Which Jane Austen book should I read first?
By: Mishana Khot
Tags: Readinglist, Book Recommendations, Literature Fiction, Jane Austen, Book Review

Which Jane Austen book should I read first?

Wondering where to begin reading Jane Austen?

There are 163 years between the year Jane Austen died and the year I was born. She lived in a cottage in England and wore bonnets; I was a moody teen growing up in India and wearing a scruffy tee and a pair of old denim cut-offs. We couldn’t have been further apart or more different, and in the summer of ’94, I was about to make my first foray into one of her books.

Taking Pride and Prejudice off the shelf with a shrug, I flung myself down on the bed and cracked it open. By page 2, I was sitting up, delighted to discover the writer with whom I’d have a lifelong love affair.

All of us have a few authors we’ve always meant to read but haven’t really gotten around to yet (hello, Proust!) for a variety of reasons. But if you’re here, it means Jane Austen is that author for you.

She is one of the gods of literature and I’m envious that you’re about to discover her delightfulness. She’s funny, perceptive, caustic, and always amusing. I can’t wait to help you discover her! Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Northanger Abbey

In this book, Jane Austen creates Catherine Morland, a delightful naïve girl who is a hyper-imaginative, a little dramatic, and very optimistic. She has read one too many Gothic novels and cannot wait to meet a dark, brooding hero and be the heroine of a romantic tragedy.

Catherine is invited to stay at Northanger Abbey, the home of a friend, for a few weeks. She dreams of exploring the mysterious ruins and haunted chapels, but when she arrives, she is disappointed to find that this abbey is bright, well-maintained, and definitely not haunted.

Undaunted, Catherine begins to investigate the untimely death of her friend’s mother, Mrs. Tilney, looking for some drama and intrigue. But instead of uncovering a scandalous murder and providing eternal rest to the wandering spirit of Mrs. Tilney, Catherine makes a fool of herself in front of those who have become precious to her.

If you have read and enjoyed Gothic novels, you’ll smile at the way Austen mocks the tropes and pokes gentle fun at Catherine’s tendency to dramatize her life, even with no reason.

She also creates some incredibly funny moments. My favourite scene from the book is one that always makes me laugh out loud — a breathless Catherine discovers what she thinks is a clue from beyond the grave, but it has an underwhelmingly prosaic denouement, much to her embarrassment.

Of all Austen’s characters, I think Catherine is the most endearing in the way she rushes through life, trying to find dark secrets in a mundane world that is dictated by strict social rules. Even though you know Jane Austen would never write about ghosts, you’ll find yourself saying, “Come on, Jane! Just give the poor girl a headless horseman or something.”

If this is your first time reading literature from the 18th century, you might take some time getting used to the language, the longer sentences, and the social norms that govern the stories. Northanger Abbey is the shortest Austen novel and it moves pretty quickly too, so it should be easier for you to get used to Austen’s style.

If reading is not your thing, listen to the Amazon Audible of Northanger Abbey narrated in the plummy voice of Emma Thompson.

Emma

If not for Catherine, Emma would’ve been my favourite Austen character. She is blessed with good looks, talent, fortune, a loving (if somewhat painful) father, and immense charm. But Emma’s greatest flaw is that she knows all this about herself.

Emma decides to use her superior abilities to improve and control the lives of the people around her. She prides herself on her excellent match-making abilities, so she meddles in the affairs of some of the single men and women she knows in the village, with disastrous consequences.

Over a series of social gatherings, balls, picnics, and dinners, she sets up couples who don’t want to be together, gets a marriage proposal from a creepy social climber, and even falls in love with a newcomer in town.

Like any good narcissist, she is completely lacking in self-awareness and puts her own rosy spin on things that happen around her, even when the truth is quite different. She meddles and schemes, and you go along with it, carried by her blithe assurance, until one day, everything falls apart, surprising you just as much as Emma.

This book is fun because Emma is such an unreliable narrator. When Jane Austen was working on Emma, she wrote to her sister to say that she was creating a heroine whom “no one but myself will much like”, but I disagree. Emma may be vain, impatient, totally self-absorbed, and even petty sometimes, but that’s why it’s so amusing to be inside her head.

If you would rather listen than read, let Emma Thompson tell you the story in her inimitable style, with the Amazon Audible Emma book.

Pride and Prejudice

Way back in college, when our literature professor announced that the class would be watching the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, which consisted of six hour-long episodes, everyone in class groaned, except me and a couple of other nerds.

On the day of the screening, I sneaked snacks into the auditorium in my satchel and settled in comfortably for six blissful hours. And this was before I knew of the bodice-busting moment that Colin ‘Wet Shirt’ Firth would be treating us to.

Pride and Prejudice is the first Jane Austen book I ever read, and it will always be special to me. You just know that Elizabeth Bennett is the kind of girl you would love to have a beer with. She’s spirited, intelligent, has a side-eye kind of humour that would crack you up, and has the courage to stand up for herself, even when she knows it might not win her any brownie points.

In this novel, Jane Austen creates not just one memorable character but a whole cast. The servile and bumbling Mr. Collins, the painful Mary, the indiscreet Mrs. Bennett — they will annoy you with their mannerisms and their speech. Lady Catherine De Bourgh will make you seethe with red hot anger just as Elizabeth does. You’ll see instantly how well-suited Jane and Bingley are and will root for them from the very beginning. But Elizabeth is the darling of the book, and when she is heartbroken, you will want to kick Mr. Darcy and yell at him to get his act together.

This book is the reason I worship at the altar of Jane Austen. It has the most perfectly formed characters, the most perfect pacing, the most believable character arcs, and the zingiest of dialogues.

I love the Amazon Audible book of Pride and Prejudice, narrated in the clipped British accent of Claire Foy (from The Crown).

Persuasion

Frederick Wentworth and Anne in Persuasion have the most swoon-worthy chemistry and my favourite love letter in all of literary history is in this book.

They fall in love but are persuaded by people and circumstance to break up because he doesn’t come from a moneyed family. Frederick Wentworth goes away heart-broken and joins the Navy, determined to make a success of himself.

Anne dries her tears and waits for her puppy love to fade, as her family tells her it will. But years later, when Frederick returns as the successful, self-made Captain Wentworth, Anne feels the same sparks.

She worries about meeting her ex as an older and more sedate woman, without the bloom of youth that he last saw. Side note: Anne is the oldest heroine in Jane Austen’s books (she’s only 27 but in Austen times, this was ancient!) so it is quite interesting to read her point of view.

Both Captain Wentworth and Anne have to deal with their own demons, their regret of years lost, the opinions of those close to them, various romantic rivals, and their feelings for each other.

The couple barely touches fingertips but the chemistry is so intense that you feel like you’re eavesdropping on private conversations. I have read the book dozens of times and I know exactly how it ends, but when Captain Wentworth slips her the above-mentioned letter during a social gathering, I put my hand to my heart like an old lady and worry about what she’s going to say.

Florence Pugh does a terrific job of narrating this version of Persuasion in an Amazon Audible book.

And now you’re on your own…

One of my greatest pleasures as a reader is ambling through a bookstore or GoodReads or Amazon in search of my next book, and I wouldn’t want to take that pleasure away from you. After you’ve read these top 3 Jane Austen books, you’ll be inducted deep enough into Austen-land to choose your own path. You’ve still got Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park to go.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links, at no extra cost to you.