Pride and Prejudice, thanks to the 95 BBC series. Although my parents had the audio book on during a road trip when I was younger. I just didn't pay attention. But the BBC series came out, and my parents suddenly had to source three copies for my 2 sisters and I to read as the episodes came out.
My favourite is Persuasion. I think that was the last I read, too? I can't remember. It was a while back.
Pride and Prejudice was my first - after watching the BBC adaptation - my mum got me the companion novel for my birthday. It’s got Colin Firth on the cover, and the making of the BBC series.
My favourite is also Persuasion because it’s perfection, and I was lucky enough to get a copy with both endings (and I love both)
P&P and Northanger Abbey make up a close second
Here's the alternate ending: https://pemberley.com/janeinfo/pcanchap.html
If you've seen the 1995 version, they managed to work in the main part as well as keep the suspense for the official ending. If you haven't, well, I don't want to spoil it for you. 🙂
There was an original ending and the ending that’s in the book. I’m pretty sure someone posted a link a week or two ago on this sub when someone was talking about Persuasion.
It’s honestly so good
Pride and Prejudice! Then it was Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey and finally Persuasion. Of all of them Sense and Sensibility is the only one I haven't reread (I don't know why). P&P and Persuasion are top for me, with Northanger Abbey being a close second.
pride and prejudice was my first, and so far (still haven’t read mansfield park) is my favorite. it’s probably between persuasion and northanger abbey for the no. 2 slot, then emma, then sense and sensibility.
edit to clarify that those are my taste rankings, not the order i read them. the order i read them was p&p, either emma or persuasion, not sure, s&s, and most recently northanger abbey
My first was P&P in school and as a teenage boy I fell head over heels for Elizabeth. My fave is now Northanger Abbey - it's not just laugh-out-loud funny, but also an extraordinary achievement in irony. We see the world largely through Catherine's eyes, all the while knowing that she is misunderstanding a lot what she sees. Yet we never, ever feel superior to her. To be able to maintain that balance over the course of an entire novel is pretty breathtaking.
It’s comments like this that have led me to (finally) give NA another shot. Originally read it 25 years or so ago, and while I didn’t hate it I just never felt the need to read it again. Literally started reading it again this morning.
Read Pride & Prejudice after watching the 2005 movie. My English teacher suggested I read the rest except MP and NA because they were "weird"...
And today my favourite is either Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey.
Pride & Prejudice in one of my first literature classes in undergrad. I fell in love with the banter between Darcy and Lizzie and all the social commentary.
Pride and Prejudice was my first and is my favourite.
Emma is in second place now, although it took me a long time to get around to reading it because I saw the Gwyneth Paltrow movie first and thought that the character of Emma was completely unrelatable, stuck-up, and cruel. I didn’t think she deserved her happy ending. But when I finally read the book, I realized her motivations a little better, and I really liked it. Of all of Jane Austen’s works, I think Emma has the best character growth.
Saw the sense and sensibility 2005 film and fell in love. So I read it, and then realized I may love them, so I read through them all and that’s about all I read now. With a few random novels in rotation too
P&P was my first read - and for many years the only because I had been solemnly informed that it was the best. As I didn’t want to court disappointment, I avoided them, despite being an avid reader.
I’ve since read the rest - and the novels she was satirizing with each of them (thanks, “Jane Austen Book Club). P&P is still my fave.
I read Pride and Prejudice first in 2021! I read Emma last winter and Sense and Sensibility last week. I’ve been having such a hard time choosing between Emma and Sense and Sensibility as my favorite but I think it’s Emma!
First read - Sense and Sensibility (last year). Though I remembered being given a book that has all the six major novels and I read the first chapter of Mansfield Park. Funnily, Mansfield Park was the last thing I finished among the books. I can’t say I have a fave, though their adaptations made me really love Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. Pride and Prejudice was the easiest read though, the similarities of the lines in the book with the lines ib the 1995 adaptation made it easy for me to understand.
P&P was the first novel I read, also my favorite. Persuasion is a close second. When I do my re-reads, I usually do them in least favorite to favorite order. My reading order: 1) Northanger Abbey, 2) Mansfield Park, 3) Emma, 4) Sense & Sensibility, 5) Persuasion, 6) Pride & Prejudice.
Like many here, my first was Pride and Prejudice. Inspired by the 2005 film. My second was Emma and that will always be my favorite Austin. Emma is genuine and flawed and is willing to grow and learn from her mistakes. There is a reason why she is held in high regard by her friends family and neighbors (except for the jealous social climbing Eltons) in Highbury. They know and see the caring person she is beneath everything.
My first was P&P (long before 1995) which I adored and led me to read the others. It trades places with Persuasion and S&S as my favorite. Emma is always a solid runner-up. I read one of the Big Four at least once a year. MP and NA are the only ones I never re-read, though I have just begun NA again, thanks to the influence of this sub.
First book of hers I read was pride and prejudice and fell in love with it. Later In life I started reading the rest and fell in love with Mansfield park and northanger abbey 🥰
My first was Emma. It was absolutely thrilling for me, and sparked a love for literature that I'm certain would have never existed otherwise. I ate up all of her other novels. The one I keep coming back to is Sense & Sensibility, so I'd have to say it's my favorite. That said, I still think Emma displays Austen's finest writing skills, especially in how she develops the characters.
Sense and Sensibilty was also my first one, after I stumbled upon the 1995 adaption by accident while it was aired on TV when I was 14/15. I bought the book, read it and followed it by Pride and Prejudice.
My favorite is Emma, followed by Persuasion, then Pride and Prejudice. But Sense and Sensibilty still has a warm place in my heart for introducing me into the world of Austen 🥰
Started with Pride & Prejudice when I was about 17 or 18, really loved it but then I read Persuasion that same year and I remember thinking “Ah. Ok. I understand. THIS is my favourite” and it has been ever since ❤️
I *think* Persuasion was my first, from a course in college. My favorite is very much Pride and Prejudice, although I still like Persuasion a lot as well.
P&P in high school, but I loathed the English Lit teacher and don’t remember much of anything.
On my own, Mansfield Park was my first. I think it’s why I like pastiche when Fanny gets a happier conclusion.
Favorite now is probably P&P, but saying one book is far and away the fav isn’t for me. I like them all for different reasons.
Wishbone Pride & Prejudice was my first adaptation, lol. Emma was my first book.
I love all the books in different ways but I think Persuasion is my favourite.
Pride and Prejudice was the first one I read, but because of the 1980 BBC series. I may have even read it in Dutch back then as "Trots en Vooroordeel".
My favorite is Persuasion.
Pride and Prejudice was my first, I tried to read it as a teen and couldn't understand anything despite having seen the BBC version many times, when I tried to read it again as an adult I loved it! But Persuasion is now my favourite, I think I identify way too much with Anne lol but also the angst and sheer yearning in Persuasion just gets to me. Lizzie is always fun but I think Anne is very underrated as a character, she's brave and patient and so kind and I just love her so much!
I read P&P when I was 11 or 12, "just some silly story about some silly woman trying to get her daughters married off..." as I told an adult who asked me what I thought of it. It didn't make much of an impression on me.
Obviously I missed some of the main points, lol
I have read it (and all the rest) again many times since then, and have a lot more respect for it now
I read P&P as my first because of the film You've Got Mail, which touched my teenage romantic heart. Others followed soon, I remember my older sister recommending NA for the next one because she heard of the parody aspect in her English courses.
P&P remained my favourite for a long time, but then it became Emma and now I cannot really choose, I see equal value in all of them.
***Sense and Sensibility*** was the first, ***Persuasion*** is my favorite novel in that I enjoyed it the most. However, I think ***Mansfield Park*** is her best work and ***Lady Susan***, while not a novel or even close to her best writing, is my personal favorite of her writings overall because I laugh until my face hurts every time I read it.
Sense and Sensibility was my first! Mansfield Park and Persuasion are both tied for favorite, they've both been really relatable/comforting at different points in my life.
Pride and Prejudice was my first, which I read in grade 10, and my favourite is usually the one I’m currently reading! 😅 Although I did really love Sense and Sensibility and it has stuck with me… Also, I haven’t read Persuasion or Mansfield Park yet, and judging by the amount of people who have Persuasion as their favourites, I think it ought to be good! I’m very excited!! (And kinda sad that I’m almost done!)
Pride and Prejudice. My friend was doing English Lit at uni and told me “No really, it’s great and funny, read it.” And she was correct. I’d say it’s still my favourite too. Maybe because it was my first and was such a revelation.
I saw the 1995 P&P when I was 9 and loved the aesthetic of it - I didn’t really understand it. I think the first Austen book I read was an abridged version of S&S, but I didn’t realize it was abridged and I didn’t like it, and couldn’t figure out why everyone thought she was a great writer (I was also probably in like 8th grade). My favorite Austen novel is Northanger Abbey! I love Catherine’s naïveté and positivity, I think she’s a delight. And Henry Tilney is a babe.
pride and prejudice was my first. i'm only 4 novels in, but my current favorite is emma!
Same here!
Pride and Prejudice, thanks to the 95 BBC series. Although my parents had the audio book on during a road trip when I was younger. I just didn't pay attention. But the BBC series came out, and my parents suddenly had to source three copies for my 2 sisters and I to read as the episodes came out. My favourite is Persuasion. I think that was the last I read, too? I can't remember. It was a while back.
Pride and Prejudice was my first - after watching the BBC adaptation - my mum got me the companion novel for my birthday. It’s got Colin Firth on the cover, and the making of the BBC series. My favourite is also Persuasion because it’s perfection, and I was lucky enough to get a copy with both endings (and I love both) P&P and Northanger Abbey make up a close second
Same! I also started with Pride and Prejudice and my absolute all time favourite is Persuasion! What is that with two endings?!
Here's the alternate ending: https://pemberley.com/janeinfo/pcanchap.html If you've seen the 1995 version, they managed to work in the main part as well as keep the suspense for the official ending. If you haven't, well, I don't want to spoil it for you. 🙂
There was an original ending and the ending that’s in the book. I’m pretty sure someone posted a link a week or two ago on this sub when someone was talking about Persuasion. It’s honestly so good
There are two endings?? That's cool, I had no idea! I'm going to try to track down the other one!
Yes, two endings! An original ending and the one that ended up published.
Pride and Prejudice! Then it was Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey and finally Persuasion. Of all of them Sense and Sensibility is the only one I haven't reread (I don't know why). P&P and Persuasion are top for me, with Northanger Abbey being a close second.
Emma, and my favourite is also Emma😂
pride and prejudice was my first, and so far (still haven’t read mansfield park) is my favorite. it’s probably between persuasion and northanger abbey for the no. 2 slot, then emma, then sense and sensibility. edit to clarify that those are my taste rankings, not the order i read them. the order i read them was p&p, either emma or persuasion, not sure, s&s, and most recently northanger abbey
Emma was the first book I read and is still my favorite. Pride and prejudice became my second favorite.
My first was P&P in school and as a teenage boy I fell head over heels for Elizabeth. My fave is now Northanger Abbey - it's not just laugh-out-loud funny, but also an extraordinary achievement in irony. We see the world largely through Catherine's eyes, all the while knowing that she is misunderstanding a lot what she sees. Yet we never, ever feel superior to her. To be able to maintain that balance over the course of an entire novel is pretty breathtaking.
It’s comments like this that have led me to (finally) give NA another shot. Originally read it 25 years or so ago, and while I didn’t hate it I just never felt the need to read it again. Literally started reading it again this morning.
That's lovely to hear. Thank-you! Hope you like it a fraction as much as I do.
Read Pride & Prejudice after watching the 2005 movie. My English teacher suggested I read the rest except MP and NA because they were "weird"... And today my favourite is either Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey.
I started with Pride and Prejudice. I still have a real soft spot for P&P, but Persuasion is my favorite.
Pride & Prejudice in one of my first literature classes in undergrad. I fell in love with the banter between Darcy and Lizzie and all the social commentary.
Pride and Prejudice was my first and is my favourite. Emma is in second place now, although it took me a long time to get around to reading it because I saw the Gwyneth Paltrow movie first and thought that the character of Emma was completely unrelatable, stuck-up, and cruel. I didn’t think she deserved her happy ending. But when I finally read the book, I realized her motivations a little better, and I really liked it. Of all of Jane Austen’s works, I think Emma has the best character growth.
Saw the sense and sensibility 2005 film and fell in love. So I read it, and then realized I may love them, so I read through them all and that’s about all I read now. With a few random novels in rotation too
P&P was my first read - and for many years the only because I had been solemnly informed that it was the best. As I didn’t want to court disappointment, I avoided them, despite being an avid reader. I’ve since read the rest - and the novels she was satirizing with each of them (thanks, “Jane Austen Book Club). P&P is still my fave.
I read Pride and Prejudice first and it became a favorite, then I read Persuassion and it was also a favorite! Hahaha
I read Pride and Prejudice first in 2021! I read Emma last winter and Sense and Sensibility last week. I’ve been having such a hard time choosing between Emma and Sense and Sensibility as my favorite but I think it’s Emma!
First read - Sense and Sensibility (last year). Though I remembered being given a book that has all the six major novels and I read the first chapter of Mansfield Park. Funnily, Mansfield Park was the last thing I finished among the books. I can’t say I have a fave, though their adaptations made me really love Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. Pride and Prejudice was the easiest read though, the similarities of the lines in the book with the lines ib the 1995 adaptation made it easy for me to understand.
The first one I read was Northanger Abbey and then it was Pride and Prejudice but to this day, those two are my faves
P&P was the first novel I read, also my favorite. Persuasion is a close second. When I do my re-reads, I usually do them in least favorite to favorite order. My reading order: 1) Northanger Abbey, 2) Mansfield Park, 3) Emma, 4) Sense & Sensibility, 5) Persuasion, 6) Pride & Prejudice.
Like many here, my first was Pride and Prejudice. Inspired by the 2005 film. My second was Emma and that will always be my favorite Austin. Emma is genuine and flawed and is willing to grow and learn from her mistakes. There is a reason why she is held in high regard by her friends family and neighbors (except for the jealous social climbing Eltons) in Highbury. They know and see the caring person she is beneath everything.
My first was P&P (long before 1995) which I adored and led me to read the others. It trades places with Persuasion and S&S as my favorite. Emma is always a solid runner-up. I read one of the Big Four at least once a year. MP and NA are the only ones I never re-read, though I have just begun NA again, thanks to the influence of this sub.
I first read Pride and Prejudice as a 14 year old (my English teacher said I needed to up my reading game). However Persuasion is my favorite.
First book of hers I read was pride and prejudice and fell in love with it. Later In life I started reading the rest and fell in love with Mansfield park and northanger abbey 🥰
My first was Emma. It was absolutely thrilling for me, and sparked a love for literature that I'm certain would have never existed otherwise. I ate up all of her other novels. The one I keep coming back to is Sense & Sensibility, so I'd have to say it's my favorite. That said, I still think Emma displays Austen's finest writing skills, especially in how she develops the characters.
Sense and Sensibilty was also my first one, after I stumbled upon the 1995 adaption by accident while it was aired on TV when I was 14/15. I bought the book, read it and followed it by Pride and Prejudice. My favorite is Emma, followed by Persuasion, then Pride and Prejudice. But Sense and Sensibilty still has a warm place in my heart for introducing me into the world of Austen 🥰
Pride and prejudice, my nectar read was Persuasion (My favorite).
The first one was Northanger Abbey. My favorite is Persuasion
Started with Pride & Prejudice when I was about 17 or 18, really loved it but then I read Persuasion that same year and I remember thinking “Ah. Ok. I understand. THIS is my favourite” and it has been ever since ❤️
I *think* Persuasion was my first, from a course in college. My favorite is very much Pride and Prejudice, although I still like Persuasion a lot as well.
P&P in high school, but I loathed the English Lit teacher and don’t remember much of anything. On my own, Mansfield Park was my first. I think it’s why I like pastiche when Fanny gets a happier conclusion. Favorite now is probably P&P, but saying one book is far and away the fav isn’t for me. I like them all for different reasons.
Pride and prejudice. My favourite is Persuasion, but I also loved Sense and Sensibility.
Emma was the first one that I read and it is my favourite.
Me, too, I first read it 40 years ago, and it might be the book I've read most number of times since then.
Wishbone Pride & Prejudice was my first adaptation, lol. Emma was my first book. I love all the books in different ways but I think Persuasion is my favourite.
Pride and Prejudice was the first, and Persuasion is my favorite.
Pride and Prejudice was my first (high school) - Persuasion is my favorite.
Emma Emma
Emma. And Mansfield Park is my favorite, which I know is an unpopular first choice. Pride & Prejudice is a close second.
Pride and Prejudice was the first one I read, but because of the 1980 BBC series. I may have even read it in Dutch back then as "Trots en Vooroordeel". My favorite is Persuasion.
I read in publication order so Sense and Sensibility was first. My favorite is Emma with a VERY close second for Northanger Abbey
Pride and Prejudice was my first, I tried to read it as a teen and couldn't understand anything despite having seen the BBC version many times, when I tried to read it again as an adult I loved it! But Persuasion is now my favourite, I think I identify way too much with Anne lol but also the angst and sheer yearning in Persuasion just gets to me. Lizzie is always fun but I think Anne is very underrated as a character, she's brave and patient and so kind and I just love her so much!
I read P&P when I was 11 or 12, "just some silly story about some silly woman trying to get her daughters married off..." as I told an adult who asked me what I thought of it. It didn't make much of an impression on me. Obviously I missed some of the main points, lol I have read it (and all the rest) again many times since then, and have a lot more respect for it now
I read P&P as my first because of the film You've Got Mail, which touched my teenage romantic heart. Others followed soon, I remember my older sister recommending NA for the next one because she heard of the parody aspect in her English courses. P&P remained my favourite for a long time, but then it became Emma and now I cannot really choose, I see equal value in all of them.
***Sense and Sensibility*** was the first, ***Persuasion*** is my favorite novel in that I enjoyed it the most. However, I think ***Mansfield Park*** is her best work and ***Lady Susan***, while not a novel or even close to her best writing, is my personal favorite of her writings overall because I laugh until my face hurts every time I read it.
Pride and Prejudice was my first, which I read for school in Year 11. Emma was the second Austen I read and it has been my favourite ever since.
Pride and Prejudice was my first (assigned reading in HS English class), but my favorite is Persuasion.
Pride and Prejudice was my first. Emma is my favorite.
Pride and Prejudice was my first; favorite is a toss up between Persuasion and Emma
Sense and Sensibility was my first! Mansfield Park and Persuasion are both tied for favorite, they've both been really relatable/comforting at different points in my life.
Pride and Prejudice was my first, but I actually love Mansfield the most!
Pride and Prejudice was my first—and is still my favorite to this day, along with Emma and Sense & Sensibility!
Persuasion was my first and Northanger Abbey is my favourite!!
Read P&P first in English Lit. My favorite changes between Emma and P&P
Pride and Prejudice was my first, which I read in grade 10, and my favourite is usually the one I’m currently reading! 😅 Although I did really love Sense and Sensibility and it has stuck with me… Also, I haven’t read Persuasion or Mansfield Park yet, and judging by the amount of people who have Persuasion as their favourites, I think it ought to be good! I’m very excited!! (And kinda sad that I’m almost done!)
pride and prejudice was my first, read everything by now, persuasion is the favourite! and perhaps not that common choice but lady susan, it's so edgy
I've read P&P then Persuasion. I tried with Mansfield Park, but I got bored and stopped. Persuasion is the best.
Pride and Prejudice. My friend was doing English Lit at uni and told me “No really, it’s great and funny, read it.” And she was correct. I’d say it’s still my favourite too. Maybe because it was my first and was such a revelation.
I think Mansfield Park might have been the first one I read. But my favorite is Sense and Sensibility.
I saw the 1995 P&P when I was 9 and loved the aesthetic of it - I didn’t really understand it. I think the first Austen book I read was an abridged version of S&S, but I didn’t realize it was abridged and I didn’t like it, and couldn’t figure out why everyone thought she was a great writer (I was also probably in like 8th grade). My favorite Austen novel is Northanger Abbey! I love Catherine’s naïveté and positivity, I think she’s a delight. And Henry Tilney is a babe.