Jane Austen

Review: Persuasion

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Persuasion

Persuasion, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439686) 2003, first published 1817.

Summary: Will Anne Elliot retrieve the missed opportunity of a broken engagement with Captain Wentworth eight years later?

The plotline of this story was set up in its first pages. Anne Elliot, youngest daughter of Baronet Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall becomes engaged to an ambitious young naval officer, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But those around her do not consider him worthy of a Baronet’s daughter by either measures of class or wealth, of which he has little. Although her father and oldest sister Elizabeth disapprove, Lady Russell is most persuasive. She is a distant relative who has become Anne’s closest confidant since the death of her mother. Because of her disapproval, Anne breaks off the engagement, against the inclinations of her heart.

Eight years pass. In the intervening period, Sir Walter, with no Lady Elliot to check him overspends his means. To pay off debts and reduce expenses, the family decides to rent Kellynch Hall and move to Bath. Bath offers a social circle enticing to both Lord Elliot and Elizabeth. Anne prefers her old neighborhood but has no choice. Then she learns that the new tenants are Admiral Croft and his wife Sophia. Sophia is Captain Wentworth’s sister!

Anne is able to stay nearby with her sister Mary’s family which include her husband Charles and sisters Henrietta and Louisa. Then Captain Wentworth returns for a visit with her sister. In the intervening years, he has made a fortune and is ready to marry and settle down. He’s formally courteous, and in some instances seems attentive. But Anne, the girl in her full bloom of beauty at nineteen is somewhat faded and worn at twenty-seven. And Wentworth seems attracted to Louisa, who returns his interest.

During a visit to the seaside resort of Lyme Regis, Louisa suffers severe injuries while “daring” the Captain to catch her. Anne offers to stay but both Mary and the Captain stay instead, although Anne would have been the better nurse. Anne rejoins her family in Bath, and expects to hear both news of Louisa’s recovery and her engagement to Wentworth.

Meanwhile an Elliot cousin, heir to Kellynch Hall reconciles with Sir Walter after an estrangement of many years. He sets his sights on Anne, who does not trust him, despite the efforts of other family members to persuade her this is a good match. Then startling news come. Louisa is engaged, but to another naval officer. And Wentworth is in Bath, but remains aloof, seeing Elliot’s attentions.

I found myself thinking throughout this novel that if Anne and Wentworth could have fifteen minutes alone, they could sort things out! But then what would happen to the romantic and dramatic tension?

There is the great irony in Sir Walter’s social pretensions and the reality of his straitened circumstances, requiring him to rent Kellynch Hall to (ugh!) a naval officer, and brother-in-law of Captain Wentworth.

Finally, there are a number of “persuasions” in the story–of Lady Russell, of Cousin Elliot with Sir Walter, of Mrs. Clay, who has insinuated herself into the family circle, and of the family with Cousin Elliot. All of these go against the wisdom of the heart and we hope that the Anne of twenty-seven will be wiser than the girl of nineteen.

This was Austen’s last novel, published posthumously. I like the process of maturing in Anne but thought other characters like Elizabeth or even Lady Russell lacked substance. The interest of Anne and Wentworth seemed obvious enough to this reader that the plotting just drew out the obvious while seeming to leave things up in the air. I didn’t think it Austen at her best.

Review: Emma

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Emma

Emma, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439587) 2003 (first published in 1815).

Summary: A beautiful, rich young women with no interest in marriage makes a series of disastrous assumptions in matchmaking for her friend.

I went through most of this work viewing Emma Woodhouse as a most unlikable character–rich, class-conscious, and with an exaggerated estimate of her ability to understand others. As it turns out, that was Austen’s intent. Before beginning to write, she wrote, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” On that count alone, Austen succeeds.

Emma Woodhouse is the younger daughter of Henry Woodhouse, a wealthy but frail (or at least he believed himself to be) and fussy old man. Emma’s mother died when she was young. Her older sister Isabella is married to John Knightly and they live in London with their five children. Emma is the lady of Hartfield, wealthy and lacking for nothing and attentive to her father. She insists she is content to remain single.

She also thinks she played an important role as matchmaker with her former governess, Ann Taylor, who marries a widower, Mr. Weston. As a married couple, they live nearby and visit regularly. Mr. Weston has a son by his first marriage, Frank Churchill, raised by his uncle and aunt at Enscombe. The latter plays a controlling role in his life, keeping him close by through her ill health. However, when he finally visits, he manages to stir up trouble.

But Emma does well enough on her own account. She becomes a mentor to Harriet Smith, who supervises younger girls at Mrs. Goddard’s boarding school. The daughter of a successful tradesman, she is attractive, winsome, but untrained in the ways of society. While boarding, she stayed for a summer at Abbey Mill Farm, at the invitation of Elizabeth Martin, one of the students. During this time, she became acquainted with Elizabeth’s brother Robert, who took a liking to her.

Robert Martin was a young, hardworking farmer, well-esteemed by those who knew him. For someone like Harriet, it would have been a good match and he proposed. Enter Emma, who has befriended Harriet. Before Emma tries to make a match for Harriet, she helps break one, influencing Harriet to believe she could do better. That is, she could marry a higher class of person. So, she turns down the match.

George Knightly thinks Emma has misguided her friend. George, who is called Mr. Knightly throughout, is a leading figure in Highbury and owns Donwell Abbey, a large estate. Abbey Mill Farm is part of the estate and so he knows and thinks highly of Robert Martin. He believes Robert would have been a good husband to Harriet. Throughout the novel, Knightly is a friend to Emma, the kind who sees more wisely than she, though it will take some time for her to accept that.

Much of the novel unfolds the successive misguided schemes of Emma to make a match for Harriet. First there is Reverend Elton, who Knightly correctly realizes wants to marry into money, which Harriet doesn’t have. Then there is Frank Churchill, who instead seems to flirt with Emma. Finally, because he acted kindly toward her, Harriet thinks Mr. Knightly might care for her, which Emma supports until she discovers that Mr. Knightly loved another.

In addition to failing her friend, the appearance of two other women give Emma her comeuppance. One is Augusta Elton, who is even more unlikable, arrogantly so, than Emma, who is gracious and pleasant if misguided. Emma gets a brutal lesson in class pretensions when she sees Harriet heartlessly “cut” by the Eltons. The other is Jane Fairfax, who arrives on the scene at the same time as Frank Churchill. She is distinctively attractive, intelligent, and a far more talented musician than Emma.

Emma is young and the novel turns on whether she will go the way of Augusta Elton or become a humbler, better person. And her insistence that she will remain single? Here as well, she will face the chance to know herself better.

The issue of class pretension runs throughout the novel, particularly in the tension between Emma and Mr. Knightly. It’s also subtle, but there is nothing spiritual about the minister, who even “comes on to” Emma during a carriage ride. He only seems concerned with status. Is Jane Austen conveying her low opinion in general of clergy?

In sum, Austen’s title character, unlikable as she comes off, keeps us wondering, and reading, to find out if she will “get a clue” that will enable her to see others, and herself, in a truer light.

Review: Mansfield Park

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Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439808) 2003 (first published in 1814).

Summary: Fanny Price moves from poverty to live with rich cousins in Mansfield Park, maturing amid their whirl of social relationships.

This is my second Jane Austen novel in my year-long Jane Austen reading goal. It struck me as a version of the ugly duckling who becomes the beautiful swan–that ugly duckling being Fanny Price. Fanny grew up in Portsmouth in a large and impoverished family. At ten her mother arranged for her to go to live with her sister’s family at Mansfield Park. She’s escorted by Aunt Norris, the imperious wife of a clergyman, who makes it a point to emphasize how indebted Fanny is to her and the family for their good offices.

And so begins an uncomfortable and socially awkward existence at Mansfield Park. Her uncle, Sir Bertram is distant. Lady Bertram is a pampered and self-absorbed woman who, seemingly can do nothing for herself. Fanny becomes her sewing companion, and an extra maid. Tom, her oldest cousin, is a spendthrift who barely notices. Maria and Julia, the two daughters, are caught up in their own social life. Only Edmund, the second son, destined for the clergy even notices her and becomes her confidante, and eventually she, his.

Marrying well, to financial advantage is everything. Aunt Norris, now bereaved and removed from her husband’s living, arranges a match between Maria and James Rushworth. While he has an extensive estate, he’s personally unimpressive. Then enter Henry and Mary Crawford. They are related to the new incumbents to the living, the Grants, and come for a visit. Henry has wealth and is a ladies man. On a visit to the Rushworth’s estate, he flirts with both Maria and Julie, favoring the elder. Fanny quietly looks on.

Then, while Sir Thomas is away attending to business in Antiqua, Mansfield Park brings all these remaining young people together in a play at the behest of an actor friend of Henry’s. Edmund, despite his opposition, ends up playing opposite Mary. While Rushworth struggles to learn lines, Henry pursues a dalliance with Maria. Julie, jealous of Maria, eventually elopes with the actor. And Fanny? She quietly supports the effort behind the scenes, her thoughtful demeanor and growing beauty gaining notice. Yet it all comes to naught when Sir Thomas returns. But this futile effort sows the seeds of so much of what unfolds.

Despite the dalliance with Henry, Maria marries Rushworth. Edmund and Mary are drawn to each other but Edmund’s calling poses a problem. He actually takes it seriously rather than as just a source of income–not the life Mary envisioned. And Henry finally notices Fanny and sets out to win her affections. He arranges the promotion of her brother William. But all his good offices and attentions, and the pressures of others, refuse to convince Fanny. She’s seen his flirtatious character and cannot bring herself to trust him. Again, she and Edmund confide in each other.

As it turns out, character matters as both Edmund and Fanny learn. The more puzzling thing is why it took two such perceptive young people so long to realize that they were the ones they were seeking? Perhaps it was the first cousin relationship. Marriage between first cousins, while not common, was permitted. All I can figure is that it made for good story, though Austen spends precious little of it telling us how they awakened to their love for each other. But I suspect most readers saw this coming from early on in the story.

The story is a fascinating commentary on the conventions of love and the considerations of wealth. Edmund upsets the convention of the convenient living in which a clergyman did little. Maria’s loveless, and ultimately failed marriage to Rushworth portrays the folly of marrying only for money. (I wonder if the relationship of the Bertrams is another version of this). By contrast, Fanny rises in stature through her character, which also becomes a measure of the character of others. One thing is for sure, Austen creates in her a figure for which we all root and wish the best.

Review: Sense and Sensibility

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Cover image of "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439662) 2003 (first published in 1811).

Summary: Austen’s first novel, contrasting two sisters’ approach to love: common sense judgment versus more emotional sympathy.

Jane Austen’s birthday was December 16, 1775. So, the literary world spent the last year celebrating the two-hundred-fiftieth year of her birth. I’m a bit late to the celebration but one of my reading resolutions for 2026 is to read her six major novels, most of her published work. As for reviewing Jane Austen, volumes have been written of each of her books so my “reviews” will be more in the line of first responses to encountering Austen’s work. I’ve not viewed the film portrayals of her work, so my readings truly are first encounters, and no doubt reveal me as an Austen neophyte. Hopefully, I will inspire other first time readers as well as her fans.

It surprised me to learn that when Austen published this work, the original edition title page simply said “By a Lady.” It suggests to me the gender challenges she faced. At the same time, to not hide her gender was bold, it seems to me.

The title signifies the main theme of the book: the two approaches to love of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. However, the backdrop of the book concerns money and inheritance as it bears on matters of love. For the Dashwood sisters, this is set up by Henry Dashwood, who asked his son John on his deathbed to provide for his stepmother and stepsisters. But beyond a basic “living,” John’s wife discourages any further help. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters, including Margaret, the youngest, accept a modest existence. Sir John Middleton ameliorates their straitened circumstances by providing them the use of Barton Cottage and welcoming them to gatherings at Barton Hall. However, their financial condition affects the marriage prospects of the sisters.

This is where sense and sensibility come into play. Elinor is the one with “sense.” She is somewhat diffidently courted by Edward Ferrars. The couple do grow in their friendship and Elinor has hope of more. Edward, as eldest son, has the expectation of a good inheritance. But mother has her sights set higher than Elinor Dashwood. Edward ceases to be in contact, and it appears he is affianced to the socially ambitious Lucy Steele. Elinor comes to a stoic acceptance that she may not marry–except we see hints that in her heart of hearts, she would have it otherwise.

Meanwhile, Marianne, the younger sister, is beautiful, winsome and characterized by “sensibility.” Attraction and connection matter. Through the Middletons, she meets Colonel Brandon. Brandon is more than ten years older and has a respectable estate after a career in military service. He is quiet and “solid” and interested in Marianne. But she has no interest in him. Instead, due to a sprained ankle, she meets John Willoughby. Quickly, they discover common interests, and before long, there are intimations of a forthcoming engagement. Then Willoughby suddenly leaves for London in connection with a financial crisis.

When Sir John Middleton’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings invites the sisters to London, Marianne reaches out to Willoughby but hears nothing. Finally, she learns Willoughby is betrothed to another woman. She is heartbroken, which sends her into a physical as well as emotional tailspin that her sister is powerless to prevent. She contracts a “putrid fever,” her condition so bad that Elinor enlists Colonel Brandon to bring Mrs. Dashwood to her daughter’s bedside.

At this point, things look bad all around for love and even, in Marianne’s case, for life. Neither sense nor sensibility seem to be working out very well. I’m going to leave it at that, as far as the story goes so you can discover how it all works out if you haven’t read the book.

Money and love. One of the things I notice is that this is a relatively monied crowd. There’s no working class here. No women in service. No men who are laborers. The question is whether you are moving up, and for both women and men, marrying into money is a part of the equation. Edward Ferrar’s mother’s purse strings deters him from pursuing Elinor. Willoughby’s finances are shaky. He also needs to marry money.

Sense and sensibility. It seems in the end, the sisters realize a bit of each are important. At the same time, the portrayal of men reveals few men of virtue. Maybe Sir John Middleton, who seems a generous soul. Colonel Brandon is a solid man of integrity, but uninteresting to Marianne. Ferrars is weak through most of the novel. Willoughby is just a flashy cad. As Flannery O’Connor commented in a very different context, “A good man is hard to find.” It’s not surprising there are so many unhappy marriages.

To her credit, Elinor represents a woman strong enough not to settle. She reminds me of a wise woman I knew who married late in life. She said, “it was better to be single and a little lonely, than married to the wrong person and miserable.” Things are different today than in Jane Austen’s time. No doubt she played a small part in that. But her tale of sense and sensibility suggests both are necessary in the making of good marriages.

The Weekly Wrap: December 7-13

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The Weekly Wrap: December 7-13

Discovering Jane Austen

This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen. All my life I’ve avoided reading her. I’ll confess that it is probably at least a latent sexism that has kept me away. These were not the books my male friends read, if they read books.

What’s changed for me is the recognition that at one time there were only male voices in literary circles. Austen’s accomplishment is to center women’s voices in the relations of women and men. Only later in life have I begun to understand how necessary both sets of voices are in the human community (call it Male Pattern Stupidity on my part!). For Austen’s time, her accomplishment over the six novels that make up her works is a signal breakthrough in literature.

I’ve begun at the beginning, with Sense and Sensibility. Two sisters represent the debate of which is more important in the matters of the heart–sense (Elinor) or sensibility (Marianne). I look forward to discovering how things work out for the Dashwood sisters.

One thing I enjoy about Austen is that she unfolds the story in short chapters. So, as a reader, i can catch my breath wherever I need to without stopping in the middle of a chapter.

You won’t see my reviews until 2026. I hope to work through all six novels next year, thanks to the inexpensive deal on my Kindle. I’ll let you know how its going. And I’d enjoy hearing your experiences of reading Austen.

Five Articles Worth Reading

One of the hallmarks of the holidays is lots of food–and lots of scraps. Increasingly, we are becoming conscious of the environmental impacts of food waste. Tamar Adler is a cross between philosopher and cookbook author. In “A Different Kind of Materialism” we learn how Adler deals with kitchen scraps as ingredients for new dishes.

It was 1700 years ago this year that the first Council of Nicaea convened. In much recent writing, you would think that Nicaea suppressed truly radical ideas about the nature of Jesus. Carnegie-Mellon scholar Ed Simon argues that the most radical ideas were those on which the council reached consensus–the others are what you might expect people to come up with. On this anniversary year of the Council, he considers “The Legacy of Nicaea.”

Then, closer in time, a boy and his bear, Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh made their debut in 1926. In “Winnie-the-Pooh at 100: PW Talks with Gyles Brandreth,” Publishers Weekly interviews A.A. Milne’s biographer, exploring Milne’s complex life.

Closer still, do you remember the books you read fifty years ago, if you’ve been around that long? Mental Floss considers “7 Books That Somehow Turned 50 in 2025” and how they’ve fared.

Lastly, these books didn’t make the bestseller or “best books” lists in 2025. Our friends at the New York Times Book Review identify sixteen “gems” they think worthy our attention in “Our Favorite Hidden Gem Books of 2025.”

Quote of the Week

American poet Emily Dickinson was born December 10, 1830. This piece of wisdom may come in handy at holiday gatherings this year:

“Saying nothing… sometimes says the most.”

Miscellaneous Musings

ICYMI, I posted my “Bob on Books Best of 2025” yesterday. I picked 18 books out of the 243 I reviewed so far this year as “best” in different categories. Pulling that together offered a kind of retrospective look at a year of reading. I realized among other things that I read a number of classic mysteries, none of which made the list.

I also realized I could have had a Best Science Fiction/Fantasy choice with R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis. I just missed it because Goodreads substituted a weird cover I didn’t recognize under my five-star ratings. It’s worth a read as campus satire and as an exploration of the Faustian bargains that may tempt academics. Here’s a link to my review.

It’s getting tougher for bloggers like me to get review copies from some publishers. By playing the “importunate widow” and not taking no for an answer, I persuaded one publicist to send a book I really wanted to review, The Search for a Rational Faith by Daniel K. Williams. Hopefully, it will turn up in my mailbox. If not, I also made a connection with the author, a professor at one of my alma maters. The things you have to do! (And sometimes you just end up buying the book!).

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Robert D. Cornwall, Eating With Jesus

Tuesday Louise Penny, The Black Wolf

Wednesday: Agatha Christie, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

Thursday: Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

Friday: David Paul Warners and Matthew Kuperus Heun, Beyond Stewardship

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for November 30-December 6.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

The Weekly Wrap: June 22-28

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The Weekly Wrap: June 22-28

Barnes & Noble and the Big Five

A few weeks ago, my wife and I visited our new Barnes & Noble store (they had moved from a nearby location into a more spacious building). Overall, we were quite impressed with the atmosphere. But there was one thing we noticed in different sections of the store.

My wife is an artist and is always on the lookout for books on technique. One publisher excels in this area but we did not see any of their books. As you know, I review a number of religious books. I did not see hardly any of the imprints I review on the shelves. I’m on good terms with a publicist at one of those houses and she observed it is very hard for their representatives to get their books into Barnes & Noble.

It turns out that this is a systemic issue. Publisher’s Weekly ran an article titled “Independent Publishers Are Fed Up with Barnes & Noble” The reason is that mid-size and smaller publishers who aren’t one of “the Big Five” have a very hard time getting their books on the shelves. Are the Big Five books better? Certainly in some cases, but I would have no problem in that religion section suggesting good titles by notable authors with attractive cover design from publishers not represented.

What surprises me is that I thought Daunt’s Barnes & Noble was letting booksellers operate more like indies. Apparently, this doesn’t extend to how they curate their book buys.

Everyone likes to rail against Amazon. But without fail, I find Amazon links to every book I review (I use publisher’s links to let people make their own buying choice). It’s no wonder that many of the publishers I review with work with Amazon. They account for a high percentage of their sales. But people miss the particular browsing experience of the bookstore in using Amazon.

What this requires of brick and mortar B & N stores is that the booksellers truly function more like indies. It means harder work assessing more publishing lines and reading reviews of a broader range of books. And it means a different corporate vision of the publishing industry that refuses to marginalize small houses.

Five Articles Worth Reading

I know there are a number of Jane Austen fans out there. Lauren Groff contends that “Jane Austen’s Boldest Novel Is Also Her Least Understood.” The novel is Mansfield Park.

Most of us know Toni Morrison for her novels. However, most of us do not know of her role as an editor at Random House. Rather than just promote her own work, she championed the works of a rising generation of Black writers from Angela Davis and Huey Newton to Lucille Clifton and Gayl Jones. Clint Smith uncovers this unseen work of Morrison in “How Toni Morrison Changed Publishing.”

While the whole aim of our online technologies of commerce is to make buying “frictionless,” that may not be good for all of life. Select your items, click one button, and the seller will be paid and the items shipped to you, sometimes even on the same day. But is this a good thing? Regina Munch reviews Christine Rosen’s The Extinction of Experience, In “Encounters with Reality” she explores how some friction might be a good thing in our lives.

Between last year’s publication of James and Ron Chernow’s new biography, Mark Twain is on many of our minds. In particular, we like his witty quotes. But did he really say it? “Did Mark Twain Really Say That?” includes a fun quiz of potential Twain quotes. I only identified 53 percent of them correctly. Maybe you can do better!

Lastly, ” ‘Bookworm, Cliché, Deadline…’ And Other Unexpected Etymologies” explores the origins of the bookish words and phrases peculiar to bibliophiles.

Quote of the Week

Pearl S. Buck, the missionary to China and novelist, born on June 26, 1892, made this comment that is perennially relevant:

“When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I posted several articles this week on the low rates at which men are reading fiction and why they should. Personally, I don’t think telling men what they “should” do is a winning strategy. As a reviewer, I have a higher tolerance for literary fiction than most men. I have to admit, most covers and cover copy of the latest books don’t attract me. Not sure I can say why nor what needs to change. Instead I turn to classics, or mysteries, or history to find a good read. Maybe that’s just me but it appears I’m not alone.

The court decision in favor of Meta AI found that training AI on books was “fair use.” I think this is wrong and a form of theft. In so many aspects of AI, we are giving Big Tech what it wants–intellectual property, energy, water, and pervasive presence. While there may be good uses of AI, the amoral character of the industry does not bode well. in my opinion.

Finally, I admitted on my Facebook page that this blogging thing is getting harder. Facebook had been a major source of traffic to my blog at one time. Now, blog posts just get buried by Facebook’s algorithms unless devoted followers like and share them like crazy (hint, hint!). I like writing, but I also like featuring good books. I will keep writing because it crystallizes my own thinking about a book. but I will try some other things as well.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Michael Innes, Honeybath’s Haven

Tuesday: The Month in Reviews: June 2025

Wednesday: Walter R. Strickland II, Swing Low: A History of Black Christianity in the United States

Thursday: Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum, Kingdom Through Covenant

Friday, Johannes W. H. van der Bijl, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for June 22-28!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

The Weekly Wrap: February 16-22

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A Non-Partisan Space

If you are on social media, you will notice what a partisan space it has become. I’ve chosen not to go that way with my blog. Let me share with you a bit of why that is. First of all, the name of this blog is “Bob on Books.” My focus is on the good, the true, and the beautiful about books, reading, and life. My primary focus is reviewing books–a lot on theological subjects and a wide smattering of other genres and subjects. And while some have tried to turn books into a matter for partisan politics, I refuse to go there.

It is not that I don’t have political opinions. If you read me closely, you can probably figure that out. You will see there are subjects I care about, values I hold, and this is probably reflected at least to some extent in the books I review. Some are part of our partisan squabbling. But I tend to think that much of what I write about concern things that transcend party–or national boundaries.

And that’s another thing. While I live in the United States, I am amazed by the global character of my audience. The world of books is an international world. My pandemic experience was immeasurably richer because of Canadian Louise Penny. I’ve loved the mysteries of the “Queens of Crime” (Sayers, Christie, Allingham, and Marsh), three of whom are from the UK and one from New Zealand. Theology written by Latino, African, and Asian scholars have broadened my understanding of my faith beyond its Euro-American base. Focusing on American political squabbles just seems like bad manners.

Finally, there are so many already clamoring for this lane. I don’t think I have much to add. And the contentiousness of this lane would distract me from reading and writing about what I’ve read. Rather, I like Emily Dickinson’s aphorism: “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” I hope the books I review, the things I write about, the ways I curate my own social media spaces do that. I write not so much to confront or argue as to explore the goods of life for which we were made and the better world for which we long. Thanks for joining me in that journey.

Five Articles Worth Reading

On a related note, Alan Jacobs would like us to hit “pause” on what he calls “relevance mongering.” In “All the Distant Mirrors” he suggests our instinct to find contemporary relevance in past works is bad manners. We fail to listen to what people are saying about their own time.

If you’ve ever talked to an indie bookseller, you know both how much they love that work and how they live on a financial precipice. “Can a Nonprofit Model Work for Bookstores?” explores ways to help booksellers with their mission while alleviating some of the financial pressures.

“Are you conscious? A conversation between Dawkins and ChatGPT” reproduces a conversation between Richard Dawkins and Chat GPT about whether it is conscious and has real feelings. The dialogue may make you think so even while Chat GPT denies this is the case.

Then there is something new for Jane Austen fans! ‘The Forgotten Writers Who Influenced Jane Austen” is a review of a new book, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney. Romney, a rare book collector, tracked down and read all she could of the writers Jane Austen read.

Finally, James Parker, in a review of a new book on Robert Frost, writes about “When Robert Frost Was Bad.” It’s a fascinating article on Frost’s development as a poet and his character as a human being.

Quote of the Week

British-American poet W. H. Auden was born February 21, 1907. This statement by him has me pondering:

“Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.“

I think this recognizes that we can all understand the draw of evil, but when one is given over to evil, that person only expects evil of others and can’t comprehend goodness. What do you think?

Miscellaneous Musings

Plagiarism is the blackest of sins for writers and scholars. Yet it happens. I’ve just begun reading R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface. In what I’ve read so far, the narrator takes the unpublished work of a college friend and represents it as her own, justifying it by her editing and revisions of the work. I suspect she is going to come to great grief over this (don’t tell me, you who’ve read it) but I’m intrigued by the process of rationalization behind her plagiarism.

Crowned with Glory and Honor: A Chalcedonian Anthropology by Michael A. Wilkinson is a theological monograph most will never pick up. I’ve been reveling in it for the careful and clear way he develops his argument. This may seem a stretch to some, but I find the same delight in this I did years ago reading John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Both take complex ideas and unpack them step by step, but not in a dry, dusty fashion, but rather in a spirit infused with love for the God of whom they write.

I’ve occasionally purchased used vinyl recordings from online sellers. I’ve found that they provide good and accurate information about the recording I’m considering. After I wrote an online review on my initial experience with Thriftbooks, several people reported problems they’ve had. One even thought I was Thriftbooks! I generally have been happy with purchases but occasionally have had problems with wrong items, different editions than I expected, condition of books, and one item that never shipped. They’ve been good when I’ve contacted them. But I would like to see them up their game where you know specifically what book, what edition, and what condition you are buying–and then you get what you thought you were ordering.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Various authors, Anchor of My Soul

Tuesday: Margery Allingham, Cargo of Eagles

Wednesday: Miranda Zapor Cruz, Faithful Politics

Thursday, Jacques Lusseyran, And There Was Light

Friday: David Greenberg, John Lewis: A Life

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for February 16-22, 2025!

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Review: Resisting the Marriage Plot

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Resisting the Marriage Plot (Studies in Theology and the Arts), Dalene Joy Fisher. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2021.

Summary: Contrary to prevailing ideas of Christianity being an oppressive force in women’s lives in Victorian literature, looks at four instances in this literature where women resist cultural expectations around marriage due to the liberating and empowering quality of their faith.

It’s fairly common in Victorian literary studies to show the oppression of women in the conventions of marriage. And it was indeed the case that marriage could be oppressive. Under coverture, discussed in this book, a woman’s legal rights were subsumed under her husband and she had no independent legal existence. She had no property rights of her own and so was economically dependent or “covered” by her husband. Even in a beneficent situation, the deprivation of these tokens of personhood, of agency, were a form of oppression. In an abusive situation it could be much worse. And many critics point to ways the church supported this understanding of marriage and the place of women.

Dalene Joy Fisher offers us a counterfactual in this study of four novelists whose characters resist the “marriage plot” in different ways, often at great cost to themselves, but sustained by convictions of their Christian faith that led them not to submit to marriage where this would compromise their human dignity. They are:

Mary Wollstonecraft, Maria in The Wrongs of Woman. Maria marries George Venables, only to discover he is libertine. He even pays a friend to seduce her. She decides to flee with her daughter, an unlawful act, and is confined to an asylum, guarded by Jemima who eventually helps her escape.

Jane Austen, Fanny in Mansfield Park. Fanny is an impoverished girl who is sent to live with her wealthy Aunt and Uncle, who attempt to marry her off to Henry Crawford, an impressive man of questionable morals. She resists the pressure to do so because of her faith and understanding that the power to “transform” him is beyond her. Eventually she marries a clergyman, Edmund, who has counselled and befriended her.

Anne Brontë, Helen in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Helen discovers her husband Arthur is both alcoholic and adulterous and flees with her young son Arthur, living under an assumed name and supporting them by selling paintings. Her faith will not allow her and her son to live in a state of moral degradation, despite society’s expectation. She falls in love with Gilbert Markham but cannot marry. When Arthur suffers what will be a fatal accident, She returns to for one final attempt at his reform, then marries Gilbert after Arthur’s death.

Elizabeth Gaskell, Ruth in Ruth. Ruth is a teenage orphan seduced by Henry Bellingham, then abandoned when she becomes pregnant. A reform minded minister takes her in, they label her a “widow,” and under this identity, she becomes a highly respected governess. Later, Bellingham, using the name Donne, shows up and insists she marry him, but she refuses because of her faith. But her true background is discovered, and she has to turn to nursing the most impoverished, gaining a name for herself. Donne falls ill and comes under her care, and, while caring for him, she contracts his disease and dies.

One of the key themes running through these novels is women refusing or leaving unworthy marriages due to their understanding of the Christian faith, that gives them a sense of agency to stand against the pressures to conform to societal norms. It is also the case that they resist the pressure to adopt the approach that a good woman can reform a bad man. They recognize that only God can transform hearts. In two instances, their resistance is rewarded with loving marriages. Two others end sadly, reflecting the consequences of oppressive structures.

The novelists considered were powerful voices. They reveal a more complex narrative of both ways Christianity has been used to oppress and Christian faith as liberative, of characters empowered by their understanding of Christian faithfulness to resist the “marriage plot” when not to so would implicate them in immoral behavior and subject them to abuse. Victorians spoke of marriage as “he for God only, she for God in him.” Fisher shows the power of Christian faith to lead both men and women to say, “they for God only, he and she for God,” a message which seems as needed today as in the Nineteenth century.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: Death Comes to Pemberley

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Death Comes to Pemberley

Death Comes to Pemberley, P. D. James. New York: Vintage Books, 2013

Summary: P.D. James writes a murder mystery as a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen knock-offs are a cottage industry. Even a former neighbor of ours, Regina Jeffers, has written a whole series of Jane Austen books. Among those to try her hand at this genre is accomplished mystery writer, P.D. James. Over the years, I’ve delighted in her Adam Dalgleish mysteries, and though I’m not among the Austen fans, I thought I’d pick this up.

The story takes up six years into the marriage of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth’s sister Lydia has married George Wickham, childhood friend of Darcy, but is banned from Pemberley after attempting to seduce Darcy’s sister, Georgiana. There has always been something a bit disreputable about Wickham, but he distinguished himself in the Irish rebellion, and since leaving the military has bounced around in different jobs, leaning on family and others for support. It is the day before the annual Lady Anne Ball, the big social event at the Darcy estate. Fitzwilliam Darcy is on hand, hoping to win Georgiana’s hand, even while a newcomer, Mr. Alveston, a lawyer from London, takes the inside track. The whole household is busy at their work, including the elderly servant Bidwell, who refuses to go home to his family living in the forest on the estate, even though his son is declining toward death.

Wickham, Lydia, and Captain Denny, friend of Wickham show up at the Pemberley estate, cutting through the forest. The plan was to leave Lydia at the Darcy house while they went on to an errand. Words arise between Wickham and Captain Denny, who leaves the carriage, plunging into the forest, to be followed shortly by Wickham. Lydia and her driver wait, then hear shots fired. They go to Pemberley for help. A search party finds a drunken and distraught Wickham, covered in blood over the dead body of Captain Denny. His first words were, “He’s dead! Oh God, Denny’s dead! He was my friend, my only friend, and I’ve killed him! I’ve killed him! It’s my fault.”

With this seeming confession, he is taken into custody, awaiting trial for the murder. But Darcy is torn between his dislike for Wickham, and a sense that the words, taken for a confession, might mean something else–that it was Wickham’s quarrel that drove Denny into the hands of his killer, and thus his fault. This is what Wickham, when he comes to his senses maintains. But who this murderer could be and how it was done remains unclear as Wickham goes to trial, defended by the able Jeremiah Mickledore.

It is my impression that James captures the manners and maneuverings that characterize the country houses in Austen, and the affection between Darcy and Elizabeth, such that those who love this genre will be at home. Yet I suspect this is neither the best Austen nor the best James. We barely know Captain Denny before he is killed. I did not feel strongly drawn to any of the characters and only rooted for Wickham because Darcy didn’t want him to be convicted. There is little in the way of a murder investigation and the plot relies on an eleventh hour confession.

As far as I can tell, this was the last work completed by James in her lifetime, when she was in her nineties (she died in 2014). It does not rival her Children of Men or the best of her Dalgleish stories. It is a pleasant diversion and was considered worth of a PBS Masterpiece adaptation in 2014. And it allowed James the satisfaction of having written a Jane Austen novel.