Book Hype hosts Karen, Kristen, and Brittany finally talk about the wonderful world of Jane Austen: her life, her characters, and her brilliance!

You can find Book Hype on Twitter at @BookHype.

What we’re reading:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Bombshell by C.D. Reiss
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Avengers Moon by Allen Steele

About Jane Austen:

-She published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma all within five years (1811-1816).
-If you feel inadequate, we definitely know how you feel.
-Her books were initially published anonymously, so she didn’t know a life of fame.
-Writing as a profession was frowned upon for women of marrying age and station, so it was kept secret.
-Her brother was the one who revealed her to be the writer after her death.
-Brittany tries to answer some questions Karen has posed for her.

Reading Jane Austen:
-Karen FINALLY read Pride and Prejudice.
-Kristen read Emma, and totally fell for Emma’s character.
-Karen was absolutely taken by Jane’s wit and that of her characters.
-Brittany wants to know how it was trying to get the story out of the complex prose and both Kristen and Karen have luck with listening to Jane Austen audiobooks.
-If you have tried to read Jane Austen before and failed, maybe give one of her books a try on audiobook. You may discover you can thoroughly enjoy Austen in a very different way.
-Brittany read Northanger Abbey for the podcast, but has read a whole host of her books with a few exceptions.
-Why are these female characters still being adapted and cherished to this day?

Adapting Jane Austen:
-The modern adaptations: Clueless, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Bride and Prejudice (and a whole lot more).
-The web series: The Lizzie Bennett Diaries and Emma.
-The true blue adaptations: Pride and Prejudice (aka the Kiera Knightley version), Pride and Prejudice (aka the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth), basically any BBC produced miniseries of an Austen work (including Emma, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and more).
-Austen-inspired: Becoming Jane, Death Comes to Pemberley, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

-The war of the Pride and Prejudice adaptations is brutal.
-Your first Darcy is your most beloved, so it’s completely fine if you fell for Matthew MacFadyen’s Darcy rather than Colin Firth’s.
-Jane Austen’s adaptations are a totally different animal for Brittany. She will watch any and every one out there, as opposed to her being upset by adaptations of other books.

What’s Next:
-We are currently putting together our summer plans for the podcast, so please get into contact with us if there are any book/adaptation/author related episodes you would like to hear!

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