Jane Austen July 2025 discussion

Jane Austen July is, alas, over! How did we all do? What did everyone read?

I feel like I had a mixed month - some great reads, but a lot of things on my TBR that I didn't get to.

I read:
-Sense and Sensibility
-Emma
-The Watsons and Sanditon
-Mrs Wickham, Sarah Page
-A Lady's Guide to Scandal, Sophie Irwin
-The Late Mrs Willoughby, Claudia Gray
-Drama and Danger, J.T. Williams
-The Travels of Dean Mahomet, ed. Michael Fisher
-The Anarchy, William Dalrymple

It's been an interesting month!

I don't know what was wrong with me, but I hardly read anything. I only completed Sanditon and a small nonfiction.

I (re-)read Sense and Sensibility and followed the discussions in this group. I much appreciated everybody's contribution (thank you!) to broaden the reader's understanding of the novel, though admittedly, some theories put forth here were too wild for me 😄

In addition to S&S, I read:
- The Watsons and The History of England
- A collection of poems by William Cowper
- A collection of poems by William Wordsworth
- Reader, I married him: A study of the women characters of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot by Patricia Beer
- Cotillion by Georgette Heyer

Theresa wrote: "I don't know what was wrong with me, but I hardly read anything. I only completed Sanditon and a small nonfiction."

Nothing wrong at all, maybe you just weren't in the mood for JA? I think you made a comment to that effect at the beginning of the month. I struggled with getting into S&S at the beginning and had been wondering at that time if I should follow your example 😊

I read two novels by Jane Austen - Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice, this last one in an audiobook narrated by Carolyn Seymour which was very funny.

Persuasion
This has become one of my favorites Jane Austen's books.
Anne Elliot, the main character, is very different from Austen's earlier heroines. She has a more problem-solving skill personality different from Jane Austen's earlier heroines which were more impetuous.
This book is less humorous and I really liked the character development and emotional depth.

Pride and Prejudice
I read for the first time in 2015 in my native language (Portuguese) and the translation by Alexandre Barbosa de Souza (Penguin edition) was very good.
As it was my first reading, I really wanted to understand the plot and characters.

Last month, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Carolyn Seymour and it was so much fun!
The way Carolyn Seymour narrated is very exaggerated (as a good thing) and it is very immersive, it felt like listening to a very funny sketch.

I remember that these two books are referenced in two romantic comedies (rom-com) You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

You've Got Mail
Like Pride and Prejudice , the main characters hate each other in the beginning.
Kathleen Kelly, the character of Meg Ryan, mentions that Pride and Prejudice is her favorite novel and there is a scene in a coffee shop that Kathleen discusses with Joe (Tom Hanks) about the characters of Pride and Prejudice . This scene is so memorable!
In my opinion, Pride and Prejudice is one of the first novels that use this trope - from haters to lovers and reflects what is happening in the movie.

The Lake House
Persuasion is also the favorite book of the main character, Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock), and it is about second chances and meeting someone in the past again, which serves as a plot for this movie.


I think Jane Austen's books are visionaries and precedents of these rom-com tropes.
The amazing thing is that they are still working.

I reread
* Sense and Sensibility
* The Year in Between A Sense and Sensibility Variation by Christina Moreland
I rewatched
I Have Found It.
Considering the tough summer semester of Grad School, I'm glad I got three of the seven prompts completed! I had been aiming for one.
I have enjoyed the discussions of Jane Austen.

I read:
• Sense and Sensibility (first read, liked but didn't love)
• The Annotated Persuasion (first read of Annotated, re-read of Persuasion, one of my favorite books of all time)
• Snowdrift and Other Stories by Georgette Heyer (love her style and humor, but the repetitive nature of the plots and character types was sometimes grating; I prefer her full-length novels)
• Jane Austen Embroidery by Jennie Batchelor and Alison Larkin (beautiful patterns and interesting historical background)
• Sanditon (liked but obviously there's not much of it to get attached to)
• The Watsons (found it boring)
• Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England by Amanda Vickery (a little fact-/numbers-heavy at times but did overall enjoy it)
• several contemporary poems from my great-grandmother's copy of The Oxford Book of English Verse. I found the book in my grandparents' attic in late June and realized my grandfather's mother had written her name and the date she got it in the inside cover; she would have been late teens still in school I think, a long while before she met my great-grandfather! It was really cool to reconnect with that bit of the past.

And I watched:
• the first episode of Sanditon on PBS (beautiful production, but didn't care for it enough to continue)
• Persuasion 1995 (one of my favorite comfort films ever)

So I had a very productive JAJ! I think this is the first year I have managed to cross off every prompt. Just now started The Annotated Pride and Prejudice because I am somehow still in an Austen-y mood haha

All I finished so far was My Dear Cassandra : Selections from the Letters of Jane Austen and the photos from Jane Austen's Wardrobe.
I still plan to finish Jane Austen's Charlotte: Her Fragment of a Last Novel, Completed by Julia Barrett and The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet soon.

An unusual JAJ for me because I didn't complete the challenge - by not finishing the chosen canon book SS, even though I was active in the chats.

OTOH it was an extremely fruitful JAJ, becasue of all the varied, and dynamic discussions, excercising my literary criticism faculties - esp on Col Brandon.

That helped me examine and parse the text deeper, examine and define more clearly the feelings I had during this reading of SS - which is ultimately the purpose of a close reading such as a month long JAJ.
In THAT sense, a very successful JAJ :)

Col.Brandon has also got me started on inquiring into my own SriLankan heritage, which I'd more or less ignored my whole life :0

Considering the breadth of the topics range I involved myself in, and the readings I started this JAJ, it's actually been a magnificent JAJ all in all.

In that sense it's also a good reflection of the reality of Regency era - its society awakening to science, exploration, international trade, global governance - and the readings giving me also a peek into women quiet at home in Britain and Asia, and women travelling around the world, and women exploring all their worlds - internal and external - in writing...

1.
SS - read only upto chapter 45.
Will take it up again after a couple of detox weeks :) and start re-reading without the earlier expectation of finding a hero in Brandon, and then being terribly disappointed in the charcater JA gave us, and finally being put off by the actual reading experience.

I needed to realise that the SS book premise, promoting Sense and showing the dangers of Sensibility, could not show Brandon, (with his excessive emotionalism spanning 15+ years, and beyond that even of Marianne), be in as high a light as I had imagined him to be, before starting the book.

2.
Never started Sanditon or Watsons.
Too caught up with SS.
Couldn't bring the necessary concentration to my first reading of them.

3.
Non-Fiction:
*Finished:
-Jane Austen. Cambridge British Authors: Introductory Critical Studies.
*articles
On Tom Lefroy because of the non-engagement engagements in SS:
-http://becomingjane.blogspot.com/2007...
-https://addictedtojaneausten.blogspot... Family
-https://jasna.org/persuasions/on-line...

*Still reading:
-Cambridge History of Literary Criticism: 18 Century.
Volume 4 of altogether 9 volumes.
Published 1997. A re-read after more than a decade.

*Started:
-How to read a Jane Austen Novel.
By Vivian Jones (re-read)
-The Lady's Magazine (1770-1831) and The Making of Literary History.
By Jennie Batchelor. Edinburgh Critical Studies in Romanticism series.
-Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness.
By Inger Brody.
It's confirming some of my 'non-romantic JA' vibes...
https://janeausteninvermont.blog/2024...

Many other books started as well ...
-Love & Marriage in the Time of JA. By Rory Muir
-Warren Hastings and British India

4.
Re-tellings &/ or Regency era setting books:
I prefer ones that are prequels or sequels, and not those that 'interfere' with the original book - at least not till I have got a firm grasp of the author's premise and goals in the original, and how successful she is in achieveing them through plot, settings, and character devlopment.

When I've done that, it maybe amusing to read even a retelling traversing the same timeline as the original -
but my experience with Unequal Emotions with PP has made me a bit wary of them.
Unless it is from a different character PoV such the Pamela Aidan triology bringing Darcy's tale, which very carefully avoids any kind of interference of the original premise, or the characters.

In Re-Tellings we check how believable the characters, and situations, are compared to the original -
but we certainly should not be referring back to the original from the re-telling ...

*Finished:
-Willoughby's Return. A sequel to SS.
A weak start, but was better than I expected at first.
Attempts to continue Willoughby's self-realisation, and Marianne's 'in time' love for the husband.
In so far, the charcters are believable, and is JA-like in the telling.
The author Odiwe's PP re-telling 'Lydia's Story' I remember as being much better, though.

-Hoping to take up 'The Year in Between' in late August/Summer after finishing SS.

-Also read a Regency era setting book by Georgette Heyer - can't remember the title. Heroine Pen who runs away from a planned marriage to cousin...

5.
JA Contemporary material:

Reading:
-The Lady's Magazine 1770.
Very interesting reading - with dress designs, gossip, stories, recipes -
An excellent peek into day to day life and interests of women during greater Regency era.

Other colonial / East Asian topics brought on by Col. Brandon:

-A Lady's Voyage Round the World in 1846.
Includes travel from Brazil back to Europe through Asia - India and Ceylon in 7 out of the 24 chapters.
Traslated by William Hazlitt - a favourite essayist of Regency

-Sir John D'Oyly's Diary in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1810-1815.
The British adminsistrator / agent provacateuer during the conquest / capitulation of the island
-John Davy's 'Ceylon Interior and Travels in that island' 1821. British army doctor in-situ during the time of the take over.

The last 2 thanks to Rebecca's request for colonial military material pertaining to India / Ceylon...


6.
Direct screen adaptation:
1970 SS
Excellent casting and acting. True to the author's intention.

I liked this better than the mangled one by Ang Lee/ Emma Thomson which I'd liked earlier.
Emma Thomson's script had emasculated Willoughby's self-realisation, enhanced Brandon (piano gift, poetry reading in the garden), and tilted/ changed the end of the story towards a higher focus on sensiblity (no Elinor wedding which is the end of SS book, but rather Marianne's which in the book was almost an add-on).

No wonder most of us who grew up on this film have a skewed SS sensibility...
they should have changed the costumes, and been more honest about their subversive cuts and changes.
Typical Hollywood ...

7.
Modern adaptation:

-I started I Have Found It/ Kandukondain Kandukondain and liked the beautiful tropical green scenery, the authentic interior scenes where the prospective bridegrooms visit etc.
haven't watched beyond the train scene where Elinor character watches the Edward character leave.
I stopped watching it, a bit taken aback by a spoiler I read in the comments...
so .... hmmm ... will probably pick it again after finshing the book.

-I will from now on take Ang Lee/ Emma Thomson film also as a modern-like retelling of SS.
I hadn't realised why there had been so many complaints at the time it came out - now I do.

Lindenblatt wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I don't know what was wrong with me, but I hardly read anything. I only completed Sanditon and a small nonfiction."

Nothing wrong at all, maybe you just weren't in the mood for JA?..."
Linda, I tried middle grade and graphic novels and nothing was hitting the spot.

I read:
1. Sense and Sensibility (reread)
2. Sanditon / The Watsons (both rereads)
3. Livets gåtor- Jane Austen by Vivi Edström
4. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
The Year in Between by Christina Morland
5. The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

I watched:
6. Sense and Sensibility 1981, 1995, 2008 (I had watched all of these before. The 2008 is my absolute favourite adaptation.)
7. The first four episodes of Elinor and Marianne Take Barton (not my cup of tea.)
My absolute highlight of the month was The Other Bennet Sister.

This was my first JAJ and I was happy to be invited, it had been too long since I read Austen.

I re-read Sense and Sensibility and got next-level enjoyment out of it this time around. I also rewatched my favorite adaption of it, the Andrew Davies from 2008 (it's my favorite by approximately 0.01%).

Then I read Lady Susan for the first time and what a surprise. I was just hanging out one night with my 11-year daughter and pulled it off the shelf and started reading it to her, just for fun. I had no plan to read it. But those first two letters had us in wide-eyed stitches as I started paraphrasing for the benefit of both of us, in a "let me see if I understand this correctly" sort of way. My daughter knows nothing about Jane Austen and even she said she was surprised. "I had no idea that's what you were reading!"

I followed the S&S discussion and saw some of the hosts' videos on YT.

Lots of fun all around and I look forward to doing it again.

This is my first participation ever and I really liked it! I almost completed the challenge, as I only missed the modern adaptation (7), I was not much inspired, but maybe I should keep that for this winter :)
- re-read Northanger Abbey + watched the BBC film
- read Lady Susan,
The Watsons : I regret that there were only 40ish pages so I will probably read one of the completed novels, will see...
Sanditon : my least favourite this month, but I read it at the end, maybe I was a bit tired...
- Jane Austen at Home: very good but slightly frustrated as I expected a bit more info about Cassandra
- Miss Austen: I finally found more Cassandra in this one, happy to read this novel even though it's a bit melancholic
- Belinda : I read Maria Edgeworth for the 1st time, enjoyable even though I found it some time a bit too "talkative"
- Film : Northanger abbey BBC and P&P 2005
I will certainly participate next year :)
Thanks a lot everyone !

Had a fairly decent JA July, although I didn't get to everything I wanted to. Finished:

✔️1. Novel: Sense & Sensibility (print) and Pride and Prejudice (on audio)
✔️2. Not a novel: The Watsons (print) and Lady Susan (audio)
✔️3. Non-fiction: Jane Austen's Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson -- fantastic!
✔️6. Direct adaptations: 1981 BBC mini-series Sense & Sensibility--better than I remember.

Also plan to re-watch 1995 & 2008 S&S adaptations in August--right now the Olympics are taking over our TV.

Did not get to, but am hoping to complete in August:
4. Historical Fiction/Re-telling: The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
5. Contemporary of JA: Evelina by Fanny Burney

Finally:
7. Modern screen--probably take a pass

1. I reread Sense and Sensibility in audio form with the always incredible Juliet Stevenson as the narrator
2. I read Sanditon for the first time on audio with Emilia Fox narrating
4. I read Engaging Mr. Darcy, a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Rachel John. She's written a few more Austen retellings and I'm looking forward to reading them all.
5. I reread Georgette Heyer's delightful Arabella in audio form.
7. I watched the Hallmark channel's recent film of Sense and Sensibility in which the Dashwoods are Black.

This was my very first Jane Austen July. I enjoyed it!

I'm still reading The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, once I finish I'm done with all the tasks.

This year I wanted all my tasks to be Sense and Sensibility related.

✔1. Read one of Jane Austen’s main six novels
Sense and Sensibility
Remains at 5 stars. :)

✔2. Read something by Jane Austen that is not one of her main six novels
Love and Freindship
It was a lovely companion read to Sense and Sensibility. Lampooned all of the sentimental novels cliches. "It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself -- We fainted alternately on a sofa.”... “Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint!”

✔3. Read a non-fiction work about Jane Austen or her time
Penguin Critical Studies: Sense and Sensibility by Isobel Armstrong
I loved the section on "Men and Women of Feeling". If you're curious about the cult of the picturesque, there's an interesting section dedicated to the topic.

::in progress:: 4. Read a retelling of a Jane Austen book OR a work of historical fiction set in Jane Austen’s time
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation by Christina Morland

✔5. Read a book by a contemporary of Jane Austen (ie, published between 1775–1817)
The Man of Feeling by Henry MacKenzie
First published in 1761, so before she was born. Austen was likely influenced by the book writing S&S, so I count that. Recommended by Isobel Armstrong (see above)

✔6. Watch a direct screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book
Sense and Sensibility (1971 BBC miniseries) - lovely main cast; some questionable acting in minor roles; terrible 2nd episode - stick it out, it gets better; overall fine, not my favorite; 1995 and 2008 are better IMO
Paul Gordon's Sense and Sensibility: The Musical (a stage production filmed in 2015, movie released in 2023)
If you enjoy cheesy musicals, especially if you enjoyed Pual Gordon's Emma and/or Pride and Prejudice, you'll love this one, too. It's the best-produced of the three.



✔7. Watch a modern screen adaptation/retelling of a Jane Austen book
Marianne (2014 ultra-low-budget indie movie) - not recommended
Material Girls (2007 Hilary & Haile Duff movie) - DNF'd - unwatchable despite having Brent Spiner and Anjelica Huston in minor roles
Scents and Sensibility (2011 "Hallmark" movie) - not recommended unless you're a fan of Hallmark movies, the least horrible of the three



Other Austenesque reading or activities:

I read a lot of JASNA articles. Those I liked the best and can recommend:
- Sense and Sensibility related:
• Fun and Speculation: Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice as Revisions by Deborah J Knuth Klenck https://jasna.org/assets/Persuasions/...
• “Wealth has much to do with it”: The Economics of Sense and Sensibility by Sheryl Craig https://jasna.org/assets/Persuasions/...
• "Everybody does not hunt" by Patricia Jo Kulisheck https://jasna.org/persuasions/printed...
• Good Punishes Bad? The Duels in Sense and Sensibility by Juliet McMaster https://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-...
- These are related to all JA novels:
•Jane Austen and the Enclosure Movement: The Sense and Sensibility of Land Reform by Celia Easton https://www.jasna.org/persuasions/pri...
•How Wealthy is Mr. Darcy – Really? Pounds and Dollars in the World of Pride and Prejudice by James Heldman https://jasna.org/persuasions/printed...?
•The Economics of Jane Austen's World by Katherine Toran https://jasna.org/publications-2/pers...

Listened to the end of the 18th century/ beginning of the 19th century classical music on Spotify:
• Jane Austen's Musical Treasures by The Austen Trio
• Musical Evenings with the Captain (Locatelli, Haydn, Handel, Boccherini) - my favorite of this bunch
• Jane Austen Entertains (mostly Pleyel)
• The Jane Austen Companion (various composers)

Listened to Sense and Sensibility related episodes of The Thing About Austen podcast (I listed them in the S&S spoiler thread). The newest episode is coincidentally also S&S inspired:
• EP94: The Thing About Anne Steele's Beaux
https://www.thethingaboutausten.com/e...

FINAL WRAP-UP FOR ME

READ ONE OF THE SIX NOVELS
✔ Emma

READ ONE OF THE OTHER WORKS
✔ Lady Susan

NON-FICTION BOOK ABOUT AUSTEN OR HER TIME
✔ Jane Austen at Home - Lucy Worsley
✔ Jane Austen Cover to Cover - Margaret C. Sullivan
✔ A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England - Sue Wilkes

RETELLING OR SET IN LIFETIME
* none

BOOK BY CONTEMPORARY
✔ The Old English Baron (1778) - Clara Reeve
✔ "The Rivals" (1775) - Richard Brinsley Sheridan (mentioned in Mansfield Park)
✔ "The Duenna" (1775) - Richard Brinsley Sheridan
✔ "A Trip to Scarborough" (1777) - Richard Brinsley Sheridan
✔ "The School for Scandal" (1777) - Richard Brinsley Sheridan (mentioned in Mansfield Park)
✔ "The Critic" (1779) - Richard Brinsley Sheridan

WATCH DIRECT ADAPTATION
✔ Emma (2020)
✔ Sense and Sensibility miniseries (2008)
✔ Emma (1996)
✔ Love and Friendship (2016) - adaptation of Lady Susan

MODERN VIDEO RETELLING
✔ Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (not expecting much)
✔ Clueless

OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES
✔ Jane Austen jigsaw puzzle

OTHER RELATED BOOKS
* The Female Quixote (1752) - Charlotte Lenox -- book that influenced Jane Austen STILL READING -- WILL FINISH IN AUG

bluerose wrote: "1. I reread Sense and Sensibility in audio form with the always incredible Juliet Stevenson as the narrator

Isn't she the best? I love her reading of Persuasion (a bit of melancholy) and Northanger Abbey (lots of wit). I also have the audio of Stevenson reading Jane Eyre, North & South and Middlemarch, and they're all excellent.

I had a lovely JAJ. Thank you, Katie, Marrisa, and Claudia.

My JAJ by the prompts:

1. The Annotated Persuasion Jane Austen edited by David M Shapard
2. *JA poem “Ode to Pity” from Juvenilia
*15 JA verses From Jane Austen: Sanditon and Other Stories edited by Peter Washington
*The 2 Cancelled chapters of Persuasion
*Extracts from 3 of JA’s letters: Jane in Bath, and 2 letters of advice to Fanny Knight about whether to marry John Plumptre
3. *Jane Austen’s Sailor Brothers, Being the Adventures of Sir Francis Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet and Rear-Admiral Charles Austen J.H. Hubback and Edith C. Hubback
*“Terrible Jane” Amy Bloom, “From ‘Canonical Memory in Early Wordsworth and JA’s P’” Harold Bloom, “Some Thoughts on the Craft of Austen’s P” Diane Johnson, and “Nothing but Himself” Margot Livesey From A Truth Universally Acknowledged
*Introduction and critical analysis From Persuasion edited by Linda Bree
*Biographical notice by JA’s brother Henry Austen
*“Literary references in Jane Austen’s Persuasion” by ritalovestowrite 6/4/2012 https://ritalovestowrite.com/2012/06/...
*“Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy: Stories” Linda Robinson Walker Persuasions On-Line V27No1 (Winter 2006) JASNA
4. *None and I’m okay with that
5. Contemporary Poets or poetry related to Persuasion:
*Lord Byron: “Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte” 1814, “Napoleon’s Farewell,” “From the French,” and ”Ode From the French” 1815, a fragment of The Giaour: A Fragment of a Turkish Tale 1813 lines 1145-1217, and I skimmed some of The Bride of Abydos.
*William Cowper: Light Shining out of Darkness, “Philosophy Baptized,” and “The Cast-away”
*James Thomson fragments From The Seasons: A Poem “Autumn” 1744 edition (lines 960-1040)
*Walter Scott: Introduction From Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field 1808
Contemporary Nonfiction:
*Thomas Gisborne From An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex 1797
*Priscilla Wakefield From Reflections on the Present Conditions of the Female Sex 1798
*The British Navy section From the Annual Register 1806
6. Persuasion 1995
7. None and I’m okay with that

I look forward to reading Jane Austen's Transatlantic Sister: The Life and Letters of Fanny Palmer Austen by Sheila Johnson Kindred before the end of the year.

Unread/moved to future JAJs:
2. Four pieces from the Juvenilia
3. *Juniper Hall Constance Hill biography of Frances Burney during the French Revolution
*“The Influence of Naval Captain Charles Austen’s North American Experiences on Persuasion and Mansfield Park” Sheila Johnson Kindred
4. *Ayesha At Last Uzma Jalaluddin
*Four short stories centering on Persuasion From Rational Creatures: Stirrings of Feminism (The Quill Collective) edited by Christina Boyd
5. *Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field Walter Scott. I did read The Lady of the Lake in January

EDITED to remove a duplication.

Kathy wrote: "bluerose wrote: "1. I reread Sense and Sensibility in audio form with the always incredible Juliet Stevenson as the narrator

Isn't she the best? I love her reading of Persuasion (a bit of melancho..."

She absolutely is!! I could listen to her read anything. It's great that she reads so many of my favourite books.

Lorri wrote: "*“Literary references in Jane Austen’s Persuasion” by ritalovestowrite 6/4/2012 https://ritalovestowrite.com/2012/06/..."
Thanks for sharing the link, Lorri.

BTW I read your comment on the Currently reading thread about 1995 Persuasion being too melancholy for you. What is your favorite adaptation?

For me, it wasn't made yet. But if I'm forced to pick one, I'll go for 1971 BBC TV Mini-Series starring Ann Firbank.

My JAJ this year was a bit... weird. I started early in June because I knew that a big chunk of my July wouldn't really be great for reading and I still plan to stretch it into August just a little so I have the time to at least finish what I'm currently reading and maybe read a couple more things, we shall see.

1. Northanger Abbey & Sense and Sensibility. Loved Northanger, S&S was bit of a chore but I'm glad I re-read it.

2. Didn't get to this one. I have a really pretty copy of Jane Austen's Manuscript Works that I might crack in August, but honestly I'm thinking I might leave it for next year.

3. Currently reading Jane Austen at Home planning to finish that one in August, although I have to admit that I'm less engaged with it then I thought.

4.The Clergyman's Wife and The Other Bennet Sister were both amazing reads and I also read Fanny, A Mansfield Park Story earlier in the month and loved that one as well.

I also read Something Spectacular and Mortal Follies during the month just for the regency vibes. It's stretching the challenge a bit though.

5. Didn't get to this one either. I might read something in August or now, we shall see.

5. I watched Sense & Sensibility (2008) which I don't think I saw before, really enjoyed it!

6. Nope, didn't do this one either. I guess modern adaptations just don't do that much for me. Really should finally watch Fire Island though...

Zuzana wrote: "Lorri wrote: "*“Literary references in Jane Austen’s Persuasion” by ritalovestowrite 6/4/2012 https://ritalovestowrite.com/2012/06/..."
Thanks for sharing the link, Lorri.

BTW I read your comment ..."

Hi, Zuzana. I agree that the best adaptation of Persuasion hasn't been made, yet. I do like the 1995 version but the tone is too sad. My husband complained about how many times the camera focused on Anne off to herself looking miserable. I'm considering rewatching both the 1971 and 2007 versions. I remember liking the 1971 version although it feels dated. I do own the DVD. I know I enjoy the 2007 version but the switched-up ending is all wrong! Why do so many people think they can improve on Jane Austen? There is a reason we keep reading her novels after 200 years! This is also why I don't enjoy retellings, completions, fan fiction, etc.

Lorri wrote: "I know I enjoy the 2007 version but the switched-up ending is all wrong! Why do so many people think they can improve on Jane Austen?"

Yeah, the ending just annoys me. I'm enjoying the show just fine and then Anne decides to run a marathon through Bath without her bonnet and gloves. The Kellynch Hall reveal at the end doesn't make sense either. So is Wentworth supposed to rent from Sir Walter? Why is it supposed to be romantic? Shouldn't he try and buy a property/estate? (like Bingley but on a smaller scale - he has about 1/4 of what Bingley inherited.)

1) Northanger 2) Evelyn/Catherine Or The Bower/Ode to St Swithin's Day 3) Jane Austen: A Very Short Introduction by Tom Keymer/Jane Austen: Writing Society Politics by Tom Keymer/Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness by Inger Brodey-DNF/ 4) Austenland by Shannon Hale/A Tale of Mistletoe Shenanigans: A Modern P&P Story by McKinley James 5)The Rivals by Richard Sheridan 6) Northanger Abbey 2007 7) Modern Persuasion

Persuasion
The Watsons
Sanditon and "Charlotte" by Julia Barrett
Jane and Dorothy by Marian Veevers
Godmersham Park by Gill Hornsby
Love and Freindship, The Beautifull Cassandra, and the History of England
My Dear Cassandra ( Letters by Jane Austen compiled by Penelope Hughes-Hallett)
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Zuzana wrote: The Kellynch Hall reveal at the end doesn't make sense either.

Kellynch Hall must be entailed and go to the heir, so that is off the table. If I recall correctly, both Francis and Charles Austen usually rented whenever they were landbound. Interestingly, Persuasion ends just before Napoleon escapes Elba in 1815. So, the navy men will be recalled to action and sent off to their unknowable fortunes. Also, JA finished Persuasion about a year or so after Waterloo and the fear of Napoleon escaping again was a likely possibility for her and her contemporaries. I believe Wentworth should rent a nice property near Lyme.

Katie wrote: "Jane Austen July is, alas, over! How did we all do? What did everyone read?

I feel like I had a mixed month - some great reads, but a lot of things on my TBR that I didn't get to.

I read:
-Sense ..."

Hi Katie,

So Jane Austen July is over for another year. Thank you and the other hosts for organising it. I read so many Jane Austen related books last month which was great including:

Pride and Prejudice
Emma
The Watsons
The Mysteries of Udolpho
The Watsons(completed) by Rose Servitova
A Most Agreeable Murder
Bath Tangle
A Ladies Guide to Fortune Hunting
Twenty Thing that Matter in Jane Austen(audio book ongoing)

I tried to read the book by Roy Adkins but I found it much too depressing.

My Jane Austen viewing was this:

Mansfield Park
Clueless
From Prada to Nada.

I did not watch as many Jane Austen related adaptations as previously.

I just watched the Paul Gordon Sense and Sensibility last night. I may have to buy it at some point. It isn't a good musical. Only one song is remotely hummable. The acting and singing is good overall though, with Colonel Brandon probably having the better songs. Apparently, there are at least two other Sense and Sensibility musicals, though I have yet to find anything beyond one or two clips of them. They all seem to fall into the trap of trying to maintain her dialogue, which in my opinion is unsingable, unless you had Gilbert and Sullivan or Sondheim writing it. Back to Paul Gordon's version: It made me laugh! I found it funny and charming in a cheesy sort of way. It is not the worst musical I have watched or listened too. Love Never Dies may look better and have nicer music, but it is a narrative train wreck that ruins the ending of the original show. Then there are all three cast recordings of Guy Fawkes the Musical, which if you combine some of them tells a cohesive story, but the music isn't very good, and the signing is like nails on a chalk board. And yet I love it. It's so bad that it is entertaining.

Zuzana wrote: "I'm still reading The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, once I finish I'm done with all the tasks.

This year I wanted all my tasks to be Sense and Sensibility rel..."

Thank you for bringing the Paul Gordon adaption to my attention! I'm now going down a musical adaptation rabbit trail to help stay sane during finals week! One more final to go and then I'm halfway through the degree.

Rebecca wrote: "Thank you for bringing the Paul Gordon adaption to my attention! I'm now going down a musical adaptation rabbit trail to help stay sane during finals week! One more final to go and then I'm halfway through the degree."

You're welcome, Rebecca. And good luck with your final final. ;)

P.S. I agree that the cheesiness factor of Paul Gordon's musicals is off the roof. But despite all the problems I kinda enjoy them. He kept the humor of JA's novels and despite lacklustre music it somehow works. :)

Zuzana wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Thank you for bringing the Paul Gordon adaption to my attention! I'm now going down a musical adaptation rabbit trail to help stay sane during finals week! One more final to go and ..."

Agreed. I think Colonel Brandon may have broken the wall at a few points. I laughed quite a bit! I don't mind the cheese. Though now I wish we'd gotten a Gilbert and Sullivan riff on Austen, or Sondheim.

I watched the Jane Austen musicals for free during the pandemic closures. https://www.streamingmusicals.com/jan...
Now they tell you where to find them.

I was impressed the actress playing Jane Bennet was 9 months pregnant or almost there. She was a lovely Jane.

Hello
Another Jane Austen July is over and I really enjoyed participating and reading several books this year.
I red:
- Emma
- Mansfield Park
- The genius of Jane Austen and her love of the theater
- Frankenstein
- Belinda
- Jane and the man of the cloth ( the second book of the series)
- I watched Emma
- I watched some episodes of the Lizzie Bennet Diary
I would love to have read more but 6 books are not bad for this year.

Maddy wrote: "Hello
Another Jane Austen July is over and I really enjoyed participating and reading several books this year.
Jane and the man of the cloth ( the second book of the series)
- I watched Emma
- I watched some episodes of the Lizzie Bennet Diary."

Impressive! Which Emma did you watch?

I miss sleuthing with Jane Jane and the Man of the Cloth! I started rereading the series but didn't get too far.

Watch the LBD AND "THE LYDIA" Lydia's videos. They really add to the story. Then there's Sanditon which is sort of a sequel/spin-off unfinished on purpose but shows us what Darcy does to help Lizzie. Then Emma Approved is set in the same world. Caroline Lee, Bing Lee's sister, has a cameo.

I watched the Gwyneth Paltrow version not the best but I own also the 1995 itv movie and the 2009 BBC series even though Emma is not my favourite character and I find her spoiled and irritating. I tried to watch the Emma approved but did not get along with it. Web series are not really my cup of tea usually. What version of Emma did you watched and preferred?
I have previously watched all of the Lizzie Bennett diaries and the Lydia videos as well and don’t feel the need to watch all of them again, some part but not all. I have all of the Jane Austen series made by Stephanie Barron but i will continue to read them in order at some point.
I red the Sanditon fragment of the novel and enjoyed it. I watched a web series of a potential season two called the Parker brothers build the sidewalk ans did not liked it at all and was not engaged with the characters or the story they were telling. I preferred the adaptation inspired by the novel made by ITV and PBS . Until many people I didn’t not regret Theo James departure at the end of season one even though he is a very good actor. I did not see in Sydney Parker what others saw and wanted more. I am fan of the season two and three of the Sanditon adaptation which meant more like Jane Austen to me. I know I am alone on that corner but I am okay with it.
What did you read and watched for Jane Austen July?

I have seen all versions of Emma from the 1990s to 2020! I liked them all even though I find the character irritating. I liked Emma Approved but enjoyed the Lizzie Bennet Diaries more. I did appreciate what Emma does for Harriet though. It's better than the original and not on the same level. It took awhile for me to get into it.

I miss sleuthing with Stephanie Barron's Jane. The last one wasn't quite a tear jerker but still sad to know Jane is at the end of her life.

I did NOT enjoy Sanditon on PBS. That was not Jane Austen and they even said the last season was inspired by the Brontës more than Austen. I'm enjoying Jane Austen's Charlotte: Her Fragment of a Last Novel, Completed by Julia Barrett much more. It's closer to what I think Jane Austen intended. Andrew Davies should have quit while he was ahead.

Sandition was better than that ... THING Netflix calls Persuasion. That's a hard pass. It's funny at times when the characters are self-aware but Anne is a hot mess and way off base. It's not Austen. Skip it. I did give it a thumb's up because I want more Austen/period drama on Netflix and that gives them notice I enjoy that sort of thing. Then they came out with Bridgerton which is not my cup of tea.

Emma was nice to Harriet specially in the end when she accepted Harriet marriage to Robert Martin.
I don't know Charlotte her fragment of a last novel by Julia Barrett. I will check at some point to see what it is.
I liked sanditon the 2 last season which was a self contained story written by Justin young .
but I agree that not every thing was great . I did not like the gay romance and I dislike the last line of a girl can be whatever she chooses to be like it would have happened back then like that. those are some of the things I was irritated by.
Of course every body's opinion are different and valid.
I watched the trailer of the last persuasion on YouTube and I did not liked it at all. It has nothing to do with persuasion. I don't have a Netflix subscription so I won't watch that movie or Bridgerton that most people are Wilde about .I checked one of the book and I Am not a fan either. As you say not my cup of tea.
Keep enjoying your reading/watching the things you like best.

QNPoohBear wrote: "I have seen all versions of Emma from the 1990s to 2020! I liked them all even though I find the character irritating. I liked Emma Approved but enjoyed the Lizzie Bennet Diaries more. I did apprec..."

Just added the completed version of Charlotte to my list. Have you read any good versions of Sanditon where someone else wrote the continuation? I've never watched any of the seasons. My mother enjoys Bridgerton, but I can't stand it. I automatically avoid any regency themed books that are compared to it at this point.

I've read a few versions of Sanditon. None of them have lived up to Jane but this one I'm reading now is decent. I haven't read her niece's version.

QNPoohBear wrote: I have seen all versions of Emma from the 1990s to 2020! I liked them all even though I find the character irritating. I liked Emma Approved but enjoyed the Lizzie Bennet Diaries more. I did appreciate what Emma does for Harriet though. It's better than the original and not on the same level. It took awhile for me to get into it."

I need to give Emma Approved another chance. It's the format for me, I can't get into the choppy short episodes. I have never finished Lizzie Bennet's Diaries either.

I enjoy all the versions of Emma for one reason or another (even the '70s BBC series) with one exception: Aisha - i can't stand the movie, it's like the screenwriter didn't understand the book and the title character at all. Aisha is not a mildly annoying misguided well-intentioned woman but a vacuous monster without a single good quality. At the end of the movie I rooted for Arjun (Mr Knightley) to get away.

BTW There's a new-ish modern adaptation of Emma - Lights, Camera, Romance (2021 Movie). A Hallmark-style movie. Haven't seen it yet, but you know, it's bound to be bad. :D

Not all Hallmark movies are bad. Some of the Austenesque ones are cute even if oversimplified and romanticized. The one I really enjoyed was Paging Mr. Darcy. I relate SO much to Eloise! Just about everything she had to say about Jane has come out of my mouth/keyboard at one time or another. The others that aired in February were pretty bad and lacked an understanding of Jane Austen, her life and times. Allison Sweeny lost points with me right away for mispronouncing the name of the Boston basketball team and it only went downhill from there! I appreciated what they tried to do with Sense & Sensibility but it went downhill in the second half when they sped it up, skipped most of the plot and made Marianne too modern. Watch it for the Black history and not much else.

I didn't like Paging Mr Darcy at all. It's based on one of my most hated tropes. (A career woman is taught by a benevolent man how to be a "woman". BARF!) Will never watch the movie again unless under duress.

I enjoyed "An American in Austen" much more. I could rationalize bad costumes, abrupt illogical actions, and other anacronisms by everything happening in the mind of the main character. It's not Regency England, it's not Austen's Pride and Prejudice, it's Harriet's romanticized idea of what Regency England was and the plot and characters she envisions when reading the book. Was it great? No, it wasn't. Was it cliched? Yes, it was. The main cliche of a person (usually a woman) interacting with her favorite book character/author to realize that real life is more complex than books doesn't bother me as much. I shut my brain for 90 minutes and mostly enjoyed the ride (with a couple of eye rolls here and there). :)

You can watch Paul Gordon's Emma (the musical) at Streaming Musicals YouTube page (only) today (17th August).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Kdm...

I rented Emma from Streaming Musicals a couple of years ago. Seems they moved to live streaming at their YT channel for a limited time.