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Title: Jane Fairfax : The Secret Story of the Second Heroine in Jane Austen's Emma by Joan Aiken ISBN: 0-312-15707-X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Quite a feat!
Comment: I am a fan of Jane Austen's Emma, and really enjoyed Hollywood's rendition of the novel, and came away from both sharing a bit of Emma's resentment towards Jane Fairfax. So it is quite an accomplishment to write a novel that so quickly and deftly turned my sympathies and interests towards a previously unliked character.
Aiken's Jane Fairfax fleshes out the childhood histories of both leading ladies (Emma and Jane), and fills in the back story of their relationship and temperaments.
It is fascinating to read the story that takes place prior to the time period where 'Emma' is focused, but even more interesting to read the shifted perspective once the two storylines sync up.
Finally, the book is so well-written, so closely adhering to Jane Austen's own style, that you can convince yourself you are reading a long lost manuscript from Austen herself. And as the tale unfolds, and Jane's perspective reveals more of Emma's character than we even knew before, Austen's 'Emma' becomes an even better realized, more ironic, and wryer look at social folly.
I definitely recommend this novel to any Austen fan, particularly those familiar with 'Emma.'
Rating: 4
Summary: A new view of a familiar story...
Comment: Emma is one of my favorite books, so I was naturally drawn to this re-interpretation of the story told through the eyes of Jane Fairfax, about whom we learn very little in the original. On the other hand, I was somewhat wary given how much I love Emma and Austen in general and was afraid that I would find it lacking in both style and substance. In the end, I was terribly impressed by Aiken's work and enjoyed this version tremendously.
Joan Aiken explores the events in Jane Fairfax's life that take place outside of Highbury and the sphere of Emma. What we once saw only through Emma and the others thus takes on a completely different dimension, particularly the circumstances that appear such a surprise in Austen's novel. The new characters are very well-rounded, realistic and fascinating while the 'old' ones remain very much true to their roles Emma, even down to their language, mannerisms, dress and so forth.
Despite how well-written and fascinating I found the book - and how good the descriptions, characterizations and scenery are - I never felt quite like I was reading Austen. But I was so impressed by how close Aiken did get to the original, and here her extraordinary skill as a writer is obvious, I believe it is more a matter of my degree of familiarity with Emma and with Austen's work in general than any inherent flaw in the book. Although I do believe Jane Fairfax is good enough to stand on its own, I think that in order to enjoy Jane Fairfax fully a reader must be relatively familiar with Emma, for having seen the story before from another perspective is an enormous part of the appeal. I would recommend this book to any fans of Emma or Austen - or really anyone interested in a well-told and excellently written story - with the caveat that the book be appreciated for what it is and not compared to minutely to the original.
Rating: 2
Summary: So far it seems dreadful
Comment: OK, I'm not done with reading this, and it's good enough for me to continue. Rather, the reading is easy enough. But so far I haven't found that the writing is.
... The ages of the characters are wrong. Mr. Knightley is made out to be too old (he should be 16 years older than Emma), there is a Miss Bickerton who is also too old, Miss Taylor comes to Hartfield at the wrong time (she should arrive when Emma is five), etc., etc.
Moreover, the characters themselves are wrong ... where is the talkiness of Miss Bates? How can Col Campbell be so dreadful to his daughter? How can Jane Fairfax make such bold statements to everyone around her, when later she seems to be so retiring? So as a companion book to Emma, which is what is intended, for me at least it is a failure. And -- at least so far -- I have not found it interesting enough to stay on its own.
I'm giving it two stars, because it is an interesting idea, and because I agree that the story of Jane Fairfax deserves to be told. Simply not like this.
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Title: Excessively Diverted: The Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Juliette Shapiro ISBN: 1589392647 Publisher: VirtualBookworm.com Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Third Sister: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility by Julia Barrett, Jane Sense and Sensibility Austen ISBN: 1551664461 Publisher: Mira Books Pub. Date: May, 1998 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Presumption: An Entertainment: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice by Julia Barrett ISBN: 0226038130 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman: Book 1) by Pamela Aidan ISBN: 0972852905 Publisher: Wytherngate Press Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Bar Sinister, Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll ISBN: 0967481708 Publisher: Well, There It Is Publishing Pub. Date: 15 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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