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Nov 18, 2012lisahiggs rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Jane Austen almost at her finest and definitely at her most hilarious. It was hard keeping track of who was who among the Miss Bertrams and the Crawfords and the brothers, but even the characters acknowledged the difficulty. Austen’s final novel is actually a little racy, as men and women in tight laces talk politely until they’re blue in the face about how indecorous behaviour is the last thing anyone wants, all while participating in a full theatre production about adultery and wife-swapping. They even get the priest to join in! Conjugal infidelity is actually mentioned. By name! This novel is downright salacious. And amongst the noisier than usual plot, there is a main character who is an introvert. As an introvert myself, Fanny is an island of calm in the storm of keeping track of who is canoodling who behind the ha-ha. Was Jane Austen an introvert too? She could hardly have done better. As usual for Austen the prose is exquisite, so light and perfect, the characters making love to each other with their polite conversation. Austen is a master of seduction with all your clothes on. Although also as usual, everything gets wrapped up really quickly at the end and there’s no strong finish to the delightful journey. Cousins getting married, ew.