How would you rank the Jane Austen novels? Also, for those of you who love poetry, I have started a poetry blog where I discuss a poem every week. You can find it here! www.joshuaclarke-kelsall.com/blog/categories/poem-of-the-week
Im glad I found your page! Because of you I now need to read the Bronte sisters again 😂I read them when I was very young, and its so exiting to read books again later in life. I have read Jane Austens books so many times, and my favourite ones are Mansfield Park and Persuasion. I didnt like Fanny Price much in the first read, now I love her. And there is so many things going on in that book. I love to hate Mrs. Norris! Anne in Persuasion I adore. English is not my native language, but I read the classics in english. Sometimes in Norwegian to, in case I dont understand it all.
Persuasion is definitely my favorite as well! I can’t bring myself to suffer through the most recent film. Just from the trailer it’s obvious that the creators didn’t understand the book (especially the character of Anne) at all. I’m not as fond of Mansfield Park. I actually quite like Fanny, but Edmund doesn’t deserve her at all and so the ending bothers me…I completely agree about the Crawfords though. They are definitely some of Austen’s most complex characters.
Yeah I didn't touch on it in my discussion, but I felt that the romance was poorly done in Mansfield Park. It almost felt like Edmund went with Fanny because she was the only option left. It wasn't really motivated at all and felt like an afterthought, but I can forgive the story that little flaw for all the rest. You're certainly not missing out on much with the film haha!
This is so good ! I love watching your book reviews/ranking of a specific author. I would absolutely love to hear your review of the works of George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I've not read any Gaskell yet, and only Middlemarch for Eliot so far. Once I get more of their works under my belt though I'm sure I will review them!
I totally agree! I would rank them the same as you did. I've always loved Persuasion the most. I also think Mansfield Park is way underrated. You made some great points about Mary and Henry Crawford that I hadn't considered. Thanks very much! 😊
Thank you! I really enjoyed this! Persuasion is such a wonderful novel! I actually became interested because I watched the Netflix movie and found it SO dissonant and uncomfortable, that I just had to read the novel to find out what was really going on. So I'm actually quite grateful to that horrible movie-- it made me a reader of Jane Austen!
I agree with everything you said about Mansfield Park. I like Fanny and I like the book. I recently realized it is a version of the Cinderella story. Something to think about. I also like P&P, Emma and Persuasion - difficult for me to rank them.
So glad I found this channel and this video I have loved Jane Austen since I was little and her books were the first I read. Pride and Prejudice has always been my favourite then Persuasion and then Emma for my top 3. 😊
This list conicides with mine except for the fact that Ilike S&S slightly more than Emma. I read all of them multiple times, but I read Emma only once. Tried again on several occasions but just cannot get past the first 15ish chapters
Since I've gotten older Persuasion has also taken the #1 spot for me. Emma is probably my least favorite, and I'm always genuinely perplexed when someone says it's their favorite Austen novel! It has a claustrophobic atmosphere for me (I always love it when the characters travel someplace like London, Bath, or Lyme) and it doesn't have the wonderful minor characters that P&P and S&S have. I don't even think it's that funny, aside from some of Mr. Woodhouse's lines. I actually think S&S is her funniest novel, I laugh out loud whenever I reread it!
This is my list from favorite to least: Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility. I love the first four and like the last two. As I got older, Persuasion moved up my list and became my favorite for its subtlety and maturity. I love the sweetness and humor in Northanger Abbey.
Emma, just finished listening to audiobook few days ago, really struggled staying focused on this one and following the story line. Can’t say I liked it much, Mrs Bates has to be one of the most irritating characters I have come across in literature. Think I found it not very interesting because I didn’t actually read it first, then listen and finally watch the movie. That seems to help a lot understanding these old classics for me. Mansfield Park is only one I am not familiar with yet.
That's not a bad way to do it. Sometimes, I read synopses of old novels first. It can ruin the novelty of the story a bit if there are plot twists and the like, but I think it does allow for a deeper first reading, so it can be a worthwhile trade off with some texts.
I need your opinion on Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I have heard people say the language is excessively dense. But then it is also considered a great book by many. Shall I read it or not?
One thing Sense and Sensibility has that the others do not is the hilarious Mrs. Jennings, the only warm-hearted and good character in Austen who employs poor grammar. Really enjoyed your reviews, nice to know there are other male enthusiasts of Austen--especially one who appreciates Mansfield Park. Although Fanny is the only Austen heroine with no sense of satire or humor (even Eleanor has one or two humorous reflections), there is plenty of both in the brilliant presentation of Mrs. Norris; and the way that Mary Crawford draws us in, yet then says something shallow and cruel--Austen thus could not give Fanny the wit of her other heroines, to illustrate that her strength is inner and spiritual. Yet Fanny was a checkered success (Mrs. Austen found her "insipid") and was followed by the completely opposite Emma; and then back again to a quieter heroine with Anne. .
Persuasion was my least favourite book. Ever. It was so dreadfully boring. It was a run on sentence of streaming consciousness. I only started reading Jane Austen cuz I wanted to see Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma. I started with ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and was not very impressed, it was slow with moments where action moves forward. But it was not like ‘What happens next?’. I just came off ‘Persuasion’ and it took me so long to get through that pamphlet of a book because one page feels like 500 pages of watching paint dry. I’ve moved on to George Eliot who is BY FAR more entertaining and interesting, and never made it to Emma. But so far it seems to me that where Austen is concerned, the movies are actually better than the book. So I wonder: Do I bother with ‘Emma’ or just skip to Gwyneth Paltrow?
It's a shame you don't enjoy Austen, because I think there is a lot of great stuff in her work. I'm the opposite to you; I prefer Austen to Eliot by far (though I don't dislike Eliot either). If you didn't like P&P or Persuasion, I'm not sure 'Emma' would change your mind! But it might be worth a go. :P
How would you rank the Jane Austen novels? Also, for those of you who love poetry, I have started a poetry blog where I discuss a poem every week. You can find it here!
www.joshuaclarke-kelsall.com/blog/categories/poem-of-the-week
Im glad I found your page! Because of you I now need to read the Bronte sisters again 😂I read them when I was very young, and its so exiting to read books again later in life. I have read Jane Austens books so many times, and my favourite ones are Mansfield Park and Persuasion. I didnt like Fanny Price much in the first read, now I love her. And there is so many things going on in that book. I love to hate Mrs. Norris! Anne in Persuasion I adore.
English is not my native language, but I read the classics in english. Sometimes in Norwegian to, in case I dont understand it all.
Persuasion is definitely my favorite as well! I can’t bring myself to suffer through the most recent film. Just from the trailer it’s obvious that the creators didn’t understand the book (especially the character of Anne) at all. I’m not as fond of Mansfield Park. I actually quite like Fanny, but Edmund doesn’t deserve her at all and so the ending bothers me…I completely agree about the Crawfords though. They are definitely some of Austen’s most complex characters.
Yeah I didn't touch on it in my discussion, but I felt that the romance was poorly done in Mansfield Park. It almost felt like Edmund went with Fanny because she was the only option left. It wasn't really motivated at all and felt like an afterthought, but I can forgive the story that little flaw for all the rest.
You're certainly not missing out on much with the film haha!
This is so good ! I love watching your book reviews/ranking of a specific author. I would absolutely love to hear your review of the works of George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I've not read any Gaskell yet, and only Middlemarch for Eliot so far. Once I get more of their works under my belt though I'm sure I will review them!
I totally agree! I would rank them the same as you did. I've always loved Persuasion the most. I also think Mansfield Park is way underrated. You made some great points about Mary and Henry Crawford that I hadn't considered. Thanks very much! 😊
So glad to see you back!!! Hope your vacation went well!
It was good to get away for a while, thanks!
I love Mansfield Park. I actually think Fanny is one of the most feminist characters Jane Austen wrote.
Excellent analysis. The only change I'd make to the order is to swap Mansfield Park into first place, relegating Persuasion back to second.
A bold choice, but I can see why you would :)
Thank you! I really enjoyed this! Persuasion is such a wonderful novel! I actually became interested because I watched the Netflix movie and found it SO dissonant and uncomfortable, that I just had to read the novel to find out what was really going on. So I'm actually quite grateful to that horrible movie-- it made me a reader of Jane Austen!
I agree with everything you said about Mansfield Park. I like Fanny and I like the book. I recently realized it is a version of the Cinderella story. Something to think about. I also like P&P, Emma and Persuasion - difficult for me to rank them.
So glad I found this channel and this video I have loved Jane Austen since I was little and her books were the first I read. Pride and Prejudice has always been my favourite then Persuasion and then Emma for my top 3. 😊
Great to see Mansfield Park so high!
And I agree about Emma -- great book but just a little difficult for me
This list conicides with mine except for the fact that Ilike S&S slightly more than Emma. I read all of them multiple times, but I read Emma only once. Tried again on several occasions but just cannot get past the first 15ish chapters
Since I've gotten older Persuasion has also taken the #1 spot for me. Emma is probably my least favorite, and I'm always genuinely perplexed when someone says it's their favorite Austen novel! It has a claustrophobic atmosphere for me (I always love it when the characters travel someplace like London, Bath, or Lyme) and it doesn't have the wonderful minor characters that P&P and S&S have. I don't even think it's that funny, aside from some of Mr. Woodhouse's lines. I actually think S&S is her funniest novel, I laugh out loud whenever I reread it!
So grateful I just discovered your chanel 😊
Thanks, I'm glad you like it :)
This is my list from favorite to least: Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility. I love the first four and like the last two. As I got older, Persuasion moved up my list and became my favorite for its subtlety and maturity. I love the sweetness and humor in Northanger Abbey.
That's a great ranking! :)
Emma, just finished listening to audiobook few days ago, really struggled staying focused on this one and following the story line. Can’t say I liked it much, Mrs Bates has to be one of the most irritating characters I have come across in literature. Think I found it not very interesting because I didn’t actually read it first, then listen and finally watch the movie. That seems to help a lot understanding these old classics for me.
Mansfield Park is only one I am not familiar with yet.
That's not a bad way to do it. Sometimes, I read synopses of old novels first. It can ruin the novelty of the story a bit if there are plot twists and the like, but I think it does allow for a deeper first reading, so it can be a worthwhile trade off with some texts.
I need your opinion on Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I have heard people say the language is excessively dense. But then it is also considered a great book by many. Shall I read it or not?
I'm afraid I've not read that book, so I can't say. That being said, it's being excessively dense isn't necessarily a bad thing if it's interesting!
@@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall Then please read and review it sometime in the future, if it suits you.
One thing Sense and Sensibility has that the others do not is the hilarious Mrs. Jennings, the only warm-hearted and good character in Austen who employs poor grammar. Really enjoyed your reviews, nice to know there are other male enthusiasts of Austen--especially one who appreciates Mansfield Park. Although Fanny is the only Austen heroine with no sense of satire or humor (even Eleanor has one or two humorous reflections), there is plenty of both in the brilliant presentation of Mrs. Norris; and the way that Mary Crawford draws us in, yet then says something shallow and cruel--Austen thus could not give Fanny the wit of her other heroines, to illustrate that her strength is inner and spiritual. Yet Fanny was a checkered success (Mrs. Austen found her "insipid") and was followed by the completely opposite Emma; and then back again to a quieter heroine with Anne.
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Great video, mate! I'd be great having you on instagram and reading your reviews there as well ;)
Terrible, more terrible, slightly less terrible. Do not read Jane Austen. It may leave you permanently scarred.
I'm sorry you feel that way and wish you a swift recovery. 🤣
Persuasion was my least favourite book. Ever. It was so dreadfully boring. It was a run on sentence of streaming consciousness. I only started reading Jane Austen cuz I wanted to see Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma. I started with ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and was not very impressed, it was slow with moments where action moves forward. But it was not like ‘What happens next?’. I just came off ‘Persuasion’ and it took me so long to get through that pamphlet of a book because one page feels like 500 pages of watching paint dry. I’ve moved on to George Eliot who is BY FAR more entertaining and interesting, and never made it to Emma. But so far it seems to me that where Austen is concerned, the movies are actually better than the book. So I wonder: Do I bother with ‘Emma’ or just skip to Gwyneth Paltrow?
It's a shame you don't enjoy Austen, because I think there is a lot of great stuff in her work. I'm the opposite to you; I prefer Austen to Eliot by far (though I don't dislike Eliot either). If you didn't like P&P or Persuasion, I'm not sure 'Emma' would change your mind! But it might be worth a go. :P
Maybe watch Clueless