Reviews

Catharine by Jane Austen

blastoise's review against another edition

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4.0

A lovely glimpse into Austen's young mind. With all her usual humor, wit, charm, and over-dramatic and hypocritical characters that our sharp protag sees right through but remains polite within the social decorum of the time.

I have read all of her works and this is what I think would have happened if it were finished:

Kitty, swooning over handsome but (not yet realized) wholly inadequate Edward, will become acquainted with the Wynne brother and/or Sir Peter. They will form a healthy friendship and attachement and be a superior comparison to Edward who is immature, vain, and cruel for playing with our heroine's feelings.

Edward will return after a time and Kitty, now having been acquainted with mature, respectful gentlemen, will realize with disappointment how inadequate and undeserving Edward is of her affection and dump his trash ass.

Edward will be shocked and struggle to cope with his injured vanity, and will try to win her, perhaps inadvertently realizing he fosters real feelings towards the superior Kitty.

Kitty, after some reflection and time to sort out her feelings from being manipulated by Edward, will realize that the man who deserves her and she him, will be Mr Wynne or the mysterious Sir Peter.

Either way somehow her beloved Wynne sisters will have been elevated from their poor situations and live happily ever after nearby Kitty and her new husband. Perhaps Sir Peter may fall for the single Wynne sister, thus being the salvation of their lowly situation. The married Wynne sister will not so tragically lose her old ass wank of a husband to some illness and be free to chill with Kitty and her sister and marry for happiness instead. THE END

jodie_campbell12's review

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3.75

Petition to bring back the nickname Kitty

knittyreader's review against another edition

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4.0

I never read the unfinished story of Catharine before, so I had not previous knowledge of where Austen's work stops, and where Rockas' work begins. I did not really find out either, which is a good thing, it is clear Rockas put a lot of work into keeping his writing style as Austenesque as possible. I must admit that, although I have been obsessed with Austen's work, I am not the kind of reader who readily notices difference in writing style when someone really attempts it to be as similar as possible.

I loved reading this story, and seeing the start of many characters who I loved in Austen's later work.

I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

sarih's review against another edition

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3.0

Este librito es parte de la Juvenilia de Jane Austen y no es para nada largo debido a que no está terminado. Se trata de un fragmento, un trabajo no terminado de la juventud de la autora que permite ver en sus personajes alguno que otro destello de lo que serán Marianne de Sentido y Sensibilidad, por ejemplo.

Teniendo en cuenta esto creo que es un texto muy recomendable para lectores de Austen con más experiencia y un gusto por leer más que solo sus novelas. En Catharine, o la Glorieta se puede vislumbrar los temas que luego poblaran todos los trabajos completos de la autora. Esta edición cuenta con notas al pie que permiten saber un poco más sobre los lugares y expande sobre los asuntos tocados en el texto mismo. La explicación de porqué había jóvenes buscando matrimonio en las colonia inglesas de la época y lo que significaba, tanto social como personalmente, para muchas de ellas es una de mis favoritas.

El humor característico de Austen también hace su aparición en este librito, aunque no es uno refinado ni tan sutil como al que estamos acostumbrados.

Este es realmente un buen librito aunque incompleto y con defectos propios de una escritora que daba sus primeros pasos. Lo recomiendo bastante, aunque creo que gustará más a aquellos que quieran leer todo lo escrito por Jane Austen y estudiosos o curiosos que sientan interés por la prosa de una autora en ciernes.

alexxshum's review

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Omg I wish she continued with this

melli80's review against another edition

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3.0

normally I Dont read Classic novels, but lately i have been needing to read some thing othere then my thrillers and cozies. Im trying to catch up with my arc reading and forgot that this was on my kindke so isaid what the heck. Now from the introduction of the story my understanding is that this was an unpublished story. and that the co-author states that the characters eventually came to play in other stories..
not that all classics are dull or slow but i felt that while i enjoyed the experience it kinda felt like Ms Austen was brain storming with this story then actually writing a novel.. there is a common thread in the story but i felt like there wasnt much point to the story line.. but that ok, as I said it was still an experience that i enjoyed.

safa9706's review

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funny lighthearted
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

safa9706's review against another edition

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5.0

This was SO funny and amusing, a delight to read! It was really interesting to read about characters who clearly heavily inspired characters in future novels Austen wrote. I only wish this was longer and completed!

heather_freshparchment's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5. A fun read, with all the quirkiness of Austen's juvenilia, and an admirable attempt at mimicking Austen's style, but doesn't quite hold up next to her finished works. I suspect this is due to Austen's inability to revise it as she did her more famous works.

jennyfer's review against another edition

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4.0

Catharine, an orphan living with her maiden aunt, is introduced to the best and (not quite) worst of society in this sweet novella. Originally abandoned by Jane Austen in favour of other works, Catharine, or the Bower has been edited and published but admittedly still feels too short. The characters are well developed and described, as are the intricacies of the scenes, but certain passages feel rushed, especially the ending.

Despite this, it is a sweet, fun novella, and the reader can see Austen's signature stamp all over it. Even from a young age, she was a talented wordsmith, and this book would certainly please Austen's fans.

**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.