Becoming Jane

[Harp]

I hang my head in shame while I admit that I've never read any of Austen's novels. I tried P&P ages ago and I just couldn't get into it--I should try again. I have a friend that won't stop going on about how wonderful Persuasion is so maybe I should give that one a go? Which are your favorites?
I'm all over the map with classic British Lit--for instance I love the Brontes but David Copperfield is one of the two times in my life I ever bought Cliff Notes--reading that book was like banging my head against a brick wall, I just hated it (the second book that drove me into the arms of Cliff was Moby Dick btw).

Austen and G. Eliot go together for me, although I've put Daniel Deronda
down several times, love Persuasion, and E's Silas Marner is
a philosophic moral that intrigues me as much as E does. Emily is
my favorite Bronte, her poetry and Wuthering Heights captivate.
Dickens I have spared with, and Melville I deeply admire.
Moby Dick is too often dismissed on American campi.

...and tell Cliff for me that he's a lucky guy.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Austen and G. Eliot go together for me, although I've put Daniel Deronda
down several times, love Persuasion, and E's Silas Marner is
a philosophic moral that intrigues me as much as E does. Emily is
my favorite Bronte, her poetry and Wuthering Heights captivate.
Dickens I have spared with, and Melville I deeply admire.
Moby Dick is too often dismissed on American campi.

...and tell Cliff for me that he's a lucky guy.

I should give Moby Dick another try--I've heard good things about it from several people whose opinion I respect. No doubt the fact that there would be no pop quizes on inane topics this time would also help with my enjoyment of the novel. David Copperfield, however, never again! Silas Marner has been on my "to be read" list for years, that novel really intrigues me.

Your comment on Cliff is sweet (blush).

 

[BeBopBaby]

Saw it. Loved it. While it isn't life-changing or ground-breaking cinema, it was a feast for the eyes and a nice piece of escapism from beginning to end. It made me really miss the English country side and I even got a little misty at the end.

On a related note, have you seen that Masterpiece Theater will be airing the complete works of Jane Austen next year? They're doing a new version of each of her novels, except for Pride & Prejudice in which they'll be airing the 1995 A&E version (which would be hard to make any better anyway, IMHO). They'll also be airing a dramatization based on Austen's life.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/index.html

 

[BeBopBaby]

I should give Moby Dick another try--I've heard

If it's any consolation, I've never been able to make it through Moby Dick either (and I even like to read Dickens!) [huh]

 

[imoldfashioned]

On a related note, have you seen that Masterpiece Theater will be airing the complete works of Jane Austen next year? They're doing a new version of each of her novels, except for Pride & Prejudice in which they'll be airing the 1995 A&E version (which would be hard to make any better anyway, IMHO). They'll also be airing a dramatization based on Austen's life.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/index.html

I'm so excited about this lineup! On an unrelated note I've always wished I could work for 'GBH (they're right across the river).

 

[Harp]

If it's any consolation, I've never been able to make it through Moby Dick either...

...a whale of a tale.