Jane Austen July 2025 discussion

A thread to discuss what we're all currently reading!

As well as Pride and Prejudice, I'm starting with Godmersham Park and The Genius of Jane Austen.

I'm working of finishing a reread of Sense and Sensibility which I started earlier this week.

Still plowing my way through A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (1,500 pages!), which is supposed to be based on P&P but I’d say loosely inspired by. Also reading my book by a contemporary of Jane Austen, Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, which I recommend.

Currently reading The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things and Pride and Prejudice at the moment.

I’m currently reading Pride and Prejudice and am two thirds way through What matters in Jane Austen.

I am currently re-reading Northanger Abbey and after will either jump belatedly in the Pride and Prejudice read-a-long or start Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

I’m doing the Pride and Prejudice readalong, have read the first two chapters of Mullan’s What Matters in Jane Austen, and completely unconnected to this challenge, Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Interestingly, I feel the latter contains themes of pride and prejudice and I am also looking at, as discussed in the chapters I have read of the Mullan book, people’s ages and sharing of bedrooms in this novel!

Listening to Persuasion (the Audible dramatised version, but tbh I miss reading the full thing!), reading Jane's Fame by Clare Harman and Heartsease by Charlotte Yonge - this was supposedly inspired by Mansfield Park and I kind of see it but kind of don't. There are quite a few comparable characters but the storyline is very different. Enjoying it so far though!

Finished Lady Susan yesterday (really enjoyed) and am about halfway through A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz. Will start an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice and read a physical copy of Belinda by Maria Edgeworth next, the latter which will be a first read for me. (btw, I read the short work Castle Rackrent last year by Edgeworth and recommend it).

Also watched Clueless on Amazon Prime yesterday (it was added to Prime Video on 7/1 just in time for Jane Austen July -- not sure which countries can view it).

I am reading The Mysteries of Udolpho - referenced often in Northanger Abbey

Good luck with that! It does go on and on. I only ever made it as far as the black veil—I was determined to get to the black veil!

starting my rereads of Pride and Prejudice, though first time reading Shapard's annotated edition, and Lady Susan. Finished Sense and Sensibility where I gained a new fondness for Mrs. Jennings, and enjoyed watching the Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson film adaptation. Watched the 2008 BBC production earlier this week.

I'm reading Emma and Pride and Prejudice.

I'm currently reading Sanditon, Jane Austen's Letters, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, plus rereading Mansfield Park.

I am listening to A Tale of Two Cities and just started reading Mansfield Park. A first read for both.

I’m currently reading Mansfield Park, really enjoying it.

I'm reading A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen I am pairing up an essay each day with the read-alongs. The first essay said young people are always in interesting situations and the second said that her novels take us to a happy destination. I couldn't agree more!

I am rereading Pride and Prejudice, along with My Dear Cassandra: the letters of Jane Austen plus Longbourn by Jo Baker (also listening to A Tale of Two cities, narrated by Simon Callow a “reread”)

I’m reading pride and prejudice and will start persuasion tomorrow. I’m having a lovely time with pride and prejudice. I’ve only ever read Emma before :)

I'm enjoying the P&P readalong, reading "What Matters in Jane Austen?", and listening to "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" on audiobook. A lovely start to JAJ!

I'm enjoying the P&P readalong, reading "What Matters in Jane Austen?", and listening to "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" on audiobook. A lovely start to JAJ!

PP & Other Flavors is a favorite of mine! I’ll be reading the fourth in the series, The Emma Project, later in the month.

I'm reading Sanditon for the first time, as well as rereading Pride and Prejudice. I plan to start "Lover's Vows" later today, in preparation for rereading Mansfield Park later this month.

Slogging through Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record by William and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh. The page count cannot be the advertised 225 pages but more like the 430+ pages indicated by the footnotes. The writing has many issues from the sentence level to the convoluted family connections. This work also quotes extensively from A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh, which I read last July, and Letters of Jane Austen: Selected edited by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey, which I read in January.

I want to finish the book, but it is numbing my brain!

Almost finished S&S which I’ve binged and following along with the readalong for P&P. I enjoyed S&S so much - not a very original but I love the Elinor and Marianne and even their mother dynamic!!

I am rereading Pride and Prejudice <3

I'm currently listening to P&P, narrated by Juliet Stevenson and reading Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century by Mallory James.

listening to the Rosamund Pike narration of Pride and Prejudice, reading Longbourn by Jo Baker

I'm currently reading 'What Matters in Jane Austen' by John Mullan and 'The Absentee' by Maria Edgeworth. And I'm rereading 'Pride and Prejudice' . I've read it four times before in German translation and am now reading it for the first time in English in an annotated edition (Oxford World's Classics). I'm listening to the audiobook narrated by Rosamund Pike, too, which I enjoy very much.

I am reading P&P the Marjolein Bastin edition while following along the timeline in the children’s book “Lizzy Bennet’s Diary” by Marcia Williams. Both have lovely illustrations and fun inserts. I am also reading Jane Austen’s Guide To Good Manners. It also has cute illustrations. It is a beautiful start to JA July.

Abigail wrote: "Good luck with that! It does go on and on. I only ever made it as far as the black veil—I was determined to get to the black veil!"

I started reading it before July and won't be at all surprised if I don't get it finished this month. Figure I'll get through it eventually.

On my nightstand I have
North By Northanger: Or The Shades of Pemberley and Conviction: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Which one should I read first? or should I just start with Lady Susan and Pride and Prejudice? Both of which I've read many times.

Started Northanger Abbey yesterday and finished today! Whaaaat? Will start the 19th century etiquette book tomorrow. (Non-JAJ related, I’m finishing up For Whom the Bell Tolls. I have about 150 pages left in that and then I’m all JA for the rest of the month!)

So this evening I watched the modern adaptation on my list, Bridget Jones’s Diary. The Darcy character is perfectly preposterous, but I do like the script and Hugh Grant has a blast with his cad role. Escapist fun with an undercurrent of sadness, just as I like it!

Besides Pride and Prejudice, I’m reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 🧟‍♀️ And I’ll start listening to Miss Austen by Gill Hornby today.

Still reading Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, and have now started reading the novel The Three Colonels.

I've just completed Unequal Affections and really enjoyed it. At first I thought Darcy was much too affectionate for a British male in the Regency period, and then ALL the angst between the two! But by the end the ups and downs made sense for two people who were so complicated and needed to work through some difficult communication issues. Their affections were equal by the end (of course!). :)

Hello, reading Sense and Sensibility and listening to Pride and Prejudice. Radio 4 are starting a serialisation of Mansfield Park on Sunday which I will dip in to. Watching Sanditon on the stv iplayer and at some point I will watch the Emma Thompson film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Waiting for the Netflix Persuasion to be released. I am really enjoying July.

Thea wrote: "Started Northanger Abbey yesterday and finished today! Whaaaat? Will start the 19th century etiquette book tomorrow. (Non-JAJ related, I’m finishing up For Whom the Bell Tolls. I have about 150 pag..."

Northanger Abbey is set in the 18th-century. It's a spoof of the Gothic novels popular at the time. I can't even make it through one volume of an Ann Radcliffe novel so I appreciate what Jane did. I find Northanger the most relatable for modern audiences. Gothic novels = the vampire novel craze of the early-mid 2000s and fast carriages= fast cars.

Buddy-reading Persuasion at a painfully slow pace of 1 chapter a day. It generates interesting discussion so I can't complain too much. ;)
Reading Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain.
Listening to What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved.
Started reading Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers: Being the Adventures of Sir Francis Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet and Rear-Admiral Charles Austen.

Finished The Antiquary by Sir Walter Scott. Liked it better than I thought I would. Introduction says JA referenced The Antiquary in a letter to her brother James in 1816.

Now rereading Emma first read fortyish years ago for a lit class and reread several times since. Coincidentally the book was positively reviewed in the Quarterly Review by Scott!

Savoring Emma. Such a pleasure should not be rushed.

Reading Conviction: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
So far it's good but not for everyone. It has a lot of history and political references. It's not a romcom.

Sounds interesting!

I am currently reading What Kitty Did Next, The Jane Austen Project, and The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet. Yes all 3 at the same time. I started each one to see which one sounded the best (along with several others) and these 3 books were all intriguing. I have to continue to find out.

Today, I finished Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record. It was worth the slog! Later today, I started Miss Austen: A Novel of the Austen Sisters. Already this one is poignant.

I just finished The Three Colonels. The author changed some things, like adding a new character, removing Captain Wentworth, and removing most of Colonel Brandon's scenes when he formally published the book. I remember reading it when he was posting the chapters on a fan fiction site. It's as ridiculous, out of character, and so bad it's good as I remember the fan fiction being. The Battle of Waterloo chapters were fantastic though.

I'm currently reading Charlotte by Helen Moffett.
It's Charlotte Lucas's story, set mostly after Pride and Prejudice
I'm enjoying it but it might not please everybody

If you like that, TRP, have you tried The Clergyman's Wife: A Pride & Prejudice Novel by Molly Greeley? She writes really thoughtful takes on secondary P&P characters—Charlotte Collins and Anne de Bourgh, so far.

Abigail wrote: "Sounds interesting!"

I think you would enjoy Conviction: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

It's slow moving but it's about Georgiana coming into her own and the men who appreciate her for different reasons. I think Darcy is portrayed as too antisocial though. He's always sticking his nose in a book unless he's interrogating his sister's suitors.

It illuminates the hypocrisy of the clergy at the time in a less subtle and funny way than Jane does with Mr. Collins and Mr. Elton. Miss Bingley becomes Mary Crawford and the characters, including Kitty, discuss Kitty's expectations. Does the curate have a chance or is she too far above him because of her connections? Or is she beneath him because of her lack of wealth and education?

I appreciate how the author took the time to do research and explained how she couldn't write in Jane's voice and wouldn't try but attempted to maintain the formality of speech of the time. No "we're worse than exes- we're friends!" here.

I am just starting Jane Austen July today. Tonight I am watching the movie Emma again with Gwyneth Paltrow. I like the handsome Mr. Knightly and enjoy the setting, ambiance and costumes. Emma is about as meddling in peoples relationships as Mr. Darcy. At least they redeem themselves in the end. A book mentioned in Emma is The Romance of the Forrest so I may try to read this too.

I will catch up with the group read of Pride and Prejudice. I have the book and will listen along to the audio book. I also have Evelina by Frances Burney to read and listen too. And What Matters in Jane Austen by John Mullen has been on my shelf waiting patiently to read. I would also like to read The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen if I can get the book.