Vintage Tales discussion

Welcome to our annual group read!
We're reading about the delightful and at times aggravating Emma, by Jane Austen.
I've read this book twice and on second reading I noticed that the author has a wicked and subtle sense of humour!

Don't worry if you can't finish reading the book in one month. The discussion thread will stay open.

Happy reading, everyone!

Has anyone had a chance to start the book yet?
I know that I found Emma to be an annoying character at times, but that's what makes the book more fun!

Not yet, for me. It might be another week, give or take

No worries. You can comment any time!

I’ve started it, I’m on chapter 5, and I get what you meant by the subtle sense of humour : the characters seem to each have their own slightly ridiculous yet endearing side. Unfortunately I have to wait a bit to continue reading Emma because I’ve got other books to read first (my classes are starting soon) but I look forward to the rest of this story, the characters look engaging so far :)

I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, Elsa.

As most Austen fans are aware, there are a variety of reference books on the author and her work, covering her life and family connections, locations where she lived, the novels, characters and locations in them, etc. All of these undoubtedly have their uses, though a lot of the articles tend to have a lot of spoilers, much like the electronic equivalents you can read on Wikipedia and similar sites. A valuable resource I want to highlight, though, is of a distinctly different type.

Rather than focusing on the author and her books as such, All Things Austen 2 volumes : An Encyclopedia of Austen's World 2 volumes (Greenwood Press, 2005) by independent scholar Kirstin Olsen focuses on Austen's world. Over 150 detailed, alphabetically arranged articles go into numerous broad aspects of daily life among the gentry in Regency times. These are chock-full of information, and often illustrated (in black-and-white).

I haven't "read" this, as such, myself (reference books normally aren't the sort of thing people read cover-to-cover --though in truth, the text here is lively and interesting enough that Janeites might be tempted to, and find really enjoyable and educational despite the daunting length of 876 pages, spread over two volumes!). But I have referred to it at times, and learned things. Because of its approach, though it may have occasional references to the novels in parentheses, it doesn't have plot spoilers.

The social and material culture of Austen's world is very different from ours; and since she and her readers were living in it, she feels no need to explain it as a historical novelist might. If you have questions about objects and practices in the novels, and have access to a public or academic library which has a copy of this set, I highly recommend it as a resource for looking up aspects of the Regency world. (And if your library doesn't have it, you should definitely bring it to their attention; it's the kind of book which, in most public libraries, would be used enough to justify its cost!)

I'll be starting this tomorrow. Glad to finally get to this one!

Happy reading, Vickie!

I'd intended to link to my review of Emma at the end of last month's discussion; but I was offline at the time due to the massive power outage in this area. So, without further ado, here's that link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

A few years ago I read this as in-depth group read with another classics group.
What struck us is how much she cared for her father, who appeared to be in the first stages of dementia.
The first time I read it, I didn't really care for her.
But rereading it with the classics group decades later, I came to appreciate her and Austen's writing.
As you said in your review, Werner, it's a coming of age story.

The movie Clueless with Alicia Silverstone is a modern take on Emma and is really funny. It's set in California!

I'm slooowly making my way through this. It's a bit of a slog at times, but I'm hanging in there.

Good for you, Vickie! The action does pick up.

Well, it took me forever, but I finally finished this one, lol. Granted, when I started Emma, I was also reading two other books, so that's part of why it took me so long.

It ended up a 3☆ read for me. It was okay, the last half being better, but not enough for me to bump it up a star.

The characters were good, but none really stood out that I loved. I knew who Emma was going to end up with early on, and I'm glad it definitely happened that way.

I'm still glad I got to finally read an Austen book. I plan on reading P & P very soon, since everyone tells me that one is her best. I know... how lame am I that I still haven’t read that one!🤦🏼‍♀️😉

Congratulations, Vickie!
The first Austen book I read was Sense and Sensibility, which has a character you get attached to very quickly and want only the best for her.