Jane Austen's World

9 Comments »

9 Responses

1. on March 30, 2008 at 03:12 Anne Peverett

   Where do I start I want a basic course however my modest learning ability hass only just reached level 2 Undergraduate.
   I am fascinated by jane austin and would love to start somewhere.

   Can you help direct me. Thanks Anne

   
   
2. on March 30, 2008 at 13:36 Ms. Place

   Hello Anne,

   Thank you for your question. I would discuss your interest with the head of the English Department at your university. He or she will steer you to a first level course on 18th century or 19th century English Literature. Jane Austen is associated with Romanticism, so you might read those course descriptions as well.

   On my own, I would simply start reading Jane Austen’s books. Some people who are new to her novels encounter difficulty reading her language. Listening to podcasts might help as you are reading. (Jane’s words sound wonderful spoken) Librivox offers the podcasts for free. (See the AV/E-Texts tab.) If you decide to go it alone, the last link in the student section leads you to a series of videos about Pride and Prejudice. As you finish reading a chapter in the book, you can click on the video that corresponds to the chapters, read the summaries and answer a few questions. (The Rocketbook video sits at the top of the page.)

   Good luck! If you are curious, I began with Pride and Prejudice, then read Persuasion.

   
   
3. on January 5, 2009 at 09:35 cora

   hi!
   where do i find information about the popularity of jane austen in the 20th and 21st century?
   thanks

   
   
4. on April 10, 2009 at 07:52 Vic (Jane Austen's World)

   Simply google the words “Jane Austen’s popularity”, and articles like these pop up:

   The Revival of Jane Austen

   On Jane Austen’s Popularity

   Tracing Jane Austen’s Popularity

   etc.

   
   
5. on October 29, 2009 at 10:23 Ling

   Wow, I love this teacher/student section of the blog. In in Yr 10 and i’ve read all of Jane Austen’s novels at least twice. I started in the holidays last year. Pride and prejudice was so good I went on to persuasion. This fired me up and I made it my goal to finish all her novels asap and now I’m done!

   Somehow, there really is a timeless quality in her works that appeals to everyone (at least us women) and affects them on a different level. She is truly great and I love that you have a blog and all to show it. I have recently been extra keen on learning more about the context etc. I’m even starting to read The mysteries of Udolpho (Catherine’s fav. novel as you know) as they say that Jane Austen was influenced by the author and read the books herself.

   I have been persuading everyone in my year group that Jane Austen is a better read than Stephanie Meyer, and have succeeded to different degrees…but anyways, it’s just so suprising that Austen has stayed at the top in the “book market” since the 19th century and we are now in the 21st century… amazing.

   note- sorry about the long post! ^^

   
   
   • on October 29, 2009 at 11:29 Vic

     No problem, Ling. I enjoy feedback. Have you thought of telling your students to download the podcasts of her novels? To some modern ears, Jane’s old-fashioned language is easier to understand when spoken, and the novels seem more accessible that way. See my podcast section.

     
     
6. on June 25, 2010 at 16:19 curlygrandma

   Are you able to recommend a website that shares old writing lessons for children in the 1800s?

   
   
7. on March 29, 2012 at 16:34 alwonderland23

   Hi,
   I am currently doing my degree dissertation on Jane Austen (because I love her) and her novels, I wondered if you could point me in the direction of some scholarly articles that support the idea her novels are based on marriage or class!
   Love the website so much, thanks!

   Alice Taylor

   
   
8. on March 8, 2013 at 14:10 Omayma Al Nabri

   I love this student(s) section, very useful! I am an Elective Literature student from Muscat, Oman. We are currently reading Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice book in class, and we have an assignment to complete. It is a “Blog” Write Assignment where we ask websites/blogs that are devoted to Jane Austen content specific questions about the book.
   I would love it if you would take the time to answer a question of mine, and here it is: Elizabeth Bennet is known to be the heroine of the story, and certainly the one who thinks things deep. So how do her first impression judgments of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy affect her later on?

   
   

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