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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
It is frightfully obvious that "Love and Friendship" was written by Jane Austen in her youth; her youth shines through the pages in, as the blurb says, the downright silliness of the letters.
I admit that I didn't finish this book. I got about halfway through and found myself thinking of the other books I had to read, my attention wavering as I read in each letter. Nevertheless, it was sweet, promising, and silly. Kind of what you would expect from a 14 year old. There is charm in the writing, a hint of what she would later become as an author. I have no doubt that I will one day finish the last half of this book, but not today.
I admit that I didn't finish this book. I got about halfway through and found myself thinking of the other books I had to read, my attention wavering as I read in each letter. Nevertheless, it was sweet, promising, and silly. Kind of what you would expect from a 14 year old. There is charm in the writing, a hint of what she would later become as an author. I have no doubt that I will one day finish the last half of this book, but not today.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Excellent, of course. Some of these were very silly. Some were pretty immature. It wasn't very fun to read a bunch in a row, but it was fun to read a story, set it aside, and come back to it.
One of the best things about reading these stories is they confirm the humor of her later, mature works. You cannot read these stories and then go read <i>Emma</i> or <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and get caught up in an overly-serious reading, as I know many people sometimes do. These are not dramas, they are comedies.
Some of my notes on individual stories:
Memoirs of Mr Clifford: Basically, a great way to learn about carriages and distances.
The Visit: A play about rich people. The main joke here is that they eat poor people food and have bawdy manners.
The Three Sisters: Really funny little story about three sisters, none of whom want to marry the man inquestion, but the oldest doesn't want her sisters to marry before her, and the mother says one of them must marry the man in question. The youngest is the cleverest and plays her cards well. Good insight into how Jane Austen build tricky situations and liked her characters to make their own way out.
Lesley Castle: Rather enjoyed this, and wish it weren't incomplete. See so many shades of her later mature novels in this one, especially Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility. Still lots of the ridiculous; characters who have strange/unreasonable priorities, etc., but nestled in a story that was fun. The running joke of characters having completely different ideas of beauty was pretty entertaining.
Lady Susan: This is great. Timeless, even. What's not to love about a notorious manipulatrice and the sister-in-law who sees through her, watching as her own brother starts to fall victim to the manipulations? (Okay, so it could be awful, but Jane Austen is writing here, so it's funny, not painful.)
Overall, definitely worth reading if you are intersted in Jane Austen's background and literary development.
One of the best things about reading these stories is they confirm the humor of her later, mature works. You cannot read these stories and then go read <i>Emma</i> or <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and get caught up in an overly-serious reading, as I know many people sometimes do. These are not dramas, they are comedies.
Some of my notes on individual stories:
Memoirs of Mr Clifford: Basically, a great way to learn about carriages and distances.
The Visit: A play about rich people. The main joke here is that they eat poor people food and have bawdy manners.
The Three Sisters: Really funny little story about three sisters, none of whom want to marry the man inquestion, but the oldest doesn't want her sisters to marry before her, and the mother says one of them must marry the man in question. The youngest is the cleverest and plays her cards well. Good insight into how Jane Austen build tricky situations and liked her characters to make their own way out.
Lesley Castle: Rather enjoyed this, and wish it weren't incomplete. See so many shades of her later mature novels in this one, especially Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility. Still lots of the ridiculous; characters who have strange/unreasonable priorities, etc., but nestled in a story that was fun. The running joke of characters having completely different ideas of beauty was pretty entertaining.
Lady Susan: This is great. Timeless, even. What's not to love about a notorious manipulatrice and the sister-in-law who sees through her, watching as her own brother starts to fall victim to the manipulations? (Okay, so it could be awful, but Jane Austen is writing here, so it's funny, not painful.)
Overall, definitely worth reading if you are intersted in Jane Austen's background and literary development.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I mean it's Jane Austen, would you expect anything less?
The early writings are just that, early. There is clear intent, but the execution is a little feeble at first. What I love is that you can see her progress. The very beginning pieces are abrupt and read like a pre-teen's writing. Then it begins to mature, and a clear voice becomes more present.
Lady Susan is also included in this piece, a book I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did.
Lady Susan is also included in this piece, a book I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did.
This hilarious collection of Jane Austen's early attempts at writing show how witty and sharp she could be even at a young age. It's such a pity that all the short stories here are unfinished.
I was laughing and chuckling at every page, because of the sketches of ridiculous characters in awkward situations.
"Love and Friendship" follows the life of Laura through her love-at-first-sight encounter with a handsome stranger, her ill-advised marriage, and how she was thrown upon the kindness of friends for financial support. It's full of fainting women, comical misunderstandings, and a rich old grandfather who shows up at the most convenient times. Full of true Austenian satire.
"Lesley Castle" is no less hilarious, as two very tall sisters meet their new extremely-short stepmother. All the ladies hate each other upon sight, and complain to their friends about the others' shortcomings with spiteful and snarky dialogue.
"The Three Sisters" tells the story of Mary and her sisters, Sophy and Georgiana, who must decide which of them will marry the odious Mr. Watts for his money and fortune in jewels. Mary especially hates Mr. Watts, who is very unpleasant, but she wants to lord it over her sisters by being the first to be married and flaunt her new jewels. She spends almost the entire story wavering between accepting or rejecting Mr. Watts' proposal with humorous results.
In the writing style, you can see this delightful little kernel of the author she would become. I enjoyed reading this so much!
I was laughing and chuckling at every page, because of the sketches of ridiculous characters in awkward situations.
"Love and Friendship" follows the life of Laura through her love-at-first-sight encounter with a handsome stranger, her ill-advised marriage, and how she was thrown upon the kindness of friends for financial support. It's full of fainting women, comical misunderstandings, and a rich old grandfather who shows up at the most convenient times. Full of true Austenian satire.
"Lesley Castle" is no less hilarious, as two very tall sisters meet their new extremely-short stepmother. All the ladies hate each other upon sight, and complain to their friends about the others' shortcomings with spiteful and snarky dialogue.
"The Three Sisters" tells the story of Mary and her sisters, Sophy and Georgiana, who must decide which of them will marry the odious Mr. Watts for his money and fortune in jewels. Mary especially hates Mr. Watts, who is very unpleasant, but she wants to lord it over her sisters by being the first to be married and flaunt her new jewels. She spends almost the entire story wavering between accepting or rejecting Mr. Watts' proposal with humorous results.
In the writing style, you can see this delightful little kernel of the author she would become. I enjoyed reading this so much!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading the bad and the good alike of Austen’s Juvenilia was an emotional experience for me, completionist that I am. Austen is obviously a prototypical example of a literary genius who’s life was too short, so as a devoted fan I’m desperate for more beyond the main 6 novels. This collection is everything she wrote before those, some dating back to her teenage years… and it shows. Even Jane Austen had to start somewhere! The Juvenilia range from the very dull to the delightfully juvenile. My favorite stories in this collection were “Henry and Eliza”, “Love and Freindship”, and “The History of England”… Early Austen was at her strongest when writing pure pastiche, these had me actually laughing at loud! I found some of the later works like “Catharine, or The Bower” pretty dense and hard to get through, representing an unhewn primitive version of Austen’s style. Either way, reading these gave me a deeper appreciation for Austen’s mature works, because I feel like I got to know her as a person better through reading these.
Something that surprised me reading these was the amount of casual acceptance of gay people, though not by name. From “Love and Freindship”:
“A soft languor spread over her lovely features, but increased their Beauty—. It was the Charectarestic of her Mind—. She was all sensibility and Feeling. We flew into each others arms and after having exchanged vows of mutual Freindship for the rest of our Lives, instantly unfolded to each other the most inward secrets of our Hearts—. We were interrupted in the delightfull Employment by the entrance of Augustus, (Edward's freind) who was just returned from a solitary ramble.
Never did I see such an affecting Scene as was the meeting of Edward and Augustus.
“My Life! my Soul!” (exclaimed the former) “My adorable angel!” (replied the latter) as they flew into each other's arms. It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself—We fainted alternately on a sofa. Adeiu Laura.”
From “A Collection of Letters”:
“I was delighted with her, the moment she entered the house, and she appeared equally pleased with me, attaching herself to me during the remainder of the day. There is something so sweet, so mild in her Countenance, that she seems more than Mortal. Her Conversation is as bewitching as her appearance; I could not help telling her how much she engaged my admiration—. “Oh! Miss Jane (said I)—and stopped from an inability at the moment of expressing myself as I could wish—Oh! Miss Jane—(I repeated)—I could not think of words to suit my feelings—She seemed waiting for my speech—. I was confused—distressed—my thoughts were bewildered—and I could only add—“How do you do?””
“I have only to add my dear Sophia, that my Henry's elder Brother dieing about the same time, Lady Bridget became a Widow like myself, and as we had always loved each other in idea from the high Character in which we had ever been spoken of, though we had never met, we determined to live together. We wrote to one another on the same subject by the same post, so exactly did our feeling and our actions coincide! We both eagerly embraced the proposals we gave and received of becoming one family, and have from that time lived together in the greatest affection.”
From: “Lesley Castle”
“I own indeed that had I been inclined to fall in love with any woman, I should not have made choice of Matilda Lesley for the object of my passion; for there is nothing I hate so much as a tall Woman”
NOTE: This time around I read just the three volumes of Juvenilia, not Lady Susan, so this low rating doesn’t reflect negatively on her! Lady Susan is a masterpiece and check out my review for it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3793613010?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Something that surprised me reading these was the amount of casual acceptance of gay people, though not by name. From “Love and Freindship”:
“A soft languor spread over her lovely features, but increased their Beauty—. It was the Charectarestic of her Mind—. She was all sensibility and Feeling. We flew into each others arms and after having exchanged vows of mutual Freindship for the rest of our Lives, instantly unfolded to each other the most inward secrets of our Hearts—. We were interrupted in the delightfull Employment by the entrance of Augustus, (Edward's freind) who was just returned from a solitary ramble.
Never did I see such an affecting Scene as was the meeting of Edward and Augustus.
“My Life! my Soul!” (exclaimed the former) “My adorable angel!” (replied the latter) as they flew into each other's arms. It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself—We fainted alternately on a sofa. Adeiu Laura.”
From “A Collection of Letters”:
“I was delighted with her, the moment she entered the house, and she appeared equally pleased with me, attaching herself to me during the remainder of the day. There is something so sweet, so mild in her Countenance, that she seems more than Mortal. Her Conversation is as bewitching as her appearance; I could not help telling her how much she engaged my admiration—. “Oh! Miss Jane (said I)—and stopped from an inability at the moment of expressing myself as I could wish—Oh! Miss Jane—(I repeated)—I could not think of words to suit my feelings—She seemed waiting for my speech—. I was confused—distressed—my thoughts were bewildered—and I could only add—“How do you do?””
“I have only to add my dear Sophia, that my Henry's elder Brother dieing about the same time, Lady Bridget became a Widow like myself, and as we had always loved each other in idea from the high Character in which we had ever been spoken of, though we had never met, we determined to live together. We wrote to one another on the same subject by the same post, so exactly did our feeling and our actions coincide! We both eagerly embraced the proposals we gave and received of becoming one family, and have from that time lived together in the greatest affection.”
From: “Lesley Castle”
“I own indeed that had I been inclined to fall in love with any woman, I should not have made choice of Matilda Lesley for the object of my passion; for there is nothing I hate so much as a tall Woman”
NOTE: This time around I read just the three volumes of Juvenilia, not Lady Susan, so this low rating doesn’t reflect negatively on her! Lady Susan is a masterpiece and check out my review for it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3793613010?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1