Upon the whole, Mr. Parker was evidently an amiable family man, fond of wife, children, brothers and sisters, and generally kind-hearted; liberal, gentlemanlike, easy to please; of a sanguine turn of mind, with more imagination than judgement. And Mrs. Parker was as evidently a gentle, amiable, sweet-tempered woman, the properest wife in the world for a man of strong understanding but not of a capacity to supply the cooler reflection which her own husband sometimes needed; and so entirely waiting to be guided on every occasion that whether he was risking his fortune or spraining his ankle, she remained equally useless." What It’s About: Mansfield Park tells the story of Fanny Price, a young woman whose family sent her to live with her wealthy (and unkind) aunt and uncle when she was just a child. The novel focuses on the romantic adventures of Fanny and those around her. The tone of P&P is one of wit, sardonic humour and sly social observation. There is little of this in Mansfield Park. It is replaced with a preachy moralising. I enjoyed this one, perhaps because it wasn't quite as obvious how everything would play out (not the ending, but how it would get there). enjoyable!

mp_sf_list_3_description:What It's About: Austen's fourth published novel tells the story the young, spoiled and lively Emma Woodhouse, who sometimes plays matchmaker in her small, fictional village and enjoys meddling in the lives of others, but she means well. According to the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), even Austen herself is supposed to have said that she expected that Emma would be "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like."Did You Know? Emma, Austen's final published work during her lifetime (and written before her severe decline in health), was completed and published in late December 1815. I wouldn’t argue that any of Austen’s characters are based ‘for certain’ on real individuals. Still, it’s fun to speculate,” she said. “Austen’s naval brothers, Charles and Francis, would certainly have been inspirations for naval men in her novels [such as Persuasion]. There is one real-life connection between life and fiction. Charles bought each of his sisters, Jane and Cassandra, a piece of jewelry—topaz crosses. In Mansfield Park, William buys his sister Fanny a piece of jewelry—an amber cross. Readers have long been thrilled by this connection between life and fiction.” mp_sf_list_0_description:What It's About:Sense and Sensibility tells the story of the Dashwoods, sisters Elinor and Marianne, and their romantic endeavors. Marianne wears her heart on her sleeve, plunging headfirst into love. Elinor, on the other hand, is cautious and cares about social convention. On MASTERPIECE: An adaptation of Northanger Abbey arrived on MASTERPIECE in 2008, starring Academy Award nominated actress Felicity Jones ( The Theory of Everything, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). A previous adaptation of the novel aired in 1987. Also in 2008, an adaptation of Persuasion starring two-time Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins ( The Shape of Everything) debuted.em>"Persuasion wasn’t sold to a publisher before her death, but it also shows every sign of having been prepared for the press. Both novels were shorter than her previous works, so her family agreeing to publish them together as a set, just a few months after she died, was a practical choice."On MASTERPIECE: An adaptation of Northanger Abbey arrived on MASTERPIECE in 2008, starring Academy Award nominated actress Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). A previous adaptation of the novel aired in 1987. Also in 2008, an adaptation of Persuasion starring two-time Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Everything) debuted. Northanger Abbey- This was my first Austen. And I loved the way she defended the novel and reading throughout. Though she was an advocate of proper reading and not becoming disengaged from reality to the point where you think your life is a gothic romance. A very amusing read! Lo and behold, by some miraculous intervention I was persuaded to try again to see if I could appreciate her work, and this time not just with one novel, but to plough through all her famous books. If you cannot judge a book by its cover, surely we should not judge an author by one book alone? Especially Austen, someone who has withstood the test of time and has entered the history books as one of England’s most famous authors. Would it be possible to overcome my prejudice that had become as unrelenting as Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s towards the mysterious Mr. Darcy? The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

The ladies here probably exchanged looks which meant, "Men never know when things are dirty or not;" and the gentlemen perhaps thought each to himself, "Women will have their little nonsenses and needless cares." What It’s About: The renowned novel Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family, consisting of five daughters whom Mrs. Bennet is anxious to see married off. The story focuses heavily on Elizabeth Bennet, and her complicated, turbulent romance with Fitzwilliam Darcy.

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Now, brings me to my last point. Masculinity. Women have read these books since forever and I've always heard them goo-goo and ga-ga over Mr. Darcy and other men in these books. Why? It's because they are masculine men. These men are gentleman, good, kind, and respectful. Girls like that. However, today, the masculine man is being demonized. mp_sf_list_1_description:What It's About: The renowned novel Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family, consisting of five daughters whom Mrs. Bennet is anxious to see married off. The story focuses heavily on Elizabeth Bennet, and her complicated, turbulent romance with Fitzwilliam Darcy. If one never knew anyone of this sort, one would think the character is entirely invented. At that it is not that uncommon to come across men who deal with their own children, especially daughters, this cruelly or worse, but they are excused or even pressured to be this cruel and admired for it in various cultures (not excepting west or US for that matter) while women are usually this cruel with children of other women, say a lover's wife or a sister in law. But the character therefore is entirely possible, especially in an era when a woman could only obtain wealth and consequence by marriages her own and her relatives'; and the only area she could use her mind however sharp was in fields related to intrigues of social sort, marriages, love affaires, and so on, especially gossip and vile gossip about other women. This unfortunately is what far too many women and even men use their minds for, even now, for sport and not for want of subjects that could use the sharp minds. Sometimes it is the heart of such a gossiper and mud thrower that is at fault seriously in that destroying another person is the pleasure, and use of mind and other facilities is merely a means. This is allegedly Austen's least popular work and Pride & Prejudice must surely be the most popular. Why? Comparison may be instructive. Mansfield Park- the best novel by the best novelist. This is the one which will amaze the reader more and more with its skill, in every line, the more one re-reads it. Yes, the rival and the scoundrel- Mary and Henry Crawford- are the most charming 'villains.' One might say they have all the charm, and the heroine none.- but Fanny Price is actually quite amazing. And Aunt Norris- words fail me. Some people spread joy wherever they go, some whenever they go.

In May, I read (or I should say reread) Emma. Emma is the one that was the freshest in my mind since I read it for the first time at the end of last year. Emma is such a frustrating character, but I always find the dynamic between her and Harriet to be very interesting. I also love Mr. Knightley. He's definitely one of my absolute favorite Austen heroes. I do really enjoy watching Emma's growth throughout the novel though and it's fun to see all the trouble she gets into, even if it's also insanely frustrating. This time I noticed the mentions of the age gap between Emma and Knightley a lot more and I just didn't like that much. I love the ending of Emma a lot and getting to see her and Knightley post-engagement is just a delight. Definitely one I have mixed feelings on, but so enjoyable to read regardless.Throughout her life Jane kept up regular correspondences with her sister Cassandra, her friends and her nieces and nephews. Although Cassandra removed anything deeply personal from these letters after Jane’s death, they tell of her attitude to her work, describing it as ‘the little bit (two inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour’. This modest assessment was not shared by Sir Walter Scott or by the Prince Regent, who kept a set of her novels in each of his residences.