a Jane Austen noob ranks her novels 

I'm surprise and happy that Mansfield Park is your number 2 that's not common in the "Jane Austen community" and to hear you are rooting for Fanny! a lot of people hate Fanny Price I think is a very underrated novel with a very underrated main character

The feathers on persuasion's cover : i think it's because of the famous scene where Captain Wentworth writes the letter.

I’m so glad your order isn’t the same as everyone else’s! It always seems to be P&P, Emma and S&S in the top 3 spots. So very refreshing. My order is.. 1. Persuasion 2. Pride & Prejudice 3. Mansfield Park 4. Sense & Sensibility 5. Emma 6. Northangar Abbey

Loved this! The description of Persuasion’s drama as “oh no, she’s hit her head” is perfect. I also think Mary Elliott is my favourite of Austen’s awful snobby characters

So glad you enjoyed Mansfield Park so much, it is a great book and Fanny is fascinating.

Interesting that you put Mansfield Park at number 2 as that's quite unusual! I'm going to make a video soon trying to make a case for Mansfield Park not being as 'boring' as people think and for Fanny not being a one dimensional 'perfect' heroine as many people see her! So I'm glad you were rooting for Fanny, I think she's more interesting than she's given credit for! Also the idea of Mansfield Park being about 'sticking to your guns' is basically what I just discussed in my video on the concept of duty in Austen. 😊

So the idea behind those covers is they take an object to represent a pivotal moment or important theme in the book, but not one that people usually think of. So for Emma I think it's meant to represent the dance where Knightly rescues Harriet and dances with Emma Persuasion it's a quill to represent the letter Sense and Sensibility it's the flowers for Maryanne Really not sure about P&P though

The Classics intimidate me due to English being my second language. However, after hearing your interesting explanation of it, I've been persuaded to try reading Persuation.

Love this! 😍 Great ranking. I was surprised though. Persuasion is my absolute favorite of my favorites

I enjoyed your rambling ranking! I have read the 6 novels 3 times each over the last year and now rank them: 1. Emma 2. Persuasion 3. Mansfield Park 4. Sense & Sensibility 5. Pride & Prejudice 6. Northanger Abbey Please understand I love them all and the ranking is not based on quality, as each book is so entirely its own and equally well executed (with perhaps the exception of Northanger Abbey) but for the shere pleasure I have in the reading and with what relish I find myself devouring them, this is the ranking. I adore the little pond in which Emma is such on overpowered fish, and Mr Knightley is my favourite Austen hero. I can see that Lizzie Bennet is a sparkling little firebrand, but I am not as interested in her problems or Arsey Darcy as I am in the characters in other books. In fact on my last reading I found Jane Bennet a more appealing person. Controversial? Northanger Abbey is by far my least favourite. Austen herself did not consider it ready for publication. I wonder how she would have reworked it.

ah we have a veryyy similar list! Excluding Northanger Abbey Abbey Abbey being more at the tiptop of my list! Strangely I think the most affecting of her work I've read is Mansfield Park, probably because of that insight into more focus on the lower class and Fanny's plight between separating Portsmouth and Mansfield Park. As always, a lovely video!

Just finished & loved "Mansfield Park." My 2nd Austen. You're right about the things that set it apart. One thing I feel like I never hear about it though is....it's SO steamy! Not the least of which is because of the whole subplot around "Lover's Vows." It felt so unique. From boredom & undercurrents of desire, these people decide to put on the raunchiest play ever while Papa is away...? and upstanding Edmund the clergy-to-be is weirdly roped in? I just loved that, and Fanny's reactions to it all. I also think it's interesting that Austen was herself the daughter of a clergyman & the novel is certainly about what is the authentic moral life.

I can't possibly get through Emma without sleeping through chapters or gaining a headache. I'm so surprised to find someone who also doesn't think Emma is the best book to have been printed. So refreshing.

Hilarious but also helpful. (Never would have checked out the Emma Bunton video, otherwise!) I haven't yet read all of the Austen novels (but I've seen most of the movies/series). Austen's use of language and the subtly of her character development are the big draws for the novels. Good work, Ben!

I’ve only read three so far (and I’m halfway through Emma) but I loved your descriptions of Mansfield Park and Persuasion, both of which I’ve read this year. Those two are my favourites so far and I very much enjoyed the “oh no she’s hit her head” drama which livened up that book no end.

He's back! Great video for Jane Austen July. It will help deciding which one to start reading her.🍻

Interesting views and interesting list! Very entertaining to watch. I was surprised Northanger Abbey was so much down the list as it's probably my second favourite! [after P&P] I think Henry Tilney is an absolute blast to be with, he's so funny and outrageous. And I also think that Morland is sweet and shy albeit a bit naïve and dramatic, haha. but yeahm great video!

Another fun vid! I had to switch my brain to a particular mode for Northanger Abbey. I started reading and disliked it, until someone mentioned it's completely satirical, then I loved it and was laughing aloud in many parts, particularly stuff Catherine said. I reckon it might be 2nd to my 1st which is P&P, of course! 😊

Hi Ben, having just watched Kate's (Books and Things) video on Jane Austen, in which she vehemently declared that Jane Austen is not just for women, the algorithm offered me your video - which I very much enjoyed watching. I have tried really hard with Jane Austen over the years, not wanting to give in to the trope that they are 'just for women'. I have read several books on Jane Austen so that I could better understand the historical and literary context. However, I have to confess that I struggled to the end of each of her books out of a sense of literary obligation rather that out of any enjoyment I got out of reading them.......but great to hear that you did actually enjoy them!

Fun video, even though my own personal ranking is completely different to yours (except for our number one). I'd say give Northanger Abbey another chance at some point. It's not as well developed as the other novels, but I really liked the humour and snark of it, and Henry Tilney is one of the most interesting Austen heroes. I really love that Sense and Sensibility adaptation, and weirdly I didn't mind the wrong-aged cast, which is something that usually bothers me a lot more. Anyway, great video, I particularly enjoyed your reenactment of your favourite scenes in the books 😂

reading Persuasion atm and loving it.

This is my first read of Jane Austen. I've read Emma and was pleasantly surprised with it. Your video was enjoyable. Thank you.

Thank you for showing up in my suggestions and for giving me the giggles. Your humor....well....you get the proverbial “it.”

Just found your channel. Your sense of humour is hilarious XD Also Im currently reading Mansfield Park.

My ranking is all over the place buuut I have one more book to go...Mansfield Park. I love Fanny so far. Btw YOU are HILARIOUS 😂 I very much enjoyed your impressions!! I subscribed ✌️

Enjoyed your analysis. I had a more positive reading of Northanger Abbey and a less positive reading of Mansfield Park, so I think I would swap those. I’d love to see you rank Dickens… 😘

Hi there, Ben. I just came over from Leo’s channel. I first encountered Jane Austen in an undergraduate seminar in which we read all of the novels and were fortunate to have a professor who gave us a lot of social and historical context. Anyway, I’ve since read and reread them all several times and while I do love them all, my opinions have changed concerning favorites several times over. When I first read Emma I didn’t like it at all. I’m not sold on Emma and Knightly, but I’ve grown to love the novel overall. Mr. Woodhouse is one of my absolute favorite Austen characters. P&P will always be my #1, followed closely by Persuasion (the letter!), and Emma. Then come Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and my least favorite, Sense and Sensibility. Like you, I’m not on board with Colonel Brandon and Marianne and I just have no idea what in the world Elinor sees in Edward. I would have preferred that Elinor forget about Edward because I think she and Colonel Brandon were better suited. Anyway, I quite enjoyed this video. I love it when readers discover and appreciate Austen.

love the callback to your lady catherine video

Awesome vlog! I am also an Austen noob because I find her language to be quite difficult to understand and I have ADHD and dyslexia so comprehending what I read is a bit hard for me. But thanks to your video I might just give them a chance and read the Jane Austen books.

Interesting choice. There is more to find every time you do it.

My wife and I are going to be reading Pride and Prejudice alongside each other soon. She read Sense and Sensibility and didn’t love it but I hope P&P will change that.

Northanger Abbey is also at the bottom of my ranking list. I did a video about it just the other day!

The chair is Knightley's chair, the one his always sitting in :)

i loved your video!! the only thing i have to disagree is with mainsfield park😭😭 i read it after pride and prejudice and i was oh noooo where is the flavourrrr, and it was a bit boring for me. but yeah for the rest i agree with you! a nice ranking!

@ doomantidote: would love to hear your lol summaries of more/all classics! Thanks!

Hi. Thanks for that, I really enjoyed your presentation. Fun, but also insightful without being in any way pretentious. I totally agreed with much of what you said. I usually say that Persuasion is my favourite, it was the novel I found most moving on first reading. However, on subsequent readings my reaction was more muted, and of course it doesn’t have the wonderful comic moments of most of the others, or the moment where the heroine stands up for herself, or the moment where the awful (usually female) character gets their comeuppance. It’s gentle and steady, but I think the heroine’s internal struggles are really well written - especially considering when it was written. The novel that (for me) improved on rereading was Emma. Once you realise what is going on, it is fascinating to see how JA lays out all the clues and how “clueless” Emma really is - I assume you’re familiar with that film? P&P and S&S are both so self-evidently good books that it is hard to fault them. Northanger Abbey has some great moments, but I just don’t get Catherine Moorland, and the construction of the novel feels clunky. I put off reading Mansfield Park because when I was at school it was an A level set text (I didn’t take English) and all my English A level friends absolutely hated it. I can sort of see why. Of all of them it feels rather worthy. The Hero doesn’t easily come to life, the immoral characters are actually the ones we like and the author seems to be using a much heavier moral tone which seems very of-it’s-period, and rather jars with modern morality. The other novels seem rather more free and easy within certain restrictions. I’ve listened to a few Austen book reviews, and I’m really struck by how absolutely rubbish all the parents are. Even Mr Bennett, whilst being rather lovely in some ways is a shockingly bad parent. Does JA have something against parents, or is it just that all her novels focus on the younger generation as the protagonists and the oldies are used for comedy and drama? Can you think of any examples of good parenting? Looking forward to seeing more of your reviews etc.

Love thisss

Haha, good point about aunt Norris 😄

Upon watching this video again, I find I really want to hear Anna Russell talk about Catherine Morland.

My faves are: 1. Persuasion 2. P&P 3. Sense & Sensibility 4. Emma 5. Northanger Abby 6. Mansfield Park I like Persuasion because I feel as if Austen gives as a look into her life. Austen reputedly also turned down a proposal. I don't think Anne = Jane, but that Jane thought about that and what it might mean to a different woman. ALso, Capatan Wentworth, hands down, writes the best letter in Austen fiction. I couldnt' warm to Fanny Price, plus her Edmund is such an idiot.

When you re-read Emma, do it as a mystery! Obviously you know the twists now but you'll be shocked how many clues there are, I find more every time I reread it. It really is a masterpiece

I like the covers .. simple

Such interesting video :) I think Emma's cover should have arrows instead of chairs, as she likes archery and letting arrows fly like she's Cupido matching people. Although Pride and Prejudice is my favourite one as well, my ranking is different. In deed, Mansfield Park is my least one, I think I didn't really connect with the story, should read it again. Thanks for the video :)

This video is over a year old, but I've only now found it. I quite like your rankings, although I might not rank all of the novels from 2 to 5 in the same order. I myself have never been able to make it through Northanger Abbey, even in audiobook form--I just hate those Thorpes so much I imagine horrible fates for them, the description of which would get you and me both demonetized!

YES..since I was 12! That's when I read my first, S & S, and was disappointed with the ending. I picked up P & P at age 14, and it just kept getting better from there. To pick up on the things you missed in NA, try reading Janine Barchas' book "Matters of Fact in Jane Austen" where she spends quite a bit of time explaining all the 'in' jokes about Bath, the Allens, follys, and other very illuminating things that will give you a whole new veiwpoint o NA! Another writer on JA you should check if you haven't come across him yet is John Mullan....he has a wonderful knack for bringing her work alive, and is a great advocate of her genius. His newest book "What Matters in Jane Austen" is enlightening and all too short. He also has quite a few videos on Yt; here's one of my favorites: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mP8dllTkpEg.html

I’ve never been able to get into Northanger Abbey, even though I know it’s satirical. I’m not crazy about Mansfield Park either, but that’s mostly because I cannot stand Edmund. The Crawfords do keep me coming back anyway. Weirdly, Emma and Persuasion are my two favorites, despite being so different. I always joke that Emma Woodhouse and Anne Elliot represent the opposite ends of my personality. Both novels also have my favorite secondary characters. 😄 I really enjoyed the “noob” perspective.

emma : mr knightley chair I think

You made my day! I am going through all her novels this month and this has been SO helpful to sort the order! 🙏🏻🙏🏻 can i ask which one you would say it is her wittiest novel? (Current reading mood) have started with pride and prejudice atm!

I think my ranking might be the same as yours. Top three are the same for sure

I have a working hypothesis that the evilness of Jane Austen's villains/rakes is inversely related to the goodness of her heroines...thoughts? Eleanor Dashwood or Fanny Price being the most pure heroine, Catherine being the most flawed.

Mansfield park is, I feel, the anti pride and prejudice. The character who is quite and bookish is the protagonist and the person who is lively is the antagonist.

After watching this video I went to go watch Emma Bunton Maybe. And now I’ve got it stuck in my head, ba da da da da.

Which Jane Austen book would you recommend to start with ?

Emma is my favorite. It's so witty and a pure comedy. Try listen to the BBC 4 Podcast episode - Emma Woodhouse. It's available on RU-vid. It might change your mind.

Mansfield Park #2 and Persuasion #3 ?! This is an outrage, I would put Persuasion at #1 and Manny below her doodles

Maaaybeeee, maaybeee Im iin llLLAAUUUUUUVVVVHHHHHH

When it comes to classic literature I prefer hard cover. Mansfield Park is my hands down favorite on par with Dickens. Pride and Prejudice is too girly with its histrionic worries about getting married in time. Persuasion leaves me cold. Missed opportunity is a cliche premise for a novel. Northanger Abbey is fun but uneven. My least favorite is Sense and Sensibility that doesn't even have fun to redeem it. Emma is elegantly written and my second favorite.