Several Alert Janeites sent us this article last week, mostly accompanied by incoherent swooning and exclamations. It is an edited version of novelist Jay McInerney’s essay in the book A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen. We didn’t post the article at the time, having read it apparently in a cranky mood and planning a proper spork-fisking. However, we were too busy and stressed-out last week to do it, and on a re-read of the piece we can’t find much worth getting out the spork and Cluebat for, except to say that considering his comments about Catherine Morland, Mr. McInerney is no Henry Tilney. *dusts off hands* So there is the article, go read it and swoon.
And just to prove we’re really not THAT cranky, the Editrix is actually a fan of Mr. McInerney’s work. Her copy of his second novel, Ransom, has been read quite literally to pieces (three of them) and is held together by a rubber band. We’re not sure if that is a testament to our fondness for the work or a condemnation of modern bindery practices, but there it is.
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Friend of Jane OK, but friend of Fanny? So he didn’t rip her apart, but those back-handed compliments don’t make him sound like a big fan either. She’s sweet, but he wouldn’t want to take her to a party? Nice friend. At best, he damns her with faint praise. Not to mention taking her reaction to the play out of context; I bet Elizabeth would’ve had problems with the play too, under the same circumstances.
Why would Jane Austen have written MP out of penitence? Would she have felt guilty for writing P&P? I don’t see it.
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