Persuasion by Jane Austen

2013 Reread #1

This book is still, without a doubt, my favorite Jane Austen book and one of my Top 5 of All Time. There's not a single character I don't like, which is saying a lot for Austen who's sometimes overly-girlish, naive female leads drive me crazy (see Mansfield Park or Emma.)

Anne Elliot, our lead in Persuasion, is a mature, intelligent woman who has grown up to realize they importance of following your heart regardless of the opinions of those around you. She learns this lesson just in time to have her happy ending. It also gives her the ability to look outside societal title and rank to appreciate the happy endings for those around her. She's an amazing character, full of so much emotion for other despite the lack of regard shown to her by her father and oldest sister. Living a relatively comfortable life, it is the lack of regard for her needs that's her unique obstacle. Austen typically focuses on rank and obstacles society places in the way of happiness more centrally than she does here.

Persuasion also boasts a male lead who's not stiff and inaccessible (see Pride and Prejudice.) Captain Wentworth doesn't hide his emotional side, going so far as to drop hints to Anne of how he feels about her during public conversations. He even writes her a very personal letter while in a room full of people passion so overcomes him. While not an "open book," Wentworth is still more multi-dimensional than Austen typically allowed her male characters to be.

This was the last book Austen wrote before her death and it's very apparent how much she matured as a writer throughout her career when pitting it against any of her other works. There's nothing frivolous in Persuasion; every character, every event contributes to the story in such a perfect way that you can't help but love every page. It has been a little over a decade since I last read Persuasion and it's great to know it's still as wonderful as I've always remembered it. I know it's hard to purposefully pick up 19th Century literature, but if you ever feel the urge, make this your first choice.

A Reading Project for 2013

Before the holidays set in this past year I decided to make 2013 the year of the reread for me. Assuming I'll still be able to read two books per month, my plan is to read one new book and reread one old favorite throughout the year. This seemed like an easy challenge until Hanukkah and Christmas came and went. I'm not left with five new books to read and a Kindle Paperwhite where the amount of exclusive and free content to download is staggering. 

I'm going to try my hardest to read these twelve books (my favorites) in addition to all the new titles I now have access to:

1. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
2. Lasher by Anne Rice
3. Taltos by Anne Rice
4. Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
5. Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
6. Persuasion by Jane Austen
7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
8. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
9. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
10. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
11. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think this list is a good mix of new and classic. It definitely encompasses my favorites over time not including the lengthier series I've read and loved. Not entirely sure where to start, just looking at this reading list makes me happy.

Wish me luck in 2013!

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough

Mary Bennet, the middle sister in Pride and Prejudice never really had much depth of character. She wasn't an insatiable flirt like Lydia and Kitty nor of marrying age like Jane and Elizabeth. As a result, she floats through the story hardly noticed in Austen's extremely popular novel. This gives McCullough a lot of wiggle room to imagine a life for Mary well into spinsterhood.

Mary reaches her independence in her late 30's well after the marriages of all her other sisters and only due to the passing of her mother, the nosy Mrs. Bennet. Defying proper behavior of a single woman, Mary decides to explore the plight of the poor in England first-hand in order to write a book. She travels alone via transport used mainly by a poorer class of people which paves the way for all kinds of drama and intrigue.

In true McCullough fashion we're brought into a world where nobody is really happy to start with, yet they're all doing what need to be done to stay alive and take care of each other. While things improve for mostly everyone by the end the road isn't easy. Not everyone makes it. Full of lots of intense moments and heightened situations, Miss Mary Bennet's path to independence is an exciting story. The tone feels like a mix between a romance novel of today (without the sex) and a Gothic novel from the Victorian Era (without the supernatural element).

This was an interesting read although Mary doesn't feature as prevalently as I had thought before opening up the book. She's hardly a player until the last quarter of the novel. The narrative is more about the entire Bennet family and the people who have been pulled into their lives. I'd list this book as a quick, action-packed read good for a plane trip or somewhere where you have to sit and wait for a long time. If you really want to sample McCullough's work though and haven't read The Thorn Birds yet run out and get that today!

Snobs: A Novel by Julian Fellowes

I really liked this book.  That being said, this novel definitely caters to a certain type of reader.  Do you like Jane Austen?  Did you read Howard's End and not find it boring?  If you answered "yes" to both of these questions than Snobs might be worth checking out.  A lot happens in the novel, but it's all played out in a very calm and almost bland sort of way.  The action is minimal but the conversations and whispers behind closed doors are lengthy.


The actual plot of the book is pretty standard for a British society novel.  We've got our leading lady - Edith - a commoner/social climber looking to marry up regardless of love; and we've got Charles, our Earl Broughton, marrying the woman he loves no matter the consequence. She lets her newly-found title go to her head and the lack of love (on her side) in her marriage to escort her into an affair while he simply just lets her get away with everything, willing to forgive when she's ready to come around.  The story wouldn't be complete without a villain, which in this case isn't really an evil entity, but just the Lady Uckfield, Charles' mother, attempting to pull the puppet strings she thinks everyone has hanging off them for her to use.  Emotions are kept at bay as best they can be.  The illusion of appearance is of the utmost importance.


I love the concept that high society British refuse to give up the illusion of a happy appearance.  They work harder to keep everything looking "right" than they do actually making things better.  It doesn't matter the gossip that circulates or the actual truths that exist, if it looks happy and serene, they've achieved their goal.


I find this book very interesting because it seems to be taking a bi-polar view of modern British society.  On one hand, the story encapsulates British high society's struggle to hold onto the rigid rules and traditions of their past.  The level of decorum they still cling to, no matter how antiquated it might feel to the rest of the world, is intense.  The other vein of the story focuses on our narrator, an actor (gasp!) who marries up, exhibits all the proper manners for his high society acquaintances and ends up being brought into the confidence of one very great lady.  So, while shunning Edith, our social climber, our narrator is welcomed into a social circle he hardly belongs to - obviously there is no rhyme or reason to the snobbery of high society.


Another unique aspect of the author's style here is the use of his narrator, who seems to know everything that's going on whether he's present at the action he's describing or not.  His insight into the whole story even when being removed from bits and pieces of it is really intriguing.  He so perfectly captures the complete story even though none of it is really happening to him.  It's an interesting literary device.


The book was written by the author who penned the screenplay for Gosford Park (a great movie) and you can see a lot of similarities between the movie and novel.  Both are entertaining and subtle reminding readers and viewers that the Victorian Era is alive and well in the day-to-day lives of the English elite.

The Ambassadors by Henry James

I'm not sure if it was James' intent to get me to totally dislike the main character of The Ambassadors, but I do.  Lewis Lambert Strether is a mess of a man.  Charged by his fiance to go to Paris and retrieve her son, Chad (from a previous marriage,) Strether stays so long in Paris, immersing himself into society there, that a second wave of relatives show up to attempt to complete the job.  Ultimately, Strether and the reinforcements sent in fail to bring Chad home.  Chad is in love with a married woman living in Paris apart from her husband so she's got her own complications to content with.  Just the same, it takes an entire novel overflowing with confusing plotting and speculating to see Strether arrive at this noble act of allowing himself to fail so love can prevail.

In the middle of all this, Strether seems to fall out of love with his fiance as a new Parisian friend, Miss Gostrey, falls in love with him.  While encouraging love to take top priority with Chad, Strether ultimately refuses to accept the love of Miss Gostrey and returns home to his unloved fiance.

Confused yet?  This just scratches the surface of a story overpopulated with characters (some referred to by two different names) and jam-packed with three-page paragraphs and seriously long run-on sentences.  The style gets so tedious I found myself letting my mind wander as I read, which led me to be pretty confused through most of the book.  I almost question why I read The Ambassadors for fun.  I just loved The Bostonians so much, I wanted to try something else from James.  I can honestly say I think Henry James writes women better than men.

Few characters in classic literature really annoy me.  I can tell you that Fanny Price (Mansfield Park) is at the top of my list and that Emma Woodhouse and Hester Prynne linger in the top 10.  It has been a while though since this list has grown, but I have to add whiny Lambert Strether to my #2 spot and close the book (ha, ha) on Henry James for a while.