Hello to the all the new subscribers who made their way here to participate in A Year with Jane! I’m so glad you’ll be reading with us.
I loved hearing from almost 200 of the participants in this virtual bookclub in our Substack chat (on the Substack app) about whether reading Austen is new for you or whether you’re a seasoned Janeite. Lots of variety in the answers which is what makes this so fun! I am so excited for those of you starting Austen for the first time. And I am thrilled that so many other readers come back to Jane Austen again and again like I do.
This week we are beginning Austen’s most famous work, Pride & Prejudice. If you are feeling overwhelmed about diving into a classic, consider listening to this wonderful novel as an audiobook. I am listening to Rosamund Pike’s narration in the car!
Reading schedule:
Week of January 8th:
Gather your books. There are many editions of Pride & Prejudice out there, so just grab what’s on your shelf or at the local library. And if you enjoy audiobooks, this is an excellent novel to enjoy with a great narrator. Some of my favorite for this novel are Karen Savage and Rosamund Pike. Grab Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life from Ave Maria Press (use STEWART20 for 20% off) or from Amazon.
Week of January 15th:
Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life
Week of January 22nd:
Chapters 1-12 of Pride & Prejudice
Week of January 29th:
Chapters 13-23 of Pride & Prejudice
Week of February 5th:
Chapters 24-36 of Pride & Prejudice
Week of February 12th:
Chapters 37-48 of Pride & Prejudice
Week of February 19th:
Chapters 49-61 of Pride & Prejudice
Week of February 26th:
Chapter 2 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life
Zoom Discussion with special guest TBA
Discussion Questions
I know not everyone has the Substack app, so let’s see how it works to have some of the conversation here (if it doesn’t work, we’ll switch back to the chat forum on the app).
Now that you’ve read the introduction and first chapter of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life, how do you think good literature can help us to become more fully human? How does it make us holier? How does it help us to grow?
And if you’ve already dived in to the first section of Pride & Prejudice, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the comically irritating Mrs. Bennet! She is obsessed with marrying off her daughters, but do you think she has a right to be alarmed about the future of the Bennet family? Does her situation justify her behavior?
For Your Janeite Enjoyment
If you haven’t been able to track down a copy of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life, I hope you will! You can get one from Ave Maria Press (use STEWART20 for 20% off) or from Amazon. It will help you dive deeper as we read Austen’s novels together. If you’re still on the fence, check out this excerpt from the first chapter: Jane Austen, Christian Artist, Humorist, and Philosopher.
I found this NPR piece fascinating: Your Brain on Jane Austen.
And Verily’s article was great news to me as someone who aspires to be, in the words of Caroline Bingley, “a great walker”: Research Affirms the Health Benefits of Elizabeth Bennet’s Favorite Exercise.
If you know someone who would enjoy our Year with Jane, consider sharing this Substack.
And I love when you tag me with your Austen posts on Instagram! (I’m haleycarrots over there). You can use #ayearwithjane and #janethegenius with your book club posts.
Happy reading!
2. I LOVE mrs. Bennet. She reminds me of my mom and grandmother in their silliest moments. The difference is, while my mom and grandma did sometimes focus on worldly/shallow goals for our family, they also instilled us with a moral character and a deep sense of self worth. I think mrs. Bennett’s obsession with marrying off her daughters is a red herring - in a mother who also educated her daughters (intellectually and morally) better, it would be a forgivable foible. But because she has so radically shirked that responsibility, it goes from farce to tragedy.
I am still waiting on my copy from Ava Maria Press, but I am re-listening to my Rosamund Pike audiobook (and very excited to discover she also narrated Sense & Sensibility). I’d say Mrs Bennet is justified in worrying about her daughter’s futures, but because she is a woman of “mean understanding” I think her anxiety is out of proportion to her husband’s health, and her housekeeping doesn’t not reflect that someday she may need to be very economical. Honestly her worries seem more about her sense of self importance and a desire to always be the center of attention/the victim in any situation.