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Title: Jane Austen: The Complete Novels by JANE AUSTEN ISBN: 0-517-11829-7 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 01 June, 1994 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (26 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A must have in any collection, small or large!
Comment: Why do people still go on reading, quoting and making films about the novels of Jane Austen, a stay at home maiden lady who wrote her books almost two hundred years ago? An easy answer might be the romance and simplicity of the Austen age, where the most important news of the day was the arrival next door of a young, eligible bachelor. It was a world in which overheard conversations at a country dance, the imprudent behavior of a girl at a picnic, or a public snub in the village square would utterly change the course of your life. But this easy answer doesn't really explain the broad appeal of Jane Austen's novels. Her world is so unlike our own, that there simply must be more to it than romance. The fact is, that in spite of her limited experience, Jane Austen writes with tremendous wit, charm and perception. She appeals to the modern reader because she never minces words. She gets right into the heart of her characters, strips away the veneer of social grace, and makes shrewd observations about love, marriage, pride, snobbery, money and manners. Her opening sentences are a key to the clean, crisp writing you can expect from Austen. Take, for example, the character description that begins EMMA: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence, and had lived nearly twenty one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." It is the brilliant use of the word 'seemed' that tips us off for the events that follow. In one sentence, Austen has given us a character who is spoiled, self assured and intelligent, and we can hardly wait to find out what is going to 'distress or vex her' in the following pages! Or what about the opening sentence of her most famous novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." What a marvelous assumption, and what delightful matchmaking schemes and foibles are about to unfold! Just picking one of Austen's novels at random gives you a wealth of charming observation. Take these thoughts on conversation, from NORTHANGER ABBEY: "He shortly found himself arrived at politics, and from politics, it was an easy step to silence." ...and from "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY "Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." Or how about this wistful observation from PERSUASION: "One does not love a place the less because one has suffered in it." You don't have to be a scholar to understand and appreciate Austen. Her novels will surprise and win over any first time reader, and they have an amazingly good shelf life - they can be read and reread. Here, in one volume you have a portrait of missed opportunity in the provocative novel PERSUASION; matchmaking gone awry in EMMA; masterful observations of two sisters and their different approaches to love in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; snobbery and manners in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and more. In short, Austen is a writer you never tire of. This is a must have in any collection, small or large!
Rating: 5
Summary: exquisite writing
Comment: Jane Austen lovers might want to order a used copy of one of the out-of-print editions instead of this one, which appears to contain some errors, missing dialogue and so on. That said, it's handy to have all of Austen's exquisite writing in one volume. This marvelously articulate woman wrote with with razor-sharp perception, and the emotional states of her characters are fully detailed and examined. The reader will have to pay attention constantly while reading, or s/he will miss the richness of description, and maybe even some necessary subtle plot lines. These novels are meant to be read slowly and carefully, and savoured. Austen may be an acquired taste, but once you appreciate her, you will be hooked for life. I rarely re-read anything, but her works stand up to re-reading.
Rating: 5
Summary: Jane Austen
Comment: Great if you love her type of literature. Classic.
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Title: Charlotte and Emily Bronte : The Complete Novels by Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte ISBN: 0517092921 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 25 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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Title:Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition ASIN: B00005MP58 Publisher: A & E Home Video Pub. Date: 25 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $39.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $29.96 |
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Title: Charles Dickens Four Complete Novels (Great Expectations, Hard Times, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities) by Charles Dickens ISBN: 0517053608 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 03 October, 1990 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool ISBN: 0671882368 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: April, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title:Persuasion ASIN: B00003JRCQ Publisher: Columbia/Tristar Studios Pub. Date: 01 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $27.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $20.96 |
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