What Was Jane Austen's Love Life Like? How True is Becoming Jane, Tom Lefroy & Marriage Proposals

Sense and sensibility is freaking boring, BORING, i´m in chapter 20 and i fell as sleep twice, so i don´t think i will read more. I still love Pride and Prejudice. and I would live with the Bennet for a month even is Elisabeth and Jane are not there, than spend a day with the Dashwood.

Poor Fanny. My take on her was that she was naturally a reserved person, but also I assumed her position was never truly secure. What if she stopped making herself useful or was to boisterous and, for lack of a better term coming to my mind right now, unmanageable? It was not in her nature to be so, but also I think she knew she couldn’t afford to be more carefree, she had to be nurturing and useful always to have a secure home. I also like to think we are being shown a little glimpse at how Anne’s life could have turned out if she had married so young and against her families wishes like Fanny’s mother. Yes, I know they were written at different times and that this was probably a coincidence, but I always thought it was interesting to note.

I dont understand , are people unable to read a book about people they dont like?.it is one of the great things about reading to explore different minds and personalities, getting into their heads.

Thanks so much for this. Your presentation was both charming and just! I like very much how you organized it and explained the character of the novels without giving anything away. I actually just finished reading The Mysteries of Udolpho and, although I read Northanger Abbey before, it was a long time ago and without having read Ann Radcliffe's novel. I look forward to rereading Northanger Abbey with a better appreciation of what Jane Austen is doing in that novel. Thanks again. I truly enjoyed the video.

i read books for the characters, i could put up with the silliest plots if the characters and their relationships were entertaining, so i read pride & prejudice and emma first, because i found the descriptions of both main characters really appealing. and i was not disappointed, on top of that both of their romantic interests are amazing, especially mr Knightley. i could not put up with a book that had someone like Jane and Bingley as main characters, i need someone with a stronger personality. i will read persuasion next, though i have not heard much about its lead, but it seems to be most people's top 3. then northanger abbey just to see what's the deal with this Tilney fanclub

i like your explanation of the books. jane was a good writer. i enjoy her works to the point i reread them. without fail, it makes me sad that the women are nothing without the men (based on the economy of the time and inheritance laws). i enjoy the characters and their point of view as well as their evolutions.

I read Persuasion first. It is AMAZING! I doubt anything will top it for me. I am in love. I am aware of the other books and settings. I have yet to read them all, yet I HAVE seen all the films. Multiple versions. I am reading Northanger Abbey. I am pretty excited!

I am a 17 year old boy and I wanna start with Jane Austen , so for a 17 year old what is the best Jane Austen book

I would certainly recommend P&P for anyone that doesn't know Austen. As for my preference, it's Persuasion. I think it has her most realistic portrayals of men. (Let's face it, Darcy, Bingley, Tilney, and Knightley unrealistic standards. But a girl setting her sights on a Wentworth, Harville, Charles Musgrove, or even Benwick, can not only find one in real life, but can have a realistic chance with him as well. And as a man, those are standards that are attainable.) Also Lyme and Uppercross are the two places I'd most like to live if I was in a Jane Austen novel. The company is better there than in any other Jane Austen neighborhood.

As for the rest of the books. P&P is my next favorite, Mansfield Park, by far my least. While S&S, Northanger Abbey, and Emma fluctuate depending on mood or what adaptation I've seen most recently. Today it would probably go NA, S&S, Emma.

I'd say to avoid "Persuasion" if you get impatient with people who can't seem to just be upfront. I lost track of the number of times I wanted to knock Captain Wentworth upside the head.

I can't believe you didn't mention Clueless was a modern adaptation of Emma. Btw can we get a video on that pretty please?

Mansfield Park is a bad book. It really draws you in, and then the end utterly ruins it by turning it into a morality lecture and giving up on love in favour of grooming. It seems like such a completely out of character ending for Austen to write! I feel like ultimately she couldn't bear for one of her heroines to marry someone relatively poor? Or maybe to have a hero who had to meaningfully improve? I don't understand!!

I started with pride and prejudice then moved onto sense and sensibility but they basically leaving these ladies homeless! THEN I tried to watch the movies and I have the one with ALEN RICKMAN IN IT and I CANNOT see him get his heart broken for a scoundrel 😭😭😭😭

Dashwood, fitting for one going over a female authors writings, ie Little Women’s Jo’s editor Mr Dashwood

S&S is probably at the bottom for me. I've read it twice and still can't remember the plot. It's so forgettable. But I love P&P and Persuasion, and I also enjoyed Mansfield Park quite a bit. I'm not as big of a fan of Emma as most, mostly because Emma's mistakes really make me cringe. NA has the same issue but at least it doesn't dwell on it as much.

I started with Emma, I was given it second hand in a box of books. Im so glad I did, bc it was so funny and the social dynamics felt relatable. I was 20 and Emma reminded me of people I know- I was so eager to figure how it all go!

This may be unpopular, but I think if you are new to Jane Austen, you should watch a film adaptation of the story first. Jane Austen is so witty and it gets lost on the modern-day reader. If you don't get the tone of the character's right, you're just lost.

I read Persuasion first. Loved it to bits!

The first and only one I have read was Pride and Prejudice and I absolutely loved it, it was my first taste of classic literature and I was hooked, I was 14 years old at the time and then I re read it 3 more times throughout the years but I never went back to Austens books until now, I am currently on chapter 5 of Northanger Abbey and I’m enjoying it very much.

I am very excited to read my first Jane Austen books. I did now realize how much I might enjoy them, until Hallmark peaked my interest. I don't know why I didn't read them, except I am dyslectic and growing up was so difficult to learn to read. I only did the least amount of reading until now. I am a well educated 70 year old children's author, with a masters +. I retired as an elementary school teacher of 40 years mostly second grade. I now am a slower reader, but with the larger print on Kindle helps. I am able to peruse through most books, if romance of the G rated. I hope I find these books of Jane Austen in that same range. Thank you for your enlightening narrative of her books. Rhonda-Kay Gatlin

EVERY year I re-read Pride and Prejudice, but Persuasion is definitely my favorite, feels particularly something personal I only read in the right moment, does it make sense? lol anyway, I adore it ❤

I rank PP, Emma, Persuasion, SS 😂I have a hard time getting into the other two 😢

I know I'm in the minority and will probably be crucified for my opinion, but I can tell you why I did not like Pride and Prejudice. There were moments I enjoyed, but I didn't buy the relationship Elizabeth and Darcy supposedly developed. I just don't see it. I completely bought Darcy feeling humbled and Elizabeth feeling embarrassed after the various truths were revealed, but her developing a romantic relationship with him? Why? How? We do see that despite himself, Darcy is attracted to her early on, but we never get anything of the same from Elizabeth to explain why she might develop an attraction for him later, so it feels like she only starts to develop romantic feelings after learning he loves her. That's when she starts wistfully daydreaming about how she could have been Mrs. Darcy if she hadn't been so prejudiced against him even though it was his own behavior and lies told by Wykham (that she couldn't have possibly known the truth about) that informed her opinion against him. Maybe it's also my acearo-ness coming into play and further influencing my taste. Haven't read any of the others and haven't finished the video yet, but it's certainly made me feel less favorably towards trying the rest of Austen's writing if I disliked her most popular novel.

I love Mansfield park, and I don't like Fanny. I don't think she was intended to be likeable. Unlike Austen's other heroines, we were not intended to identify with her but to find her dull and uptight while she simultaneously displayed all the virtues society thought a woman should have and received none of the rewards for it. Instead, we're meant to identify with Mary Crawford. We want Mary to get her way and we're pleased when it seems as though she will. It's only when the other characters learn Mary's true character that the mirror is held up for us. They've been rooting for the bad guy, and so have we. The top reason why I loved Mansfield Park is that Austen got me to root for the death of an innocent person, 200 years later, just to suit the whims of a character I liked, then showed me what a mistake I'd made. I imagine it must have been a risky story to tell in her day. It has a lot of condemnation for those around her, lots of political things to say. I admire it best for all those things.

this video made me interested in northanger abbey and convinced me to read it, and now its one of my all time favorite books! thanks for making this video :)

Makes me want to reread all the books, it's been a while.

Yes, I don't remember ever being naive myself. Makes it hard to relate to the heroines mentioned last.

My list would've been: P&P, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, S&S, Emma, and Mansfied Park. The first 3 books are in the tier "I loved them A LOT" and the next 3 are in the tier "They are really good, but ..."

My running joke all my life as an Emma is that there are very few Emmas whose company I enjoy. Emma Woodhouse is no exception.
I didn't enjoy the Kate Beckinsale Emma (in spite of Mark Strong as Knightley) or the 2020 adaptation, but I will likely try to battle my way through the book at some point just to say that I have.

Your spoiling all your recommendations but telling so many spoilers... and I was actually looking forward to reading persuasion 🤦‍♀️

I’ve read all except Northanger abbey which I’m planning to read this summer! Pride and prejudice will always be incredible and my favourite book, but I enjoy anything that Austen writes :)

I just discovered your channel and few mins in I really am amazed and love your style of videos, I subscribed thanks for recommendations cheers!!

Has anyone read Hamerston Hall by author Jane Eastbourne? Similar to Jane Austen....

Just bought Emma at a used bookstore. Can’t wait to read it!

I love Mansfield park. I thought it was so dramatic and interesting. I really loved how the moment her cousins leave and Fanny isn’t treated like an unwanted burden, she really blossoms. I don’t think she’s stuck up, I really think she’s terrified of making a mistake and being kicked out or abused.

I love that version of S&S - Hattie Morahan said in the commentary that there was a collective swoon when David Morrissey first came in to that dining room 😂😊

We are reading Sense and Sensibility, not sure what our next one will be.

Whats up with the key on the crawford sisters Dress? In the drawing. Is that a fashion trend? Im so intrigued!

In my humble opinion,Persuasion is the best.

I was introduced to Jane Austen in highschool when the 1995 Sense & Sensibility movie came out. I stuck with that one for a very long time until I watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Persuasion (2008) very recently. I finally collected a lovely copy of S&S last year but never got around to reading it. Now I’m considering P&P as well… I sampled it on kindle, the beginning chapters of that one are so tongue in cheek! I’m here watching your video about the books before I collect any more, or begin reading, as I’ve heard so many varied opinions about her writing.

Edit: ever since getting into Jane Eyre, I’ve been into gothic novels. I’ve loved gothic horror movies, too. Northanger Abbey sounds fun!

My least favorite book would have to be Sense and sensibility .
I could not make it to half of the book in a month... 😂
i kept trying and ended up readig other books meanwhile.
In the end i had to put it away.
Bored me to death
Because i picked that one first it took me 6 years to try another Jane Austen book.
Any of the others is much better in my opinion

I've read all of the novels (more than once) but could never make it through Emma. So boring. 🙄

Austen's books are actually very funny, like laugh out loud funny, once you get used to the older language.

Another excellent post!

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, but I also love Northanger Abbey. It is a hilarious parody of Gothic fiction. I read The Mysteries of Udolpho (because it was referenced in Northanger) and that made me appreciate Austen's talent at writing satire and parody even more.

I love how you define "sense" and "sensibility" since this is not necessarily obvious to a modern reader. I only figured it out when I came across a translation in French where this heart/head distinction is more clearly made. (Raison et sentiments = sense and sensibility = reason/logic and feelings)


My suggestion for a first Jane Austen book would be Sense and Sensibility. It's a fairly light read and not too overwhelming for someone who is not used to her style of writing. Northanger Abbey, her first completed novel, though not published until after her death, is another good one to get your toes wet. Jane Austen's maturity definitely strengthened with each book she wrote so it might not even be a bad idea to read them as she wrote them. This way your reading of her will "mature" along with her writing style. She wrote no bad novels!

My personal favorites are Mansfield Park and Emma.

Isn't Emma a love story?

Northanger Abbey for me! I connect with Catherine because I also have an over active imagination. i think the story is funny, and also, Henry is the best Austen hero.