In a book about classic literature I read that Jane Austen's books are what are considered "novels of manners." That seems to describe her books perfectly, somehow--books that were written more to poke fun at the customs of Austen's day than to tell a love story.



Austen is a wordy writer, but I found with every single one of her books that I read that she is also the most intelligent writer I've ever read. Now "Emma" is a bit too much even for me, with almost all pretense at romance dropped, but this is a review of "Pride and Prejudice," not all of Austen's books.

Austen's words. Get past the fact that she uses a lot of them, and pay attention to what they're trying to tell you. Then you'll find out what I mean when I say she was a very intelligent writer. "Pride and Prejudice" is a masterpiece, a story of love overcoming many "huge" obstacles (to them, but to modern people they might seem a bit silly).

Read all of Austen's books. I immediately went for "Emma," having heard it was one of her best, but discovered that it is actually considered her best-written, her most talented book, yes; but it is also her most boring.

I wonder what kind of person Austen really was. She had to have known a lot about human charcter to be able to poke fun at her characters like she did; I heard somewhere that it is generally believed that she was somewhat shy, a person who was content to stand aside in public gatherings and watch other people. Well, if that's true, then Austen was a very observant person, because her books are full of her colorful, vivid, and many times cruel descriptions of people.

I believe that Austen's method of using words and the way she could put together a plot out of a small group of families living in a tiny town (this plot, she called, by the way, "the perfect setting for a book.") can teach us a lot about writing. I know that I learned a lot, and I think that we all can.

Again, I seriously reccommend the movie "Pride And Prejudice," with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. His acting is superb.

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Created Jun 20, 2003 at 11:45pm • Submit your own review...