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Jane Austen 6-book Boxed Set: "Emma", "Pride and Prejudice", "Sense and Sensibility", "Persuasion", "Mansfield Park" and "Northanger Abbey" (Collector's Library)

by: Jane Austen

February 01, 2004
I was blown away when I ordered this set of Jane Austen books. They are simply delightful - had I known how nice they were, I would have paid twice the price.

The books are just the right size for reading in bed (I cannot read the normal sized hardbacks this way as they are too heavy) and they are small enough to slip into a handbag.

The edges of each page are trimmed with gold colouring and there is a handy ribbon bookmark so you do not need to worry about losing your page.

I cannot stress just how lovely and charming this set is and would make a wonderful gift. I will strive to collect other books in this series because they are the loveliest books I've had.

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Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Popular Classics)

by: Jane Austen

January 25, 2007
I really enjoyed this far more then I thought it would. Its lovely to step back into the world of Austen and see what love can be like at its most innocent. Beautifully written with comedy throughout, a must for all romance fans! I only wish I had read this sooner

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The Complete Novels of Jane Austen (Wordsworth Special Editions) (Special Editions)

by: Jane Austen

February 05, 2005
I really enjoyed this far more then I thought it would. Its lovely to step back into the world of Austen and see what love can be like at its most innocent. Beautifully written with comedy throughout, a must for all romance fans! I only wish I had read this sooner

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Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Popular Classics)

by: Jane Austen

January 25, 2007
I finished this book on the train this morning, and the last 40 or so pages made it all worth it. I'd only read two Austens prior to this - Persuasion and the wonderful Pride and Prejudice which, coupled with the Colin Firth TV adaptation, is probably my all time favourite. I tried to keep and open mind and not try to compare them too much. However, this is a very different book. It has a much more serious, sombre tone - of course with Austen's trademark comedic characters thrown in! If you've never read an Austen before, I would recommend starting with this one.

The similarity in plot, at least, occurs at the beginning of the novel. Yet again we see the injustice of the period which dictated that family estates could not pass to ... Read More:

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Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics)

by: Jane Austen

January 30, 2003
I really enjoyed this far more then I thought it would. Its lovely to step back into the world of Austen and see what love can be like at its most innocent. Beautifully written with comedy throughout, a must for all romance fans! I only wish I had read this sooner

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Emma (Penguin Popular Classics)

by: Jane Austen

January 25, 2007
I studied this at A-Level 13 years ago - and HATED it! I was the only one though, and for years I thought I had just missed the point. I read Pride & Prejudice shortly before Emma and enjoyed that, but I have a real stumbling block with Emma.

I'm planning to tackle Emma again soon - I'm just not sure if I can... Austen's humour just seems to shine through much more in her other works, and that, I think is what I enjoy.

I just cannot empathise with Emma at all - even taking into account the different time, society, circumstance etc. The Miss Dashwoods and the Miss Elliots are just more real somehow.

Overall recommendation: Ignore me until I re-read Emma... or start with Persuasion instead.

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"Pride and Prejudice" (York Notes Advanced)

by: Jane Austen

April 01, 2004
what more can i say? although this cannot be a substitute for the actual book it certainly goes a long way when trying to understand the main themes and the characters. of course you cannot just learn the book by heart and expect to acheive the highest grade - your own opinions are vital and this book is just an aid in forming your own ideas.
the book has improved a lot from its last edition and now has many new features including examiners tips, "did you know?" and useful insights into the authors life and how this would have affected her writings.
5 out of 5 for me - fantastic aid for all students studying the text!

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The Complete Novels of Jane Austen (Wordsworth Library Collection) (Wordsworth Library Collection)

by: Jane Austen

September 01, 2007
what more can i say? although this cannot be a substitute for the actual book it certainly goes a long way when trying to understand the main themes and the characters. of course you cannot just learn the book by heart and expect to acheive the highest grade - your own opinions are vital and this book is just an aid in forming your own ideas.
the book has improved a lot from its last edition and now has many new features including examiners tips, "did you know?" and useful insights into the authors life and how this would have affected her writings.
5 out of 5 for me - fantastic aid for all students studying the text!

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Persuasion

by: Jane Austen

January 25, 2007
Everybody loves Jane Austen and I cannot say I am any different. I know it sounds archetypal but she's my favourite writer ever. And Persuasion is, in my opinion, her best novel. Not that I don't like the others, but Anne is a more original heroine. More mature than the others and without some of their most annoying qualities.She is not self-important like Emma, or too good like Fanny Price.Only Elizabeth Bennet and her sister are as lovable as she is. And Captain Wentworth is a very attractive hero too. And as for secondary characters, Anne's father and sisters, especially Mary, are superb comic representations. Besides this is a story full of hope, one that tells us there are second chances.I have lost count of how many times I have read Persuasion, but I never ... Read More:

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Mansfield Park (Penguin Popular Classics)

by: Jane Austen

January 25, 2007
I am not really a Jane Austen fan per-se but I have to admit Mansfield Park is a top ten classic read and this particular edition has pride of place on my bookshelf.

Welcome to the world of Fanny Price, the impoverished niece of a English Baronet, Sir Thomas Bertram who is taken from her squalid overcrowded family home in Portsmouth and raised in abject gentility amongst her four cousins, Tom the heir to his father's estate, Edwin the spare to the heir and the two girls, the spiteful but spirited Maria and the air headed Julia.

Add to this brood, their mother, the indolent Lady Bertram who can only sit on a sofa with her pugs and look pretty (how she had four children in the first place is beyond me!), her sister, the social climbing Mrs Norris ... Read More: