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Loading... Rational Creatures: Stirrings of Feminism in the Hearts of Jane Austen's Fine Ladiesby Christina Boyd (Editor)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Austen fan fiction of the 'fill in the gaps' style isn't really my taste - but I'm addicted to Emma sequels, retellings and updates, and this was free on Kindle Unlimited, so what the hey, right? Still not my taste. Sixteen authors, mostly American, tackle Austen's novels and try their best to find or inject a little feminism into the mix. Some stories worked, some didn't - I don't think Miss Bates chose not to marry - and some I skipped through, I must admit. My favourites were Mary Crawford turning detective and Elinor Tilney conning her father into letting her marry a younger brother. The stories are all slightly formulaic - lots of first person, sky blue eyes and trembling going on - and quite a few try to shoehorn Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women into the mix because FEMINISM, but overall fairly harmless. I still don't agree that Marianne was the right match for Colonel Brandon - not the other way around - and Emma's story was just a lazy rehash of Austen's novel with a Mary Crawford-esque femme fatale thrown in (a better take would have been Emma falling for the glamorous and independent stranger, not turning into the jealous wife). Ehh. You live and learn. no reviews | add a review
"Jane Austen: True romantic or rational creature? Her novels transport us back to the Regency, a time when well-mannered gentlemen and finely-bred ladies fell in love as they danced at balls and rode in carriages. Yet her heroines, such as Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood, were no swooning, fainthearted damsels in distress. Austen's novels have become timeless classics because of their biting wit, honest social commentary, and because she wrote of strong women who were ahead of their day. True to their principles and beliefs, they fought through hypocrisy and broke social boundaries to find their happily-ever-after. In the third romance anthology of The Quill Collective series, sixteen celebrated Austenesque authors write the untold histories of Austen's brave adventuresses, her shy maidens, her talkative spinsters, and her naughty matrons. Peek around the curtain and discover what made Lady Susan so wicked, Mary Crawford so capricious, and Hetty Bates so in need of Emma Woodhouse's pity. Rational Creatures is a collection of humorous, poignant, and engaging short stories set in Georgian England that complement and pay homage to Austen's great works and great ladies who were, perhaps, the first feminists in an era that was not quite ready for feminism"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)808.831Literature By Topic Rhetoric and anthologies Anthologies & Collections Fiction Short storiesRatingAverage:
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Elinor Dashwood tries to impose control over her feelings for Edward Ferrars
2 - Every Past Affliction
Marianne Dashwood, after her illness at the Palmer's comes to know herself, therefore is a happy ending possible.
3 - Happiness in Marriage
Elizabeth Bennet ponders on various marriages. Would it be prudent to marry Collins.
4 - Charlotte's Comfort
Charlotte Collins' life from her point of view.
5 - Knightley Discourses
It would seem that after ten years of marriage Emma Knightley still wants to be a matchmaker. But what of the threat to her marriage.
6 - The Simple Things
Miss Hetty Bates, after rejecting a marriage proposal at the age of 35 looks back at her life.
7 - In Good Hands
Harriet Smith goes to stay with the Knightleys in London.
8 - The Meaning of Wife
A discussion at the Bertram's breakfast leaves Fanny Price indignant and determined to read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. But how will this affect her future.
9 - What Strange Creatures
Mary Crawford of pre Mansfield finds proof that she can't stay with the Admiral.
10 - An Unnatural Beginning
Three years on from her broken engagement, Anne Elliott reflects.
11 - Where the Sky Touches the Sea
Sophia Croft reflects on her marriage.
12 - The Art of Pleasing
Persuasion from Mrs Penelope Clay point of view.
13 - Louisa by the Sea
The thoughts of Louisa Musgrove as she tries to awaken after the accident at Lyme, and her continuing story.
14 - The Strength of their Attachment
Catherine Morland feels she must go to Oxford to help her brother James in his troubles.
15 - A Nominal Mistress
Eleanor Tilney's courtship.
16 - The Edification of Lady Susan
The steps towards marriage of Lady Susan.
A bunch of enjoyable and well-written short stories. ( )