[fantasyfan]

I have read all of the major novels several times as well as some of the "completions" to the fragments. So if anyone wants to explore these works further I'll pass on my opinions which, of course, are only that and not meant to be anything more than one person's thoughts and reactions to these wonderful books.

I personally feel that Persuasion is her masterpiece with Emma a close second. Persuasion in particular is a deeply moving portrait of a good woman in a corrupt world. It develops more powerfully than in any other of her books the conflict between Manners and Morals and the way these intertwine good and evil in human nature. It is the darkest of her works.

Emma is a study of self-deception as well as deception in general. It is beautifully structured with many moving moments. It illustrates the fragility of a woman's happiness and how that happiness depends on social conditions outside her control.

Of course Pride and Prejudice is a must-read. I don't think it is quite as good as the two I mentioned but in Charlotte Lucas it has one of the most interesting characters she ever created. Here we see the terrible dilemma faced by women of intelligence with little fortune.

Mansfield Park is a flawed masterpiece and certainly worth exploration. I would suggest that some of the comments--particularly those made by Issybird-- in the discussion our club had of that book are full of insights.

Finally, Sense and Sensibility shows Austen working out the formal themes and patterns that she would develop more significantly in later works. Northanger Abbey is a transitional novel bridging the gap between her later works and the juvenalia. It is really a funny spoof of the Gothic novels of Anne Radcliffe.