was the best film adaptation of "Persuasion?" Or did you ever find a modern retelling of it that was good? I didn't like the most recent one I saw, not because of the writing of course, but because I couldn't connect to those actors. My favorite "Pride & Prejudice" movie was the one with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFayden. I could watch that over and over - such an awesome cast!
Just for fun, I started writing a modern parody series of "Pride & Prejudice" on my Steemit blog: "The Devil Plays Mr. Darcy." I have a matchmaking GBF for my "Mrs. Bennet," and a cast of high schoolers competing to win an acting scholarship by performing in "Pride & Prejudice" -- a play within a play where the offstage action goes wild. Please drop by sometime and let me know what you think of it.
@JoyLovesToWrite
This really is a hard choice. Both versions are excellent. However, I have to go with the 2007 version. I get more emotionally invested in it. Overall, I liked the portrayals of the characters and the quicker pace. Steem on Joy! :)
😁 I was just thinking that I haven't seen a modern retelling/adaptation of "Persuasion." Have you seen one? Like for example, the most recent P&P adaptation I saw was the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" series on YouTube. But Persuasion...?
Nice thank you for sharing dear friend:)
I have yet to read Persuasion. I have read Sense and Sensibility and watched the movie as well. As a non native speaker and also from Asia, the novels written by Jane Austen is able to transport me to an era of imagination.
A big treat awaits you in 'Persuasion' @positivesteem :)
I am sure it will. If you are feeling philosophical, I have this question for you.
Since Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life, What Will You Do Differently Today
Your title sort of sums up my life.
I'm glad the title touched you @geke - it touched me too :)
My favorite Jane Austen work is Mansfield Park. There is just something about Fanny Price.