As a young man, my formal education was cut short.
As a result, I’ve spent my later years reading the works of great authors that I should have read years ago, exploring history I should have already been familiar with, devouring the biographies of others in order to gain a better understanding of my place in the world, and diving into whatever subject catches my fancy with rabid abandon. Which brings us here…
I’m currently reading Mansfield Park, first published in 1814, and it’s a delight. So much so that I constantly find myself smirking and even chuckling at Jane Austen’s keen, kind, and sometimes caustic observations of the human condition and the hypocrisy of society, expressed in her oh-so-polite-but-pointed phrasing.
I do believe that she invented the concept of being snarky, that ironic, sarcastic, slightly rebellious tone that one uses when some person needs to be brought down a peg or two, or when some aspect of society needs to be popped with the point of a pen . Of course, Ms. Austen does these within the parameters of proper British society, circa the 1800s, which only adds to her charm.
I often suggest to friends that, if they can’t quite muster the discipline to read a novel, they can at least watch a film based on the book. Emma Thompson’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is outstanding, but there’s just nothing like reading Jane Austen in print.
When we talk about an author having a unique ‘voice’, she is a prime example. Her prose reads like a friend writing you a fascinating, observant, and yes, slightly snarky letter. (Her prose is to incredible for an email.) Juicy details, knowing asides, and the very flesh and bone of each character, revealed with honesty and, when justified, generosity.
Authors are often told to ‘write what they know’, and she certainly did that. Her characters possess an intimacy and urgency that can only come from exposure and perhaps experience.
Her own life was one of financial uncertainty, social ambiguity, and professional success. It ended too early at age 41.
Like many writers, she saw herself as an outsider looking in. I imagine her, like myself, attending a party, but standing in a corner, observing rather than engaging, taking mental notes that would later gestate into scenes and characters somewhere down the line.
Not unlike the Bronte sisters, Jane struggled to defy the social constraints of her time and to get her work published. So, in addition to her irreverent snark and her magnificent talent, I read with an overwhelming sense of admiration and respect.
It’s a joy and a pleasure I heartily recommend.
- BGT