Contest closed January 1, 2020. Congratulations Amanda Bennet. Thank you all for your comments, which I found so interesting to read. Pride and Prejudice was mentioned the most. Second came Persuasion. Many loved all of Jane’s novels. Happy New Year, y’all!
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 on a bitterly cold winter’s night. I’d like to celebrate that day by offering a copy of The Compleat Housewife by Elizabeth Smith, first printed in 1753. The book, published by Chawton House Library and introduced by Elizabeth Kowaleski Wallace, contains 18th century recipes; directions for painting rooms; broths for the sick; a supplement to the Compleat Housewife, which includes instructions for decoctions, pills, and powders; and terms of arts for carving.
Giveaway: Please leave a comment about your favorite Jane Austen novel and what it means to you. The contest is for U.S. readers of this blog only. The winner will be drawn by random number generator on January 1. Happy Birthday, Jane!
Also on this blog:
Jane Austen's World 
Persuasion is my favorite. I just love the second chance.
Sense and Sensibility is my all-time Jane favorite!
I homeschool my kids. I am on my last one this year. My son is a senior. We have been reading Pride and Prejudice together and I really feel that it is giving us some wonderful mother son time.
clarksuzannah (at) gmail (dot) com
I love Emma, the book is full of amazing characters. Emma herself is well developed and grows as a person. I like a flawed main character. It is also laugh-out-loud funny at places.
This is such a difficult choice, but my all time favorite is probably Persuasion since Anne is my favorite Austen heroine. She has such a gentle strength; I really like her. And although all the books have humorous bits, Northanger Abbey is a close second favorite for the way it makes me laugh. :D
My favorite is pride and prejudice! I remember listening to it at the same time my mom was, and we would discuss.
My favorite is Persuasion. I first read during a sad period of my life and loved both the sadness and finally happiness of the story.
I love Emma for many reasons. She grows in character, and the references to food such as baked aproast pork, which Mr. Woodhouse says no stomach can bear, are priceless. Miss Bates gives me the giggles, but there are nuggets of perception buried in her long ramblings. I just love her. And Mr. K. is Almost perfect.ples and
Sorry, should have proofed. I meant baked apples. So sorry.
My favorite is Pride and Prejudice. I love the idea that an “obstinate, headstrong girl” can find a gentleman who appreciates those qualities in a woman.
My favorite novel is Persuasion, because I love Anne, her very gentle persona, and her long road to happiness that she so richly deserves. And I love the little ways that Captain Wentworth shows his feelings for Anne, from making sure she gets a ride in his sister’s gig because he has noticed that she is tired, getting little Henry literally off her back while she’s tending to little Charles, and other instances, that show he is not indifferent to her.
My favorite is Sense & Sensibility. I love the relationship of the two sisters and how they support each other in the best & worst of times.
Some days it’s Persuasion – the elegance of the writing moves me so. Other days it’s Pride and Prejudice – Elizabeth’s strength of character and purpose is the best. And then, there’s Fitzwilliam Darcy – my goodness.
That’s a tough one. I love Pride & Prejudice because the aspect of the strong/silent type of man is usually pretty intriguing to women. Mr. Darcy did something very kind and noble for Elizabeth, but never wanted anyone to know, least of all her. That’s romance.
My favorite is Pride and prejudice, when I want some me time, I pick up the book and go back into time.
I still love Pride & Prejudice. Or Persuasion. Or… I love them all.
Pride and Prejudice 😍 Elizabeth is relatable and Mr. Darcy is, well Mr. Darcy. 🥰
I thought that she was born on 16th December and not 17th. It’s in the books about her. Am I wrong?
You are not and I stand corrected. I will make the change. Oh, dear. my memory is going in my feeble old age. It is so nice to depend on the kindness of the Jane Austen community. :)
Vic, don’t feel too bad. Jane Austen’s father said they had become such bad reckoners estimating when she would be born.
Well I know I’ve certainly mixed my dates up, as I’m sure others have. So no worries! Besides Dec 17th is another literary birthday, 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Not exactly regency but I’ve always enjoyed his works. :) Austen, Beethoven, and Whittier all born around the same date. That’s pretty cool!
Pride and Prejudice. Such lively and well-rounded female characters for the time period (or any period!).Thanks for organizing the giveaway and Happy Jane Austen’s Birthday! x
My favorite is Persuasion. Jane was at the height of her writing power and Anne is a gentle atypical heroine who nevertheless achieves true happiness.
Even though many disagree, the perfect Jane Austen novel for me continues to be Pride and Prejudice. Oh I’ve read and listened to arguments for Emma or others but for me P & P contains the perfect blend of wit, angst, and both a heroine and hero worthy of regard and modeling. There is no wasted words or characters a reader may wonder why they were included. Each character is unique and believable. Jane Austen was a master of the human psyche and I can find no better models than in P&P.
Thanks for sharing a marvelous gift.
Hello! What a wonderful idea! Well, I was introduced to Jane through Pride and Prejudice, forty years ago. It took me ages to read her other works. But! I think I would say that, today? My favorite of her works is Emma. Emma as a heroine has real growth in her character over the course of the story. Emyma learns much about herself in the story, and much about how to help others. She suffers embarrassment, self-chastisement, and even jealousy when she finally figures out how she truly feels about Mr. Knightly. I also enjoy how the village of Highbury is fleshed out in the novel, allowing us to see how the various ranks of society in the village interacted and supported one another.
Persuasion has always been my favorite. I love the way the characters are drawn, and of course the mandatory happy ending for Anne, who deserves happiness as much as anyone I know.
I love “Persuasion” because I think Austen was a lot like Anne Elliot. Moreover Captain Wentworth’s note to Anne may be the best love letter in all of literature.
Happy birthday, Jane! My all-time favorite is Pride and Prejudice. I’ve been reading it since high school and I can never read it too often!
Pride & Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen. My grandmother gave me Pride & Prejudice when I was 13, and it will always hold special memories as my first Jane Austen and of my long conversations with my gran.
I go back and forth, but I keep coming back to Pride and Prejudice. There are so many believable characters who are trying to make their way through life in their own way. Many of the social problems continue today.
Pride and Prejudice has been my favorite since early teens. She has remained the one I turn to to escape the realities of our lives and the world as it is.
I would say Pride and Prejudice:
“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Pride & Prejudice, the “Compleat Novel”.
Pride and Prejudice because as the header on top of this page states, (the book brings the)….”Regency period alive through food, dress, social customs and other 19th C historical details.”
Clarice Neudorfer
One of the Austen Alliance Authors
Like so many others I am torn between Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. The first as it is an amazing piece of literature in many different ways (plot line, characterization, descriptiveness, etc) and Persuasion since it is her most mature work. I like all her works, but those 2 stand at the forefront.
I honestly cannot say I have a favorite, I’ve read them all, several times, and love them all. They take me to a time that was actually my first interest in history and fashion studies. I think I read Pride and Prejudice the first time in high school and finally got an idea of what it was like to live in another period of time.
“Sense and Sensibility” is my favorite! I love how the concepts of the early Romantic period that the book was written in portrays proportionality and balance (sense) in Elinor, and passion and romance in Marianne (sensibility).
Pride & Prejudice was my introduction to Jane Austen and continues to be one that stays on my night stand and I read again and again! I remember when I realized that she was being sarcastic and funny instead of literal. It made all the difference and I think the world is a very funny place through her eyes. As a writer, I think she must have looked around her at the people and her surroundings and thought, “Ah. THIS shall make a great re-telling!” Kind of how a comedian looks at everything as material. :-)
Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, though I love them all. Austen said it was perhaps “too light & bright & sparkling,” but that’s what I love about it. It has wit and wisdom as well as biting satire!
Persuaion will always be my favorite, Anne does her duty by her family and still gets her just rewards. I love all of them and discover something new each time I read them.
This is like asking to pick your favorite child~ impossible! So perhaps a favorite character… I love Elizabeth Bennet for knowing her mind. For Jane Austen to have crafted such a strong willed woman at a time when women were still considered property remains complete amazing to me!
Persuasion for sure. Anne is so calm and sensible in the face of chaos and so patient with her family. I love that it turns out well for her at her “advanced “age. When she reads the note captain W leaves her toward the end, my heart melts. Gets me every time.
Happy Birthday Jane Austen. Thank yo for the great books you have given us.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
My favorite Jane Austen novel is “Pride and Prejudice.” I was inspired to read it after watching the movie (the one with Colin Firth), and that led me to being a huge Jane Austen fan and subsequently reading the rest of her novels.
I love Pride and Prejudice the best and Persuasion is a close second. I love the stories and characters in the books.
denise
Who knew she appeared on the radio?…joking. She really is in top class of authors.
It might have been easier to say which was my least favorite. It does get to be a difficult answer sometimes when I’m watching one movie or other. But when it comes to the books, it’s definitely Pride and Prejudice.
The book giveaway is fascinating. I read about that book years ago and have a PDF of a Guttenberg copy, but it’s difficult to read. I’d love to receive the book, what a generous giveaway.
My favorite is Pride and Prejudice. It is the first that I read as a 10 year old and helped cement me in my lifelong love for Regency.
Persuasion is my favorite because I love the fact that Anne truly finds her equal – and of course that letter! he always loved her :)
Persuasion is my favorite. I love the idea of a second chance at happiness, which occurs too rarely in real life. The discussion between Anne and Harville about the constancy of love is an interesting and intelligent debate. And..the letter! Perfect. Anne and Wentworth are equals. She does not look to him to rescue her or teach her. I love Pride and Prejudice and Emma as well, but overall Persuasion remains my fave.
Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen; the characters are so memorable and entertaining!
Price and Prejudice, as I identified with Elizabeth Bennet, sharing a first name and intelligence.
My favorite Jane Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. I love the family dynamic. I can absolutely see many of the situations play out in modern times which is what makes her novels so wonderful.
I love PRIDE AND PREJUDICE the most because I find so many of the characters so interesting and compelling. Beyond our beloved Darcy and Elizabeth…Charlotte, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet…on and on…they cause me to think, to laugh, and to want to, again and again, immerse myself into this novel.
My favorite book is Persuasion. I read it annually.
Persuasion is my most particular favorite. I always appreciate Austen’s illustration that you can’t control who you are related to…or their behavior, but you can choose your friends. I love Anne’s resilience, kind heart yet practical nature, and, of course, the second chance that she and Frederick give themselves. 🥰
How can one choose a favorite? Every time I read one of her books – or hear a talk about a book, or read an analytical comment, or go to a JASNA meeting with a good speaker, I change my mind each time. Every book has a special character, or point of view, or I just learn something new about the times that Jane lived in and how cleverly she incorporated issues of the time into each novel. She was brilliant! All the time.
For me it’s Pride & Prejudice. It’s the first I read of Jane Austen and it touched a part of me that has always been fascinated with that era. After I read it, I was on a mission to read and watch all things Jane Austen. I still love it all.
It as to be Pride and Prejudice. My favorite (other than the book) is the TV mini-series from 1995 with Colin Firth. I watch it all the time. Each time I watch it I glean a little different perspective than the time before. I learn to appreciate Jane Austen’s wit more with each viewing as well. It’s also my sewing show – when I’m on the sewing machine it’s playing.
Very difficult to name a favorite, but if I have to choose, I think Emma might be the one. I find myself re-reading it more often than the others and it never fails to delight, whether through a new insight or just a deeper appreciation for its depth, charm and humor.
Sense and Sensibility. I love the dichotomy of the sisters. Although, whichever one of Jane’s novels I’m currently reading is usually my favorite. I fall in love each time with her witty words.
I’ve always loved Persuasion because I can relate to Anne’s desire to please others, though I’d never go as far as she did. I’m also a sucker for unrequited love :)
Persuasion is my favorite. I love how Anne finally found her voice, taking the second chance when it was offered. Especially after so little was thought of her by her family. :)
I love that a second chance at love is offered to Col. Wentworth and Anne in Austen’s novel, Persuasion.