A Jane Austen Re-read: Introduction
Pretty much every year, I end up rereading a series of classics from my childhood. This usually happens when I hit my first “reading block” of the year, and I always love getting to fall into old, comfortable stories!
This year, I treated myself and bought a beautiful set of Jane Austen’s books to reread, especially since I realized that while I have read them all throughout the years, I didn’t actually OWN any of them.
This is a fun reread for me because I read all of Austen’s works at such different ages that they hold very different places in my mind and heart, and I am excited to see what I get out of them now. I know Austen has a “chick lit” reputation, but I have always loved the way her books poke fun at societal expectations and subversively bring up feminist issues, particularly issues related to women’s economic potential and limitations in the 1800s.
On top of the re-read, I have also been finding myself drawn to Austen adaptations on screen. There are far too many to actually watch them all, and some are less successful than others, but as I finish each book, I am hoping to write some about the book, and also give you a run down of my favorite (and not so favorite) adaptations of each story.
I started with Pride and Prejudice, which is the best known and most adapted of Austen’s books, and it has been fun to revisit it.
If you want to read along with me, the text of Pride and Prejudice is easily available online, and there is a rather good audio version available on Audible, narrated by Rosamund Pike.
