Let's talk about Jane Austen
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2015
- In which I get very, very excited about Jane Austen. Containing minor spoilers of a few romantic plot-lines - if you have somehow managed to miraculously avoid knowledge of who ends up with who.
--Videos mentioned--
Let's Talk About Dickens: • Let's Talk About Dickens
Underrated Classics (including Jane Austen's Lady Susan): • Underrated Classics: l...
--General links--
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I love that you mentioned how complex Fanny Price is and her internal struggle.
Thanks! She really is such an interesting character
I love that you said “if you’ve read all Jane Austen’s books you should read them again and again”. This is exactly what I’ve done through my life and it’s thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks for pointing out that she is the one who created the romantic plots that we see in films over and over again. I also LOVE her sense of humor!
How does one ever find a modern book that can compare with Jane Austen or Charles Dickens or the Brontës? I guess I feel the same way about music. I thoroughly enjoy playing and listening to mostly Bach, Beethoven and Schubert. To me, nothing else is worth devoting one’s time to.
It is definitely worth doing! They are just such brilliant books. I'm really hoping to reread one or two later this year.
The Prince Regent liked her books and Sir Walter Scott effectively admitted she was a better writer than him, so I suppose she was not considered a ladies only writer at the time.
I got 100 free classics on my ereader when I got it. The 1st thing I did was read all the Jane Austen.
Lady Susan was not included but I subsequently bought it. Jane is my favorite. I wonder if she had lived longer how much more wonderful literature we would have.
I often think that too - she was amazing!
I love this video... I found one of your videos quite recently and now I seek them out :)
I love JA so much! She's been my favourite author for most of my life, ever since I read one of hers when I was about 11 or 12 years old!
Very jealous that you worked in the Jane Austin centre in Bath, fabulous place - I visited years ago, I think it was in 2013 or there abouts :D
Thanks :) Jane Austen is amazing, and I had a great time working at the Jane Austen Centre.
Your mention of Lady Susan - her best villainous character - pleased me the way people smiling at Mr.Collins pleases you.👍
I had a really charged debate with my dad about Jane Austen being 'girly'. I was ranting about Romanticism and the French revolution, critiques of societal norms, etc. only to eventually realise he was pulling my leg and purposefully winding me up the entire time! I've had him sit through all the BBC adaptations of Austen's work and he's actually watched the 1995 Pride and Prejudice series twice now so I'm happy, lol. There's no way I'll get him to read the books though, his reading repertoire is purely sci-fi and fantasy literature.
I agree with your points, and I also really dislike when people disrespect Austen as an author. When I was in freshman English class in college, I was going to write a research paper about JA, and the instructor assured me I wouldn't get an 'A' if I did so, because Austen was boring and wrote the same thing over and over, etc (btw, this instructor was female!). I assured the instructor that I would prove that Austen had merit, and so I focused on her wonderful characterizations.....and I got my 'A'! I'm not sure if I convinced the instructor, but it bothered me a lot that she, a person whose job is to help students understand great literature, seemed to have no understanding herself of one of the greatest writers of all time!
How annoying! Jane Austen is amazing, and it makes me very cross when people dismiss her too!
Hi, I know it's an old video... I've been following you for a while and first thing that stroke me when I first saw one of your videos was that your face reminded me of someone - and now I know it's because I did saw you and heard your presentation when I visited the Jane Austen Centre in 2015 - and I always smile when Mr. Collins's name pops up ;) you did a good work. For me the reason I love Austen (well many, but the most) isn't the romance as apart of Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice, I don't think her other novels are really romantic - but the social commentary and how much I love her "bad" characters, they always make me laugh
How fun that you saw me at the Jane Austen centre all those years ago! I love the social commentary and her nastier characters a lot too!
You're just amazing and wonderful
Many men enjoy Austen's novels. And I would like to add that I really like Fanny Price and I like Mansfield Park.
I loved this. Especially the bit about JA being for everyone. When it came out, I read P&P and zombies (I hated it. But loved the film!) and my male housemate snaffled it off me when I'd finished, because he liked the idea of the zombies. He got halfway through and switched to the original text. He too hated the way the zombies were inserted into the story. They were getting in the way of the storytelling, which is what he was enjoying. There is a lot of focus on the male characters, and like you say, their character progression. He finished the book a fan.
I've read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and I enjoyed the first and despise the latter and am currently reading Emma and I love it so thank you for this video.
Have you read Persuasion?
I just found your channel and I am so happy!
You are so funny! I enjoyed your video a lot!
Thanks :)
You are so ... FUN-knee (and Smart)! Never read an Austen novel, yet, but you spark my interest in doing so. Thx.
You must - Jane Austen is great!
I love Jane Austen’s stories but I have some difficulty reading her books. I mostly watch the BBC adaptations or I have purchase the videos. Any tips to help me read her? I find them so wordy and intense. I just read both of Anne Bronte’s books. I loved Agnes grey but while I loved the story of Tenant of WILDFEL it was so hard to get through. Any advice? You’re terrific btw. So happy I found you. I have been a 19th century fan for a long time. When I watch a video and the very first scene starts with a carriage and horses coming into view I’m in heaven.
Thanks very much! I'd suggest trying an audiobook if you haven't already - you might find that a slightly different reading experience which might help :)
The tea in this video looks well drawn.
Totally agree! I think so many people think of Jane Austen simply in terms of romantic comedy because they have seen Bridget Jone's Diary or Clueless or any other Austen adaptation and assume that is what the books are like. I am reading Sense and Sensibility right now and I feel like the book is less about a romance and more about the relationships between people and how our own fears and prejudices, our restrictions on our selves affect our interactions and perceptions of each other. I think people go in to Austen expecting Bridget Jones and that is not what they are getting.
+Liz L Agreed! Jane Austen writes a great love story but goodness, there is so much else going on too... How are you enjoying Sense and Sensibility? :)
+Books and Things I just finished it! I liked it and was surprised how different it was from the Emma Thompson film. And I think Colonel Brandon needs to be a bigger deal. ☺️
+Liz L It is very different from that film, I think. There's also a great TV adaptation from 2008 if you haven't seen it, which I think offers a more in-depth interpretation of the book. And yes, I do like Colonel Brandon :)
+Books and Things I will have to try to find that adaptation! Have you seen any of the Jane Austen adaptations from the era of classic Hollywood? Or Dickens for that matter? I'm a classic film buff so I thought I would ask!
+Books and Things I will have to try to find that adaptation! Have you seen any of the Jane Austen adaptations from the era of classic Hollywood? Or Dickens for that matter? I'm a classic film buff so I thought I would ask!
I was having a hard time truly getting into Jane Austen, I'm not sure why. You're usually very educated and enthusiastic about literature so I knew you'd help me get involved. :D Thanks for your thoughts and thorough discussion on Jane Austen, I've also gone through some of your Jane Austen playlist.
I hope you manage to get into her works in the future :)
You cracked me up though the whole video. Love it
Ha thank you!
Thanks for your suggestions //#
My uncle was the person who showed me Jane Austen's novels for the first time. So in my experience she always wrote for both genders.
You definitely had the credentials!
Great video!
Thanks :)
I love the tea pot..
Thanks :)
Woman's fiction??? that sounds painful...social satire sounds more appropriate. Sadly I've only read Pride and Prejudice and found it hilarious but sadly I keep getting distracted by other books but will read more
+Knowledge Lost Agreed, social satire is much more accurate! I'm glad you too found Pride and Prejudice hilarious, and I hope you do get the chance to read more - though I know what it's like to keep getting distracted by all the other books out there...
I will read all her books one day. Pride and Prejudice is one of the few books that I re-read immediately after finishing it
+Knowledge Lost It is a great one to reread - I've done that before myself. I hope you like the rest of her works when you get round to them :)
If I could speak with a British accent, I’d never shut up.
You're outstanding M'am..
Thank you!
True! Jane Austen created the storylines for all romcoms we see today.
They really are!
YESS! I love your point that Jane Austen books are not just for women. She writes about life and love and that's not things that only happen to women, it's a human thing.
Exactly!
Wow so your obsessed with Jane Austen and her style of writing... thats great!! Im thinking of reading emma first. :)
What do you think of jane austens style of writing?
I wouldn't read Emma first the others will be a let down. It's Austen's finest work.
Umm where did you get the Jane Austen mugs? I need them
The Literary Gift Company :)
I love Austen I really do, so I'm only playing devil's advocate here when I ask, do you not get annoyed by how neatly the books end? Everyone ends up with who they want to end up with and it's all tied in a neat little bow. I do find that frustrating and unrealistic.
+LoveMeSomeSarcasm I am always up for an Austen debate! At times, yes, it can annoy me. When I was about sixteen I went off her a little and decided her novels were a bit 'fluffy', but then in the last year I've got so back into her novels; perhaps because what I really love about her books is her social criticism and her nasty comic characters, the fact that her endings are so neat doesn't really effect my interest in her books...? Perhaps that's it.
Talking of her neat endings, I think it's in part to do with literary conventions of the time. Like, 19th century British novels in general end with death or marriage; there wasn't quite the same trend of or love of ambiguous endings that we have now. At the same time, Jane Austen's novels can feel VERY neat at times. One of the reasons I love her novella Lady Susan so much is that it's got a slightly less neat ending.
But then again, sometimes I feel like her novel's aren't always as neat as they first appear. Like, does Marianne really love Colonel Brandon as much as she loved Willoughby? And in Mansfield Park, does Edmund really love Fanny, or does he just marry her for comfort and companionship because he knows himself do be divided from Mary Crawford, whom he did love, or thought he loved? Perhaps there's some non-neatness beneath the surface. I'm not sure...
(Apologies for that long and contradictory reply. In other news, I watched your Booktube newbie tag and have subscribed. I'm looking forward to your videos in the future :) )
Books and Things Ah, I expected a good reply and you didn't dissapoint. Your point about it being a theme of the novels at the time I agree with. It wasn't the done thing to end on anything other than a marriage or death. Funnily enough I never really considered the idea that the endings might not be so neat because of the nature of the relationship but that is also a good point!
I suppose I wish the novels could end without an answer sometimes. But at the same time I much prefer it when you get the happy ending! Thank you for arguing the point so well. I've tried in vain to take the same stand before and have never been able to argue my points.
Thank you! That's very kind of you :)
+LoveMeSomeSarcasm Ha I glad you enjoyed my reply :) I also sometimes really enjoy novels without answers and it can be irritating when things are all tied up. I like it best when ending's are in between, a bit ambiguous but also giving a bit of conclusion too.
Trying to find out if you talk this fast or if you sped up the clips lol!
Thanks!
I wanna be your friend.
Just found your video. Quite fascinating. Charles Dickens is also MY FAVORITE author as well. However, I may be alone in this, but Henry Tilney is the symbol of male perfection. My distaste for Mr. Darcy knows no bounds. I found him to be intolerable and a pompous illiberal windbag prick. I am not going to judge women who think him ideal, but he is not my ideal. That is reserved for Mr. Tilney. 😉😊
And Mr. Collins! He is, despite his awkwardness, my FAVOURITE character in P&P. He was the only one, as I read him, to be honest and true to himself.
Thanks :) Dickens is certainly a great one. I am fairly fond of Mr Tilney, though Mr Knightley and next Mr Darcy probably have my heart :P
Books and Things Though, we could also argue for Mr. Bertram or Captain Wentworth, couldn't we? 😊😉 But, I never got Mr. Darcy. In P&P, I thought Mr. Bingley was far more gentlemanly and perfect than Mr. Darcy...
Mr Bertram is not my favourite, but Captain Wentworth is certainly glorious!
One of the reason I really don't like Mansfield Park is Fanny's strong moral compass. The fact she's so "christian-like" but she would not forgive and forget other's wrongdoings and believe thay could change. She just wants her idea of perfection in others. I don't mind her awkwardness or shyness. She's just a bad person by being too good. 😄
But I like or love other books by Austen. Northanger Abbey is my favourite for sure. Pride and Prejudice stole my heart when I was a teen and Persuation is more "adult" version of P&P. Sense and Sensibility has Willoughby and I love how deem and real his character feels. And Emma... well, Mr. Knightley is my Mr. Darcy. ^.~ (only the age difference made me cringe when he was talking about holding Emma in his hands when she was an infant; I don't mind 16 years age difference, I mind the idea of her husband holding her in his hands when he was old enough to get married himself 😂... if he was a woman)
I believe that every Austenite must read Fanny Burney as Jane's works are largely influenced by hers
please could you speak slowly . I'm from Algeria
+Mika Benali Hello Mika. Yes, I'm sorry - I know I talk quickly. I find it very physically hard to talk slower, but I'm trying to work on this and my newer videos are a bit slower :)
+Books and Things .yeah okay . but this video that i need in my study .but now u can't do another
I understand. Well, if you have any questions about Jane Austen, you can email me at katie.booksandthings@gmail.com and I'll see if I can help :)
+Books and Things yeah okay . thank you
This girl is a modern-day jane austin !
I love Jane Austen and she is amazing, but we need to admit that she was favouring women in many ways compare to men. Let’s accept it. It’s evident in Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice
If I understand what you mean by 'favoring women', you're saying that she writes more about them, in more detail, and shares their inner thoughts with us, which she does not do with the men. She naturally would write from the woman's perspective, since she was woman herself. How would she be qualified to share the men's thoughts with us? Wouldn't that be inauthentic?
@@coloraturaElise Granting your assertion that she writes from woman's perspective (which, I do not think I shall grant) 😜, how do you explain the part where she wrote about man's nature to be in inconstant and forget those they love? Persuasion, Chapter 23 (conversation between Captain Harville and Anne)