Today is Jane Austen’s birthday. Though her books have become “classics” worldwide, like many other great writers, her works were mostly ignored when they were originally published. Her renown came around fifty years after her death when her nephew wrote a memoir of his aunt (A Memoir of Jane Austen) which was published in 1869. This led to the republishing of her novels and the the “Jane-mania” which became known as “Janeolatry.”
If you are like so many and have avoided reading Jane (mostly because of your eleventh grade English class) go ahead and pick her up. She’s not Flannery O’Connor . . . but she’s still really good.
Speaking of Flannery O’Connor, what are your thoughts on her short story entitled A Good Man is Hard to Find?
well, like most people, “A Good Man” was my introduction to O’Connor and it hooked me so thoroughly and completely that I still haven’t been able to get off the line. After reading this I read all of her short stories in a couple of days and have been overwhelmed (and I hope) transformed) by them. I think she was the greatest American writer of the 20th century — so, yeah, I liked “A Good Man is Hard to Find” . . . a lot. I go back and forth, but I think my favorite short story of Flannery’s is “Greenleaf.”
My first encounter with O’Connor was her novel Wise Blood. I and my blogging colleagues wrote a collaborative review here.
yeah, that’s pretty good, though I thought your comments got much closer to what Flannery is doing in Wise Blood. Her theme in all her work is grace. Have you read her letters (_A Habit of Being_)? You really must to get a feel for what she’s about. Her lectures are also excellent.
Thanks for the kind words. I’ll be adding A Habit of Being, forthwith, to my Shopping List at Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation!
great! you’ll really enjoy it. She was an amazing woman.
I recognize that I may be verging on heterodoxy, but I really think Pride and Prejudice is both better and more thought-provoking than anything by Flannery O’Connor. And I’ve read most or all of what both of these great authoresses have written. It is really hard to exhaust the depths of any of the main characters.
Bob, you are dangerously close to the edge here ;)
Jane and Flannery are so different and have such different styles and purposes that it’s almost impossible to compare them. I doubt that either would enjoy the other’s work. I don’t think Flannery ever commented on Austen — at least I don’t recall it.
But still, you need to watch your step!
Well, I at least like to think that they enjoy one another’s work now.
you think? They were both pretty feisty and opinionated . . . unlike us.
Ah…but who knows what glorified feistiness might look like?
glorified feistiness . . . . I like it!