Jane Austen July 2025 discussion

The thread in which to discuss our readalong of Sanditon!

(As Sanditon is just a fragment, not a full novel, I'm not going to set up a spoilers thread.)

I love this fragment.

There was such potential in it.

It’s intriguing to me that when Austen was very sick, in pain nearly all the time, she sat down to write about hypochondriacs. What I suspect is that she wrote this not with any hope of publication but to amuse her relations and relieve their worries about her condition. Making light of what she was going through to lighten their load.

In tone, Sanditon reminds me more of the juvenilia than of her published novels, which reinforces my sense that she didn’t think of it as something written for publication.

This is my first time on Sanditon and I am halfway through and not loving it. Having a hard time even wanting to pick it up.

It has such great potential! I love the hypochondriac Parkers. The conversation about the food Arthur cannot (but does) eat is hilarious. Too bad Jane died before she could tell us what was going to happen. Do we even know who the hero is? It's widely accepted that Sidney is the hero but what about Arthur?

What do we make of Miss Lambe? What exactly does "chilly and tender" mean?

And for heaven's sake, Andrew Davies needed to quit while he was ahead. What on earth was THAT calling itself Sandition? Jane was busy rolling in her grave every week that aired on TV. (Then she died again after THAT THING on Netflix calling itself Persuasion aired. YIKES!)

Testify, girl! 😂😂😂

I have to admit, the letter from the sister about friction on the sprained ankle was funny.

I loved the first series of Sanditon however I have not watched the further series as they are terrible. I liked how Andrew Davies interpreted it. He is the father of costume dramas. The fandom really discouraged me from the series.

The Netflix version of Persuasion was pure trash.
The depiction of Anne Elliott was so wrong and inaccurate.

The first episode of Sanditon covered the fragment in a few scenes and then went out on a limb followed by derailment. I liked including Georgiana in the plot but she was too outspoken and modern. I did enjoy Lady Denham and even Esther's story turned out OK but Clara and Edward were straight out of the novels Jane like to make fun of! If she were writing a Netflix ready version of the story today she WOULD make Clara the seducer but she would get the better of nasty Ned.

It's worth watching for entertainment but don't expect Austen or Heyer or accuracy... or even Andrew Davies of the 90s and 00s.

Michelle Hyland wrote: "The Netflix version of Persuasion was pure trash.
The depiction of Anne Elliott was so wrong and inaccurate."

Modern Persuasion was so much better - that's not saying much - it wasn't a good film. I'm totally the wrong demographic but I got the point of what they were trying to do.

I definitely enjoyed it and I agree with the depictions of some of the characters.

That Persuasion is not what I had hoped but none can compare to the 1995 version which I adore.

I started Jane Austen's Charlotte: Her Fragment of a Last Novel, Completed by Julia Barrett. I forgot how much of a fool Tom Parker is! Yes Tom. Your ancestors built "in a hole" for a reason. It was safer and more convenient for survival. He's so concerned with being fashionable he's not seeing what is actually important. Mary gives numerous examples why the old house was better and he mansplains away her concerns. Yes you can get a parasol but that means little Mary can't run and play while holding it! She's about 6 years old which is still a small child even in 1817.

He fully believes his siblings are ailing in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Jane is just itching to skewer him.

I also forgot Clara Bereton was the poor relation of Lady Denham's poorish relations.

I'm skimming Jane's fragment to get to the original story.

JA is a vicar's daughter and would know the "foolish man built his house upon the sand." So, Austen exaggerates the folly by having Tom try to build an entire resort and his fortune upon the sand! It would have been a splendid crash.

Mary Parker is a sensible woman but her husband is a fool. She tells him the old house was a good place to raise a family because they had a garden with fresh produce for free and the kids could run around, plus it's protected from the storms. She tells him he rather makes too much of his siblings' "illnesses" and he pooh-poohs her again.

Diana's letter reads like a game of what they called Russian Whispers or what we call Telephone. She didn't bother to get contact information to write to these people and confirm they want to come to Sandition and give them the information they need to know. She's also a fool.

I do like Arthur and I think he could be rehabilitated if he moved himself to move away from his sisters. He has his own money and he's of age.

Edward Denham is a fool. Charlotte is a big reader and still doesn't understand what the heck Edward is talking about LOL! He reads high-brow literature but doesn't understand and reads trashy literature and wants to emulate it without understanding that either. Clara can see right through him.

Arthur Parker is adorable. I'm all in on his diet of toast with butter and hot chocolate! That's pretty much my main food groups right there anyway.

Ha ha.

Edward thinks he is Lord Byron. He is so cringe and someone that you would avoid.

I think that Charlotte is too innocent to understand Edwards's innuendo.

Clara is definitely the cleverer of the two.

She sees an opportunity and takes it.

Arthur is a dote and I would be his friend.

Abigail wrote: "It’s intriguing to me that when Austen was very sick, in pain nearly all the time, she sat down to write about hypochondriacs. What I suspect is that she wrote this not with any hope of publication..."

This is a really interesting thought - that never occurred to me before!

It's a pity that Jane Austen wasn't able to finish Sanditon. It begins so very promising. I believe it might have become a very witty wonderful novel.

Sidney only appears at the end. Are we certain he's supposed to be the hero? The fragment is witty and charming in spots when Jane is skewering the fashionable fribbles. Lady Denham and her chamber horse. Too funny!