And so we have come to the last book in James' Jane Austen Read All A-Long. And it fittingly ended with a book that I very much liked--much better than ending with Emma or Northanger Abbey. In fact, if I were to rate these six books from the one I like best to the one I like least, the list would look like this:
- Pride and Prejudice
2. Persuasion
3. Mansfield Park
4. Sense and Sensibility
5. Northanger Abbey
6. Emma
So, Persuasion. It's the last novel Austen completed. And it has an "older and wiser" feel to it. According to the annotations in my copy, reviewers of her day had trouble with some of the morals she supported in this book--namely, that a young woman should be able to make up her own mind about who to marry, without having to give in to family who disagree.
For that's what this book is about. Anne Elliot was once engaged to Frederick Wentworth, but her father and close family friend Lady Russell greatly disapproved; Wentworth did not have good prospects or a solid family. However, after she broke off the engagement, Wentworth joined the navy and did very well for himself, securing a good societal status and a tidy fortune. Eight years later, their paths cross. Anne is still as miserable as the day they broke up, but bound by strict societal rules of the time, she has no way to let him know that, and in fact must watch as he appears to court another young woman.
This is Austen, so of course there's a happy ending. But knowing that Austen was bucking social mores with this book does give it a different feeling than the others. Not to mention there's the agony of having waited eight years for her soulmate, never knowing if it was even possible to return to him. It's a bit more melancholy in that way, and Anne is a softer heroine than some of her feistier counterparts (although more confident in herself than Fanny Price).
It's interesting to look at Austen's books at this close range and see the common themes/characters throughout. There are always parents who are less than ideal, and siblings who are less than ideal, and social climbers, and cads wishing to commit all sorts of skullduggery with innocent women. The women who come out winning are those who stay true to themselves and their principals--a very modern concept after all.
It's been fun. I'm not sorry to be done, though. While each book has different protagonists and antagonists, there are similarities across the books that no doubt reflect Austen's limited world view. That doesn't make them unenjoyable, just a bit repetitive after a while. I think I'm pretty well done with Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and--with one exception--Northanger Abbey; JoAnn and I have mused on Twitter about doing a Mysteries of Udolpho read-along next October, followed by Abbey, and I'd be up for that.
But Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park are all books I can see myself returning to again in the future. And now, finally, the last recipe I'm sharing from Dinner with Mr. Darcy:
Mince Pies
For the Mincemeat
Scant 1/2 cup suet, shredded
7 ounce apples, cored and chopped
1 heaping cup raisins
Heaping 1 1/2 cup currants
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp brandy
3 tbsp sherry
For the Pie
Double batch of shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
A neat's tongue (beef or ox tongue) or about 1 1/4 cups boiled beef or tongue, chopped small (optional)
Scant 1/2 cup candied peel
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1/2 orange
2 tbsp red wine
- Make the mincemeat by mixing together the suet, apples, dried fruit, sugar, spices, brand, and sherry.
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Line a pie dish with shortcrust pastry, then add the following: a thin layer of meat; a thin layer of citron (candied peel will do); a good layer of mincemeat; a layer of thinly cut orange zest; ending with a thin layer of meat.
- Mix together the juice of half a lemon or half an orange with 2 tablespoons of red wine and sprinkle this over, before covering with a pastry lid.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes.
Shortcrust Pastry
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Scant stick unsalted butter (cold from the fridge)
2-3 tbsp cold water
- Put the flour and salt into a bowl.
- Add the cold butter, then chop it with a knife until each piece of butter is as small as you can make it; along the way, make sure the butter pieces are thoroughly coated in flour. When you can chop no more, rub it in using just your fingertips; this keeps the mixture from becoming too warm, which may make it dense. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix it with a knife until it clumps together. Add a little more water if necessary. Bring it together with your hands to make a smooth dough, but don't knead it.
- Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes before using.
- When you are ready to use it, roll it out to an even thickness on a lightly floured surface.