Jane Austen

[sharon.gmc]

I'm planning to read her books.

[atrixa]

I don't really see Austen as ahead of her time, I see her as a product of her time. Her work certainly has lasting appeal but most of it requires some knowledge of 1800's England (especially Persuasion. ) P+P is in my opinion the only exception, the story has timeless appeal and isn't bound by the time, probably why its been the most successful.

I agree completely. She certainly wasn't ahead of her time, but most people seem to assume this because she was a female writer who wrote in the 18th century. I recently read a critical book by Patricia Beer- Reader I Married Him, and this only reinforced my opinion here. She seemed to be conservative and to have mixed feelings about women stepping out of their place.
I can't say she's one of my favourite authors. Sense and Sensibility was basically the same story as Pride and Prejudice with a few of the names and minor details changed.

[Dezire06]

Jane Austen was a Super Great Author

[Lilas Taha]

I read most of Jane Austin's books when I was a teenager in a different language, getting a feel for her stories away from her writing style. I then read the same books several times in English when I became an adult. My impressions changed as I grew up of course, but to connect with her mindset in her books first, and then appreciate her writing voice gave me a deeper experience, I believe. She wrote about happy endings in the time period of 1800's England with exquisite detail socially and esthetically, but lived a less than fulfilling life herself. The way her books still appeal to us readers now is testament to her abilities to draw timeless characters. I love her work.

[meena_bakkam]

I love Jane Austen's books. I read all of them long back during my school days. I especially love Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion. Pride and Prejudice is a timeless love story that begins with a very wonderful and relevant quote. It is not an overly mushy romantic saga.

[Inishowen_Cailin]

I have read all of the Austin books many times. I've never managed to read any of the Austin inspired fan fiction though.....reading somebody else's vision for Lizzy and Darcy has never appealed.

[Brandi Noelle]

Jane Austen has always been, to me, a woman of her time and a woman ahead of her time, simultaneously. She places significant importance of the role of a woman to marry well in order to achieve success and proper status, which was the reality in which she lived. As she never herself achieved this, I think she lived vicariously through her characters who did. I believe there is a lot of Jane herself wrapped into her heroines and they are fulfilling the life she wished she had. However, I also see Jane as a modern woman trapped in the Victorian era for which she was never meant. She was quite independent and led a very progressive lifestyle for a woman of her time. I think she knew women were meant for more than her world allowed them. Her verbal eye-rolling when speaking of the oppression of her era was a signal of that.