Reading these sequels is one of my guilty pleasures. Heck, it's just one of my pleasures. Some of you may not have even realized that there is an entire industry dedicated to churning out Jane Austen sequels. Just check out this massive list of available titles on amazon.com. I've probably only read 5-6 of these, but several look pretty good!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jane+austen+sequels
If you have to ask why we need more of Fitzwilliam Darcy or Emma Woodhouse or Fanny Price or Marianne Dashwood or Anne Elliot, well, then you've never truly been in love with Mr. Knightley or laughed with Elizabeth Bennet.
That's not to say they are all worthy of the Austen connection. I've definitely read a few clunkers. And perhaps Being Elizabeth Bennet: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure goes too far. I'm not saying there should be so many of these, I just understand the deep love of the characters and the wish to continue with them.
[I wouldn't mind if someone kept going with Harry Potter, for example, even though I'm sure any sequels would be derivative and inferior. Still, I would read them because I love Harry, Ron, Hermione & Ginny so much.]
Mansfield Park Revisted by Joan Aiken was a lovely treat that I found at the library. It picks up at Mansfield Park after Fanny & Edmund are married, and follows Susan Price, Fanny's sister, as she cares for Lady Bertram and finds a suitor of her own. Aiken is a good writer and manages to stay true to the 'voice' of the time. (Some of the sequels are a bit anachronistic.) It was my airport read, and I managed to get through much of it while on a layover at DFW.
4 comments:
Haven't read these, but always remember how Anna Quindlen said that her favorite book was Anna Karenina (sp?) but the one she felt she could most easily drop into the book and start "jawboning" with the characters was Pride and Prejudice. So true -- the books are very approachable.
I admit I have read "Scarlett," but have not gone so far as to read Austen sequels.
Do you have "Tales of Beedle the Bard" yet? I read twenty pages last night during the opening credits to Prince Caspian (not as good as Wardrobe, btw), and will surely finish it tonight. Oh, JK, how could you conclude on us? I must have MORE!!!
I think my December read is going to be "Deathly Hallows" for the first second time. Yes.
Becca,
I've already done Hallows for the first second time. I think I'll do the second and third second times soon!
Erin,
I have read a book about a woman in Austenland (I think that's the title). It was fun (:
m
I had no idea there were such books! I love Jane Austen so I will check them out! Although I probably need to reread the original book to enjoy the sequel more! Thanks!
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