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enjoyed a talk, they asked if there were other classic
authors I could discuss, so one talk led to another and
another. I now work as a lecturer giving a great range
of talks on famous writers all over Australia. Those
talks led to my literary tours and for the past 16 years
it has been a joy to take groups of Australians and New
Zealanders and a few Americans to the UK, France,
Italy, Scandinavia and the USA, showing them the
homes of writers, the graveyards where they rest, the
landscapes which inspired them and the libraries which
hold rare editions and manuscripts. Of course, knowing
how much pleasure the works of Jane Austen have
given me, makes me eager to share the pleasure around.
Are you a Jane Austen virgin? Have you yet to find your
life enriched by her books? Have you only seen the film
versions and not read the actual novels, or have you perhaps
not read any of them since you were made to read
one or two at school? Can I encourage you to make Jane
Austen a part of your life?
If you have never read one of her books before, then the
best place to start is Pride and Prejudice. With such an
appealing heroine and hero, a “light, bright and sparkling”
story to delight you, you will soon fall in love.
My personal favourite is Emma which I rate the greatest
novel ever written by anyone, but I think you should
reserve that one until you have gained a slightly greater
familiarity with her style. Try Sense and Sensibility
or Northanger Abbey, and then give yourself the treat
of Persuasion which always closely follows Pride and
Prejudice in the popularity polls. Then you will be ready
for the challenge of Emma and of that rich and complex
novel Mansfield Park. But you can’t sit back even then,
thinking you’ve read all of Jane Austen, for there is still
much more to look forward to. I love her unfinished
Sanditon (soon to appear as a movie, finished off by Andrew
Davies, that veteran of TV adaptations) and also
The Watsons. Lady Susan is wickedly fabulous with its
naughty, unscrupulous heroine, and Jane Austen’s juvenilia,
the stories she wrote as a teenager, show a youthful
genius which has been likened to Mozart’s, and is
huge fun to read. And when you’ve read all of that, you
still have her letters (mostly written to her sister Cassandra)
and can make a start on the many different biographies
that are available. And then you can turn to the
critical works which continue to appear at an amazing
rate and which will teach you about the background to
the novels, the subtleties of her style and will give you
an even greater appreciation of her genius. I had such
fun writing my own books about her – my book Jane
Austen and Crime shows what hanging offences she
included in her fiction and how such crimes as elopements,
duels, poaching and gambling were regarded
by her contemporaries and readers have told me that
they’ve seen her world in a new way after reading it.
And, finally, you can sit down and watch your
way through all the film versions (with more to come
in the next year – a new Emma, a new Clueless and the
Sanditon I mentioned). And with all that behind you, it
will be time to embark on a journey of re-reading all the
novels, because Jane Austen is a novelist who simply
demands to be re-read. It is only by going back to her
again and again that you can begin to fully appreciate all
she offers.
So … my suggestion is that you make a cup of
tea, curl up somewhere comfortable, and open a novel by
Jane Austen. My suggestion must, however, come with
a warning – Jane Austen is an addiction for which there
is no known cure, and your life will never be the same
again!
Susannah Fullerton
President of the Jane Austen Society of
Australia, Literary Lecturer, Tour Leader and
author of Jane Austen and Crime, A Dance
with Jane Austen, Happily Ever After: Celebrating
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Jane
& I: A Tale of Austen Addiction.
To subscribe to Susannah’s free monthly
newsletter, ‘Notes from a Book Addict’,
or to order any of her reading guides or
books, visit https://susannahfullerton.
com.au/newsletter/
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