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50 Greatest Books

The archetypal heroine

JOAN THOMAS

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 12:22 PM EDT 13/06/08

The 18th-century novel was a baggy, sententious affair before Jane Austen gave it bones. ...Read the full article

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  1. sarah Dyack from Halifax, Canada writes: I love to read. I gravitate towards contemporary fiction but read non fiction as well. But I have always had a distaste for Victorian era novels. They tend to be so stuffy and I find that frustrating. Which is why I can't understand why everyone seems to love Jane Austen so much. Can I be the only one out there that feels the same way???? I hope this list of the greatest 50 books isn't going to be made up of what we all "should" read, or reading to understand the evolution of the novel etc. I hope it is full of very well written books, with great use of words/language, that are a joy to read in 2008 and not a penance.
  2. A S from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Oh boy,
    There are millions of people who love Pride and Prejudice and there are millions who hate it. Yet this book is almost always on every list of the best novels ever written. There is a reason for that. I know many people who hate victorian novels, the reason often seems to come down to a feeling or about the era, not a real critique of the literature itself. There were a lot of beautiful, important, tragic and scandalous novels written during that era as there are during this era. I think it is a mistake to discount all literature written during a certain period, simply by virtue of it having been written at a certain time. I have always loved this book and always will, my feelings towards it are actually so complex that I am not the best person to critique it. However, I really feel that any book either old or new should be judged on its own merits, with the realization and acceptance that everyone has different tastes.
  3. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: sarah - Pride and Prejudice is not Victorian, so if you're going to dismiss one of the greatest novels ever written simply because you have a "distaste" for all works written in a particular era, at least get the era right.

    This book was brilliantly written and is a joy to read. Her prose is like her characters - well mannered and respectable, but with deep feeling smouldering underneath (and occasionally making itself known, sometimes in satisfying zingers). Austen had a remarkable grasp of satire and wit for one so young. Many women particularly love this book because the heroine, although hemmed in by convention and at the mercy of a male dominated society, is very much her own person, with an indomitable will. Anyone who finds this book boring or stuffy isn't really reading it.
  4. E Avery from Fergus, Canada writes: I enjoy reading Pride and Prejudice for the simple fact that it is a story with a beginning, middle and end. This novel is the anthesis of a present day pieces of fiction (such as the English Patient). Today's novel's (not all, no broad generalizations here) are challenging the standard story telling techniques. This is ok, I just like to return to the easy going Austen narrative once in awhile. As an high school English teacher, Austen is not as challenging to today's students for this simple reasons. Most sitcoms follow this format and so the students can read it. Granted the vocabulary of Austen is where my students groan, in an era of "don't have a cow man" Austen's use of archaic language is a way to improve one's vocabulary. Beside if you affirm certain religious assertions ( all three major religions have this as a purpose for women) the goal of a women is to find a man. What better way to naviagte these water then with Austen as your guide who will not allow you to forget that a women's needs are important too. I have a some students who are involved in their families negociating an arranged marriage, so it still happens here in Canada in 2008. I wish the list would examine Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte another great narrative with interesting implications reguarding the idea of saving yourself for the "right one". In an era of 50% divorce rates harkening back to the norms of these novels can be a positive thing. I really appreciate Mr. Bennet's patience with Mrs. Bennet and she in turn complement him in an extrodinally manner.
  5. Addie Bundren from Canada writes: She's not stuffy, not always. She can be hilarious. To wit, Lizzy to Bingley, regarding his transparency: "This is as it happens. It does not necessarily follow that a deep, intricate character is more or less estimable than such a one as yours." Or to poor Mr Collins: "I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible to do otherwise than decline them." Or just about poor Mr Collins: "The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature, must guard his courtship from any charm that would make a woman wish for its continuance." Or a simple favourite: "The insipidity yet the noise."
  6. Jacky Finch from Toronto, Canada writes: Jane Austen had been dead 20 years when Queen Victoria came to the throne, so by no stretch of the imagination can her novels be referred to as "Victorian".

    One of the reasons that Miss Austen's novels remain so popular, whether as books to be read or in TV and movie form, is that they deal with subjects which are as meaningful now as they were in Regency England. There is nothing stuffy about the way she presents her characters. While they may live in small societies and seldom worry about the world outside their societies, Austen's characters are lively, witty and as fascinating as anybody in contemporary literature.

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