tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post1323667052839837996..comments2023-07-13T06:32:12.819-04:00Comments on First Impressions: The Writings of Author Alexa Adams: My Personal Austen RankingsAlexa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-91338066846321296232009-11-28T07:56:21.898-05:002009-11-28T07:56:21.898-05:00I can agree with Mrs. Elton (aka Diana Birchall) t...I can agree with Mrs. Elton (aka Diana Birchall) that in "Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma [Ms. Birchall] does worse things to the residents of Pemberley than ever she does to me." I'm not sure they are actually worse (thank god no one has yet seen fit to have Lizzy enslaved by Comanches) but both make me equally uncomfortable.Alexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-23448891676357261222009-11-27T11:52:02.958-05:002009-11-27T11:52:02.958-05:00Mmmm. I'll have to reread that one. That is ...Mmmm. I'll have to reread that one. That is rather silly, easily checked as a mistake.<br /><br />Have you read this, also by Birchall? I think it's hilarious - http://austenprose.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/emma-review-by-the-vacuous-and-vulgar-mrs-elton/ibmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914380316134426353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-1340794657704998792009-11-26T11:51:14.502-05:002009-11-26T11:51:14.502-05:00It's in In Defense of Mrs. Elton - when they a...It's in In Defense of Mrs. Elton - when they are at Box Hill, she has Mr. Weston presenting his "MA" riddle before Emma mocks Miss Bates. I of the three tales I liked The Courtship of Mrs. Elton the best. Mrs. Elton in America is a very interesting story but it's such a completely different world than Jane Austen's -it's hard to recognize the woman as Augusta Elton.Alexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-87826560029826363032009-11-26T01:50:17.256-05:002009-11-26T01:50:17.256-05:00Mmm, I do like Luna. Daffy sweetness is always a ...Mmm, I do like Luna. Daffy sweetness is always a plus. And I think I enjoy movie Harry better - he seems to acknowledge his luck and help more readily - plus, he's not quite as much of a jerk in the later stories.<br /><br />Huh - I've not read the final America story - how does she get the event sequence wrong?ibmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914380316134426353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-86276841416167233342009-11-23T14:19:48.985-05:002009-11-23T14:19:48.985-05:00Harry Potter is a complete idiot but that is part ...Harry Potter is a complete idiot but that is part of what makes him so lovable - and so frustrating. It's all dumb luck. I think they're all fabulous characters - Luna is a particular favorite, as is Snape. <br /><br />I could never get through Udolpho: way too painful. It's one of the very few books I can say that about. <br /><br />I actually sat down and read all three of the MrsAlexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-60372393711722721342009-11-23T11:52:16.555-05:002009-11-23T11:52:16.555-05:00Oooh, the Mrs. Elton stories by Diana Birchall are...Oooh, the Mrs. Elton stories by Diana Birchall are great! I've not been able to procure the ones about America, but the two others I've found online are so funny, and often sweet.<br /><br />I found Romance exceedingly horrid. Truely horrid, I say! ;-) But really, it reminds me of nothing more than angsty teen Mary Sue fanfic - the writing quality included (it's competent, but I ibmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914380316134426353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-81425064483408372682009-11-23T08:06:12.140-05:002009-11-23T08:06:12.140-05:00It's not really a complaint that she's hap...It's not really a complaint that she's happy, it's more that from my very personal perspective (and this is totally subjective) Emma doesn't inspire me to better myself while each one of Austen's other novels (and a good deal of her other writings) do. I love Emma - read it at least once a year - but I had to come up with some reason why most of Austen's other novels Alexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-61199327579601062352009-11-22T23:49:44.697-05:002009-11-22T23:49:44.697-05:00Well, I completely see it as a coming of age novel...Well, I completely see it as a coming of age novel, and am glad to hear you think she does mature. I'm not sure why one would complain that she is happy in the end - isn't that part of Jane Austen's charm?<br /><br />As for altering - I think the reason Emma is such a wonderful character is that she shouldn't alter - she needs to mature, become more selfless, but she is a loving,ibmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914380316134426353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-28344735740818401902009-11-22T06:43:39.315-05:002009-11-22T06:43:39.315-05:00Ha ha. It is so silly to rank these. I love all th...Ha ha. It is so silly to rank these. I love all these books and it was very difficult to actually compose this list. I was mostly just trying to nettle people (did it work?).<br /><br />It's not that there isn't genuine reform in Emma, it's more she gets everything she wants. She suffers, but only intensely for a couple of days and then all the natives of Highbury just sort of fall inAlexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-49280569907233740812009-11-21T14:35:46.227-05:002009-11-21T14:35:46.227-05:00Okay, so I'm finally responding - but I don...Okay, so I'm finally responding - but I don't feel collected enough to make it really long (though you think Emma is saying it's okay to be spoiled and immature? Really? I mean, so does this blogger: http://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/2007/09/least-liked-austen-thoughts-on-emma.html, who says pretty much the same thing - but I've always thought her reform is both genuine and ibmillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914380316134426353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-600125658428338162009-11-20T22:51:47.911-05:002009-11-20T22:51:47.911-05:00Not sure I can help you feel for Fanny but maybe i...Not sure I can help you feel for Fanny but maybe it would help to think of her as a younger sibling or cousin who gets picked on a lot - maybe they annoy you too sometimes but you love them anyway. Don't know if that will help but I tried.Alexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-64760694627942571042009-11-19T19:00:33.119-05:002009-11-19T19:00:33.119-05:00I hear what you're saying and I try to like Fa...I hear what you're saying and I try to like Fanny but I just can't help it - she drives me crazy. I can't get passed how much she annoys me and it pretty much ruins the entire Mansfield Park experience for me.<br /><br />I read a chapter or two of Sense & Sensibility aloud, as suggested. Not smooth at all. It kills me to admit it.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04849097885076175698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-20316962968964857012009-11-16T07:21:55.407-05:002009-11-16T07:21:55.407-05:00Of course Sense & Sensibility is well written,...Of course Sense & Sensibility is well written, just not as well as her other novels. I too love this story but try reading it aloud and you'll see what I mean.<br /><br />Little harsh on poor Fanny! The reason she works as an Austen heroine is because she's willing to reject a marriage proposal of convenience and hold out for a marriage of love. Would you tell Elizabeth Bennet that Alexa Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10086472405632748174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589226281542951200.post-88522627101117812222009-11-16T07:08:47.838-05:002009-11-16T07:08:47.838-05:00Sense and Sensibility isn't well written!?!?! ...Sense and Sensibility isn't well written!?!?! Since when? It's my favorite Austen, after Pride & Prejudice of course. Then comes Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. I try not to, but I really hate Fanny Price. Maybe Henry Crawford is a cad but she should still marry him - according to the times, it's her duty to stop burdening her family.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04849097885076175698noreply@blogger.com