Reading Too Much Into This

At the first organized meeting of the J. Ruben Clark Law Society Spouses Association, there was a suggestion that a book list or a book discussion would be a good idea. I’m very enthusiastically behind this idea, therefore, once a month, I’m going to try to post something about books on this blog. Since I often spend more time with books than with actual people, I’m more than happy to start off what I hope will be a discussion of some of my favorite books as well as everyone else’s. I’m going to suggest three books that are similar in some aspects and hopefully everyone can either discuss those books, or suggest others that would fit into the same genera. This format for discussing books is an idea of mine, so if it doesn’t work, feel free to let me know and it can be changed to suit everyone. Okay, here we go.

For the first group of books, I thought I’d start with something relatively safe. I know many of the ladies who are a part of the JRCLSSA and I know that most of them have read and enjoyed Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so this post is going to be about books that are similar. Evelina by Frances Burney, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope are all books that, for me, fall into the category of charming, period love stories with interesting characters that are all set in England.

Evelina was written first, in 1778. This is the story of a young girl who has grown up in the country and is introduced into good society in London. She learns to maneuver in good society as she falls in love with Lord Orville, a proper man from the best circle. Of course no love story is complete without a few hi-jinks and secrets. This novel is an epistolary novel, meaning that it’s written in the form of letters, which can be a bit distracting as the novel isn’t continuous and unbroken as the other two novels are, but it's such a charming story that the form of the novel lends itself to the charm because we know what Evelina is thinking.

Pride and Prejudice came next in 1813. I’m sure that most everyone knows this story from either reading the book or seeing one of the many (at least 6 probably many more) movies that have come out over the years. This book has some of the most well developed characters in literature and the way Jane Austen is able to depict a scene is nothing short of genius. The love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is (for me) one of the most romantic in literature.

Barchester Towers was written in 1857. It’s the second of a series of six (I haven’t read the other five as of yet, but will get around to it one day). This book is really about the leading citizens of an imaginary city named Barchester who can’t seem to get along. The Church of England plays a large part in this book, which can at times be a little confusing if you don’t know much about the organization of that Church. It’s actually quite funny with plenty of misunderstandings and a few despicable characters. This book is being grouped with the other two because of the love interest between Eleanor and Mr. Arabin who, of course, are two deserving people who have to go through a few things in order to be happy.

There you have it. Those are my suggestions for the month. If anyone has read any of these books, please comment on them, and if anyone has any other suggestions of books that would fit here, please list them and I’ll add them to the list on the side of the page.