Jane Austen Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘The Darcy Myth’ by Rachel Feder

Happy publication day to this funny, thought-provoking, non-fiction book!

I am a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ fan. Not a super-fan, or a Janeite or an Austen obsessive, but I can enjoy the novel. I’ll never love ‘Mansfield Park’ (hideous A Level flashbacks) and I was the wrong generation to appreciate Colin Firth in THAT shirt (yes, I totally get it now…) but I totally respect the way that Jane Austen quietly wrote novels that are still part of the collective consciousness over 200 years after her death.

So I came to this book with purely an interest in a feminist reading of Mr Darcy by someone who really knows ‘Pride and Prejudice’ inside out – and has had the headspace to ponder on it at length as part of her career in academia. Rachel Feder is an associate professor in English at the University of Denver and really knows her stuff.

(Audio)Book Review: ‘Eligible’ by Curtis Sittenfeld

Modern retelling of ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Written by Curtis Sittenfeld, author of the brilliant ‘Prep’ (amongst many other fab books)? Sign me up!

I was definitely intrigued about this book and it has been vaguely on my radar for a few years (it was published in 2016). When it popped up as an audiobook suggestion on BorrowBox, I thought I needed to give it a try.

How on earth could ‘Pride and Prejudice’, with its Georgian mores and sensibilities, be dragged into modern-day America? I had to find out.

5 Classic Novels That I Love

During my time as an English Literature student (and then as an English teacher), I had to read a lot of classic novels. Some I liked, some I really didn’t (I’m looking at you, ‘Moby Dick’).

While I’m forever grateful that I did read these books that are considered to be the cream of Western Literature*, there are very few that really struck a chord and stuck with me. Here are just five that I’ve read and re-read – these are so good that I’ve come back to them repeatedly. Every reading is a revelation – I’m always astounded by how they change in my memory and understanding each time.

* Yes, I know there is a world out there beyond the Western canon but my course was pretty traditional and didn't really allow for this in a major way.  And I also know that women's writing tends to be sadly under-represented in the world of classics.  Never fear - I made up some of the gaps in my reading after university!

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