A Basic Gal’s Guide to Jane Austen: Emma
This is the first — and only — Austen novel where the main character is the title of the book. So straight out of the gate you know who will dominate this story. But in Emma, Austen creates a character who is totally unique from the other Austen leading ladies. In a time when women were encouraged to marry, Emma Woodhouse was having none of it.
A Basic Gal’s Guide to Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is beautiful, romantic and oh-so-Austen. If you haven’t already, just read it.
A Basic Gal’s Guide to Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
It has all the usual trappings of her stories (a leading lady, the love interest, talk about money and marriages, dancing, etc.), but throw in the story’s heroine being kind of not-so-secretly interested in the macabre and mystery. Essentially, to the point where she even concocts in her head a story that her friends’ dad could have had something to do with the death of his wife. Whaaaaaat?! Let’s dive in.
A Basic Gal’s Guide to Jane Austen: Persuasion
I am doing my own version of The Jane Austen Book Club. Yes – I took my inspiration from a romantic comedy (it was a book first). Just chalk it up to another symptom of my basic status. One Austen book a month for six months so I can read all of her major novels. In random order, the first book is…Persuasion. So let’s dive in, basic girl style.