March Reading Challenge

 

Our challenge for March was to Read a few books we've been hanging onto for more than 10 years.

I've had several classics on my shelf for at least that long, so I ended up picking Emma, and Lady Audley's Secret.

 

 

Emma by Jane Austen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Classic
Content: Clean

Charming, rich, and clever, heiress Emma Woodhouse has no need for an occupation - or a husband. Still, she considers herself quite skilled at matchmaking. Although her dear friend Mr. Knightley advises against it, there is nothing that she enjoys more than entangling herself in the romantic lives of others. But when one of her well-intentioned plans goes awry - as Mr. Knightley rightly predicted - Emma must face the consequences of her meddling.  

Emma, first published in 1816, was written when Jane Austen was at the height of her powers. In a novel remarkable for its sparkling wit and modernity, Austen presents readers with two of literature's greatest comic creations--the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse and that quintessential bore, Miss Bates. Here, too, we have what may well be Jane Austen's most profound characterization: the witty, imaginative, self-deluded Emma, a heroine the author declared "no one but myself will much like," but who has been much loved by generations of readers. Delightfully funny, full of rich irony, Emma is regarded as one of Jane Austen's finest achievements.

 

“Better be without sense than misapply it as you do.”  

I've had Emma on my shelf for so long, though not the copy in the above photo. I bought this collection last year. So, technically I have multiple copies of Emma, this one in the photo, two ebook copies, and a paperback copy that is currently on my daughter's bookshelf. This one definitely qualified for the challenge! 

I was pretty excited to finally actually read this book. I had already seen the BBC mini-series twice and loved it. I also saw the movie that was made in 2020 and didn't care for that adaptation at all. I was hoping the book would be like the mini-series, and it was, but not without issues.

I've read Pride and Prejudice and loved it, and Sense and Sensibility and liked it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy Emma as much as those two. My main reason for giving this book only 3 stars is because, surprisingly it was very tedious to read. I did not have that experience reading Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility.

Emma, however was full of unfinished or interrupted sentences that broke the flow of the story so much that it irritated me. There were also tangents that characters would go on to the point that I thought they were never going to get to the point they were trying to make. This book is so needlessly wordy, and it's about the most mundane things sometimes. I know it was supposed to be somewhat of a comedy which highlighted these sorts of characters, and I was supposed to find all of this amusing, but it was too frustrating to read, and thus not so amusing. I have to say that I enjoyed the mini-series way more.

A lot of people don't like Emma, and I get that for sure. Going into this book I was no stranger to her personality and it didn't bother me any more than it did when I watched the mini-series. She was hard to like in the beginning, but she grew on me as the story progressed and she learned from her mistakes. In the end I do still think Mr. Knightly is too good for her, but I still ended up liking her because she learned and changed. Also, in the film adaptations I've seen there was more spark between Mr. Knightly and Emma. There really isn't any in the book and that was disappointing.

I'm not sorry I read this, even if I didn't like it as much as I wanted to, and I plan on reading more of Jane Austen in the future. Hopefully it won't take me ten years.

“Indeed, I am very sorry to be right in this instance. I would much rather have been merry than wise.”

 

 

 

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Classic
Content: Clean

When beautiful young Lucy Graham accepts the hand of Sir Michael Audley, her fortune and her future look secure. But Lady Audley's past is shrouded in mystery, and Sir Michael's nephew Robert has vague forebodings. When Robert's good friend George Talboys suddenly disappears, he is determined to find him, and to unearth the truth. His quest reveals a tangled story of lies and deception, crime and intrigue, whose sensational twists turn the conventional picture of Victorian womanhood on its head. Can Robert's darkest suspicions really be true?

A publishing sensation in its day, Lady Audley's Secret is a thrilling novel of deception and villainy in which the golden-haired heroine is not at all what she seems. But it is not just a pot-boiler. Indeed, Mary Elizabeth Braddon's terrific plot touches on many contemporary social concerns, including class, madness, and the separate roles of men and women.

Lady Audley's Secret was an immediate bestseller, and readers have enjoyed its thrilling plot ever since its first publication in 1862. 

 

“For you see Miss Lucy Graham was blessed with that magic power of fascination by which a woman can charm with a word or intoxicate with a smile”

The above quote perfectly describes the character of Lucy, and I must say that I really despised her. 

I've had an ebook copy of this on my Kindle for many years, but I actually ended up listening to this instead of reading it. I really enjoyed this book, and the free audio version. It pulled me in right from the beginning. I, of course, wanted to know what Lady Audley's secret was. It actually wasn't too hard to figure out, but it was great fun getting to the reveal anyway. 

I think this book was supposed to be rather shocking in it's day, but nothing shocked or surprised me. I guess I've read far too many mysteries for that, and we hear of way too many things like this and more in our day and age. 

I would recommend this if you love reading classics and also love mysteries.

"Foul deeds have been done under the most hospitable roofs; terrible crimes have been committed amid the fairest scenes, and have left no trace upon the spot where they were done."