Books Reminiscent of Jane Austen

   Scythrop Glowry on Aug 15 08:52:10

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As Jane Austen has a very, very large following and I rather like her books myself - I have been known to use stronger words towards one right after reading it - I have decided to collect a list for her just as I have for L.M. Montgomery (see previous post). I have deemed it prudent to list books similar to her mature works; if you, like me, love her Juvenilia, I suggest Thomas Love Peacock and perhaps...see next post. For now this list is short, but it will get longer as time goes by. It is a work in progress. I hope I do not disappoint you when I present ☞ ☄☈☉ ☞

Tom Jones (1749)

by Henry Fielding

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This one fully deserves five stars. I've waffled on adding it for a long time, but considering the inclusion of such books as A Romance of a Quiet Watering Place and Ramona , this cannot be excluded. Here we have a book at least as genuinely classic as Pride and Prejudice , just as witty as Jane Austen, just as moral (plus a little), just as scandalous (plus a little), just as suspenseful, just as much of a social commentary, and just as much of a love story. Two things blinded me to its suitability for this list: the fact that it is from the man's perspective and the fact that it is rather notoriously baudy - to such a good moral purpose, mind you! And I do believe Fielding was a Christian. And Mr. Alworthy once gave the best courtship advice I ever read in a novel. As they say, "Thank you, Mr. Alworthy, for correcting the stupidity in Mansfield Park ." This 800 some page book will take a bit to get used to, but once you have learned to read that level of difficulty, it will improve vastly. Whatever you do, don't give up on it and don't skip anything - not even the non-obligatory introductory chapters! It will be worth it in the end.

The Vicar of Wakefield (1766)

by Oliver Goldsmith

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This brilliant (though not quite realistic) 18th century classic is a delightful novel. I have heard that it is a satire, but to me it only seemed as satirical as Pride and Prejudice. All I could see in it was a delightful novel, plain and simple. But the suspense! That's one thing that makes a good novel, after all.

Free Vicar of Wakefield pdf at Google Books

London or a Month at Stevens's (1819)

by Eaton Stannard Barrett

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If you love The Adventures of Cherubina , you may be thinking 😍 another novel by Eaton Stannard Barrett! 😍 If you're one of those Jane Austen fans who are crazy about the Regency era, you may be thinking 😍 another novel from Jane Austen's time! 😍 I have to warn you not to get too 😍🥰😍 over it yet, because it's not even as funny as a Jane Austen novel (though it has its moments) and it's not describing the kind of Regency era England you can retreat into by way of Pride and Prejudice . We're talking about LONDON, populated by innumerable Wickhams and Mrs. Clays of the deepest dye. I almost mentioned a worse rake from a different Austen novel, but I'll give no spoilers. If you don't want to take twice as long reading the book and become a misanthropist, I recommend skipping the long lists of fake fashionable people, almost all of whom have done nothing worthy of recording except take away other people's money, destroy their constitution by habitual drunkeness, and "protect" a number of extravagant "demireps". This is the Regency era of modern Regency Romance writers, not Jane Austen...but I tell you what, there's a suspenseful romance here that you just might like. The plot? The innocent Highland family of McTavish has decided to "enjoy" a month in London, but with two vain and unfashionable parents and a beautiful young daughter, London is a dangerous place! Will they be able to get back to Glentucket with a shred of reputation and a shilling to their name?

Jane Eyre (1847)

by Charlotte Bronte

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I will warn you that if you just want Jane Austen's humor, you won't get it with Jane Eyre. On the other hand, Jane Eyre far surpasses any of Jane Austen's works for a passionate, suspenseful romance. There is something about Jane Eyre that makes it really belong on this list - I wish I could describe it.

Free Jane Eyre pdf at Google Books

Villette (1853)

by Charlotte Bronte

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Though not such a powerfully-written love story as Jane Eyre, I think Villette deserves its place on this list. I did not enjoy it as much as Jane Eyre but I enjoyed it very much. It is suspenseful, and the writing style falls like the soothing patter of steady rain upon the inner-ear. If you liked Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, you will probably like Villette.

Free Villette pdf at Google Books

Cora and the Doctor (1855)

by Mrs. Madeline Leslie

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This lesser known work was written by an American, Harriette Newell Woods Baker (pseudonym Mrs. Madeline Leslie) and feautures an English girl who has just married a genteel American doctor, Frank Lennox, and joined him in his American mansion. Starting in 1830 and working up to the 1850s, it is an epistolary novel presented through the protagonist's "journal" to her mother across the ocean. My feelings as I read went from boredom, ridicule, interest - to astonishing admiration! It's not as humorous as Jane Austen's works, but it is about as suspenseful, and features themes of religion and redemption not to be found in the former. It will also give you an idea of what sort of books Jane Austen parodied, though it is later and not quite so bad.

Free Cora and the Doctor pdf at Google Books

Little Women (1868)

by Louisa May Alcott

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Another of my favorites that I have waffled whether to put on this list. I know you've probably already it. I know that it's often put on these lists solely because it's a classic for women. I think that's ridiculous and I have tried hard to avoid that, but the more I think about it the more I think it belongs. Jane Austen tends to be beloved of literary women, Christians, feminists, and Christian feminists alike, and these sorts of people all tend to love Little Women too. Then there's the element of humor. Then there's the element of manners and a very similar set of class distinction conflicts. Then there's the element of "romance". Then there's the element of a "strong female heroine". And then there's two ballroom scenes! If it weren't for the dancing, I wouldn't include it, but that puts it over the edge.

A Fair Barbarian (1880)

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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If you're looking for a short, light book with a little humor and a lot of 19th century social critique, this might be just right for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for sweeping romance and absorbing introspection, you won't find it in A Fair Barbarian .

Ramona (1884)

by Helen Hunt Jackson

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This is not for those who only like Jane Austen for her humor. At first I thought it was the great fault of the book that it had so little humor, but I am not sure, now, whether it could have been as magisterial otherwise. I do not know. I do know that I enjoyed it very much and was very impressed even though humor is one of the primary things I like in a book--and a book hardly needs anything else for my enjoyment. Ramona takes place in California just shortly after the Mexican-American war. Ramona has grown up like a daughter--but not like a daughter either--in the proud Spanish family of Moreno. Wealthy, healthy, wise, and beautiful, she yet has trouble in store when she falls in love with the head Indian sheepshearer.

Free Ramona HTML at Project Guttenberg (Tap the three-verticle-dots/red-and-white-up-arrow to add to homescreen. I recommend holding your phone or tablet vertical when reading this to make the page narrower.)

A Drama in Muslin (1886)

by George Moore

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George Moore was clearly one of the most blasphemous of atheists - likely he knew very little of real Christianity and fell prey to the deceptive falsity of the most dominant sects of his day - and he made the book WAY too slow, but if you love Mansfield Park and didn't have any impatience with Emma , maybe you can stand the slowness. Female authors of the Victorian era tended to be delicate in their writing despite their personal lives, but male authors...not quite so much. Jane Austen's society seems sober, Thomas Love Peacock's overflowing with drunkeness. You can expect the same out of George Moore except in a much less pleasant way. The novel's tone is misanthropic. Why do I recommend it at all? Because I found parts of it (skimming through) to be quite interesting, informative, amusing, and reminiscent of Austen. Most others who liked the book compared it to Austen. One liked it better than Pride and Prejudice (😨😤). So, if you don't mind atheism and slowness, you might like it.

A Romance of a Quiet Watering Place (1888)

by Nora Helen Warddel

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This is a short, frivolous, utterly obscure book, by an author of whom nothing is known but that she wrote it, but if you like Jane Austen for socail satire, scandals, suspense, intricate plots, strong clever heriones, and a love story , you might be delighted with this. Now I was a bit wrought up by a storm when I read this so I can't judge for sure, but I think it's a very exciting book. It is certainly a quick enough read. The cast of characters is a bunch of taken-to-the-limit stereotypes, all popular for novels of the time, but if you haven't read a lot from the time you probably won't notice it, and if you are expert it will just add to the enjoyment. It's not at all realistic but the characters are facinating, especially to someone who has read a lot of odds and ends from the time. The style is tantalizing. The illustations give it that finishing touch - especially necessary to the modern reader who wouldn't otherwise be able to properly picture the clothes and scenes.

(side note) It's tormenting to me that I can't give you the passage of Tristram Shandy that describes a haha, since a haha plays an important role in this book, but I stayed up late trying and failed - used google, "find in page", and even just flipping through - no avail! Guess you'll just have to read the first third of Tristram Shandy - before reading this! Good luck! 😉

The Squirrel-cage (1912)

by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

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I do not know but what Jane Austen would be scandalized by the opinions of this book, but that is all the more reason why Jane Austen fans should read it...broaden their thoughts. This is a Greater book than any of Jane Austen's novels, truly. More masterfully done with more deep thoughts and background of experience, more of the little big things in life than any of Jane Austen's works. Still, it has humor, suspense, and romance...all that you love about Jane Austen. The story of one girl who's eyes were irrevocably opened to the futility of a materialistic, follow the fad, dog eats dog world, it is at least as much of an upper-class society drama-satire as any of Jane Austen's novels...though it takes place in Endbury, Ohio and the girl comes from a fast-climbing "mushroom" family.

Free The Squirrel-cage pdf at Google Books

The Bent Twig (1915)

by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

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I was indecisive about whether to put The Bent Twig on this list or my list of Books Reminiscent of L.M. Montgomery . The thing is, people like Lucy Maud for a clean, sweet, innocent picture of the world...and The Bent Twig gives anything but. In that way it's much more like a Jane Austen. Then again, if I can have Ramona and The Squirrel-cage on this list, I think I can put The Bent Twig on it too. In some ways it belongs on this list more than any other book here. But enough explaining. Sylvia Marshal grows up in a very happy, unconventional household where a glass of warm milk and a sunset are held in more esteem than great riches. But Sylvia has in her nature a desire for wordly luxury. Her parents and their friends - especially misanthropic, communist Prof. Kennedy - are worried this tendency will ruin her life...and their fears are not ungrounded.

Free The Bent Twig pdf at Google Books

Tags: literature Jane Austen