If you’re new to this Substack, one of the things I’m offering subscribers in 2023 is A Year with Jane. We’re reading through Austen’s six novels this year and Sense & Sensibility is our read for August and September.
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The Year of Jane Break Is Over!
I hadn’t planned on taking a break from running our Austen virtual book club but July just about did me in with speaking events. To make it through I needed a little break from writing the weekly Austen reflections. But we are back in business! We’ll spend all of August and September on S&S and then we’ll catch up to our former schedule by spending just one month on Northanger Abbey.
I watched Ang Lee’s Sense & Sensibility (screenplay by Emma Thompson) when it first came out, long before I read the novel. It’s still one of my favorite films and I have a special place in my heart for this story.
In some ways, it’s the more melancholy mirror of Pride & Prejudice a family of sisters in financial crisis need to marry well and broken hearts abound. While I love P&P, there’s something a little bit richer and deeper about Sense & Sensibility and its characters. It’s a story about sisterly devotion and the confusion we often face in understanding the people love we the most. It’s about the temptation to take the easy way out and the painful sacrifice sometimes required of us when we’re determined to do the right thing. It’s about the difference between infatuation and mature love. In fact, alongside Persuasion (our November/December read), it’s the Austen novel with the most to say about romantic relationships and all young people would benefit by being formed by Austen’s depictions of love.
Join us in reading this brilliant novel!
Reading schedule:
Week of August 5th:
Gather your books. There are many editions 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. My favorite for this novel is Juliet Stevenson’s audiobook version. Grab Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life from Ave Maria Press (use STEWART20 for 20% off) or from Amazon.
If you didn’t start reading with us in January, you may want to catch up by reading the Introduction and Chapters 1-4 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life to set the stage.
Week of August 13th:
Chapters 1-11 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of August 20th:
Chapters 12-22 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of August 27th:
Chapters 23-29 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of September 3rd:
Chapters 30-36 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of September 10th:
Chapters 37-43 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of September 17th:
Chapters 44-50 of Sense & Sensibility
Week of September 24th:
Chapter 4 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life
Caveat:
On the reading schedule I have suggested reading the chapter about Mansfield Park after finishing the novel. This is because as a reader I hate spoilers. But if you’ve already read the novel or are familiar with the story and want a resource to help you dive deeper as you re-read it, feel free to read Chapter 5 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life first.
I’ll be sending out weekly reflections and discussion questions to consider as you read. If you want to read faster or slower, go for it. This is fun, not homework.
If you know someone who would enjoy reading Austen with us for our Year of Jane, please share this post with him/her!
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And if you know someone who would love this virtual book club, please share with them:
Looking forward to discussing Sense & Sensibility with you!
Haley
(Editor of Word on Fire Spark, Author, Former Podcaster)
Haley’s Children’s Mystery Series about Mouse Nuns
Haley’s Book on Jane Austen’s Novels
Haley’s Book about Radical Simplicity
So excited!!!! My husband read this one for the first time a couple of months ago and I can’t wait to discuss everything that Haley brings up here!
Spoiler: he was not impressed with Marianne 😂😂 but then again, having never been a teenage girl, perhaps it would be difficult for him to sympathise with her.
I haven’t joined the other book discussions with a big move earlier this year and a new baby, but we are more settled and I already had S&S on my nightstand to read this fall. Excited to dive in with you!!