Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Summer Fun Day 25 - The First Jane Austen "Novel" Every Teen Girl Should Read

As your daughters reach the age of Austen, let me suggest before they join Jane, and Elizabeth, Emma, Elinor or even Fanny in seeing Darcys, Knightlys and Willoughbys behind every male smirk and smile, introduce them to Catherine Morland.


Let them laugh at her (and themselves) as they see just how silly seventeen can be.

"Perhaps after all it is possible to read too many novels."

It's great to be a homeschooler.
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5 comments:

  1. Natalie PlanetSmartyJune 19, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    Believe it or not, I reached maturity without ever reading even a single Jane Austen book. I suppose she was translated into Russian but not popular. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Jane Eyre in my teenage years :)

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  2. An Almost Unschooling MomJune 19, 2013 at 10:35 AM

    Raising a Happy Child - If it makes you feel better, I read Dostoyevsky (and the Brontës)before Austen. Wuthering Heights was my favorite classic in my high school days...but there seems to be a silly fascination with romantic heroes among young girls(I suppose a Heathcliffe is about the same as a Darcy) Austen's quote works well for romances, but really is equally good for novels in general. Escaping into a story is a fine thing - but it's always good to remember the line where reality ends and fantasy begins.

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  3. TiciaJune 20, 2013 at 5:40 AM

    I'm trying to remember now if I've read that one...... I think I've read all of Austen's books, but I can't remember for sure.

    I struggled with Jane Eyre so much, I don't remember if I ended up finishing it.

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  4. An Almost Unschooling MomJune 20, 2013 at 5:53 AM

    Jane Eyre is dark - like Wuthering Heights. I'm not sure all the dark depressing stuff is the best material to read in the teen years, when the mind is so impressionable. I think that's why Northanger Abbey is so perfect - poking fun at the Gothic novels of the that day, and the young readers who were too easily wrapped up in them.

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  5. UnknownJune 22, 2013 at 7:09 PM

    I have never read this Jane Austin book- I need to look into it...

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