Ranking Jane Austen's Books

I've ranked Jane Austen's most famous six novels from the book I like the least to my very favourite novel. Which is your favourite Jane Austen book?
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My blog is: mirandasnotebook.com
My podcast is: teaandtattlepodcast.com
You can find me on instagram at: @mirandasnotebook, @mirandasbookcase and @teaandtattlepodcast
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BOOKS MENTIONED IN VIDEO (not giving away my ranking order!) -
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/rru7zp8
Persuasion by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/w6fn77k
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/s9rnqp4
Emma by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/rgdu4c8
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/v6nbabz
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen: tinyurl.com/rtu3bax
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ABOUT ME: I'm Miranda Mills, a freelance writer, podcaster and photographer living in London. Find out more about me and what I do here: tinyurl.com/y3mm68uq

[@kellykiiskila3629]

I’m reading Emma right now and I’m loving it! So far I’ve read P&P, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey ❤️

[@MirandaMills]

Oh good! I adore 'Emma'! xxx

[@elizabethbrink3761]

I think Jane Austen is my all-time favorite author, too. I discovered her in high school after covering a Pride and Prejudice play for my school newspaper. My dad went with me (because I couldn't drive at the time), and we were both hooked. We would watch the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle movie over and over again and we still quote it to each other. His copy of Pride and Prejudice has so many underlines and margin notes it could be considered an annotated version, haha! As I've gotten older, I have come to appreciate both Mansfield Park and Persuasion more with the quiet strength of Fanny and Anne. I think Persuasion has to be my favorite, too.

[@MirandaMills]

Love that you share a love for Jane Austen with your Dad! Mine really enjoys her too, thud dispelling the myth that men don't appreciate her as well :) I've grown to appreciate Mansfield Park more as I get older too xxx

[@myriamlopresti64]

Jane Austen is also my favorite author of all times ! Thank you about Fanny Price. I love her too!

[@sorachi295]

Persuasion definitely is underrated and deserves more love, it is lovely to see the novel as your #1. I have seen so many adaptations of the novels but now I have decided to read the books starting with Pride and Prejudice.

[@wandalorenz7688]

I have just watched several peoples rankings of the books and it has been so fun to see everyone’s opinions.

[@kkitao217]

I really enjoyed your comments! Thanks for posting. I have to disagree with you on a couple of points. I would rank Sense and Sensibility higher than you did, because I think the love story is not diluted by having two heroines but that the love story is about the heroines. I think it is more a story about Marianne and Elinor then about the romances. As one of Jane Austen‘s early books, it shows her inexperience, but it also shows all the promise that she later more than fulfilled. This is difficult because both of your top two books are so good, but I would reverse the ranking. Persuasion is a wonderful book, and I love Anne Elliot, I love the story, and the letter near the end is one of the most romantic passages I’ve ever read. From a literary point of view, I think Persuasion probably is Jane Austen‘s best book. Still, my heart belongs to Lizzy, and also, I think Pride and Prejudice is the most perfect fulfillment of a theme that Austen always used, which was learning and growing based on our experiences. You mentioned that Lizzie grew and changed, but so did Darcy. At the beginning, he judged Lizzie based on her rank, and resisted his feelings because of her low connections. He learns to be more open to people and not to judge them based on their position. That Lizzie and Darcy both grew and changed based on their experiences, and that it is suggested that they will both benefit in different ways from the marriage in the future, shows a balance that I find very satisfying. Anyway, I enjoyed your hearing your opinions, and they gave me something to think about. Thanks again.

[@janetsmith8566]

Yes to many of your points! Capt wentworth’s letter! One swoons!

[@secondhandsurrey]

After many years saying I would read P&P, even staring as Caroline in my school play (13 years ago!) this week I started reading it. And I think it’s down to watching your videos that gave me the confidence (I only found you 1.5 weeks ago and haven’t stopped watching your videos!) you’ve inspired me to broaden my reading - I got back into it heavily in July 2020 but was reading a lot of modern novels. So far I am loving P&P and can’t wait to read more of it, and more of JA!

[@efstathiakositzidou2490]

I absolutely agree with you from 6 to 1!Persuasion my absolutely favorite!🥰

[@MirandaMills]

Yay! I love it so much too :)

[@sarahel19]

I have just discovered your channel and very much enjoyed this video! I also like the Jane Austen audiobooks and would like to listen to more. I especially need to reread Northanger Abbey, perhaps on audiobook, because I read it a long time ago and it's also my least favorite of her novels. My all-time favorite is Emma, because as you said it's a wonderful story with amazing characters, but I also love Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. I find it very hard to rank her books!

[@MirandaMills]

I have Anna Massey reading Northanger Abbey (which I got from Audible) - it's fab! So glad you enjoyed the video, thank you :)

[@pilarmartin1933]

My ranking is 1. Persuasion, 2. Emma 3. Pride and prejudice and 4. Sense and sensibility. I want to read the two other this year.

[@countrysnippets]

Wonderful video, totally agree with your ranking and like you I came to Austin young around age 10 and have loved them ever since 🙂

[@laurac56]

I’ve only read three Austen’s so far and here is my ranking: 1)Persuasion (which I loved, and have read twice) 2) Mansfield Park 3) Pride and Prejudice ( I really did not care much for this one, and I am pretty sure it will drop lower when I read the other three some day.) Thanks for talking about them all.

[@MirandaMills]

I hope you enjoy her other three!

[@Laurengreenkat]

Jennifer Ehle read P&P on KZbin during lockdown. It's wonderful and definitely worth listening to if you haven't already. x

[@thejoyofreading7661]

I love Jane Austen's novels, all of them ❤❤ but Persuasion is my favourite one as well. Even if Lizzie Bennet is my favourite heroin 😊

[@MirandaMills]

I know just what you mean!

[@Hannah-xn4st]

I've read Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey- I really must get to her other novels!

[@MirandaMills]

Oh yes, you have some real treats in store!

[@lfior]

Miranda! Really enjoying your videos, I love discovering new book tubers because most existing popular ones (or ones that still upload) do not read a variety of genres, and there's too much YA and too little non-fiction and classics etc. The one thing I would say I don't enjoy as much is when booktubers spend time explaining the plot to viewers! The plot is readily available on google, but the overall outlook of the reader to the book, isn't! Good luck here on KZbin!

[@MirandaMills]

Thanks so much! Very glad you're enjoying my videos :)

[@tracytilford6735]

Pride and Prejudice is my all time favorite but I simply cannot pick what comes next. Every time I think I have an order I revisit one of the other stories and my order changes so I've given up and all 5 other Austen novels are tied for second place.

[@Bearcub599]

Really informative and interesting video! I will definitely read them all again and rank them all 👍😊☺

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you so much for your kind support and words! I'm so glad you enjoyed this video ❤️

[@Bearcub599]

xxx@@MirandaMills

[@olivewritesblog]

Rather strangely the only Jane Austen I’ve read is Mansfield Park. After watching your video, I immediately downloaded a sample of Persuasion. Well, I’ve been persuaded (sorry) to purchase my own copy! Thank you for this terrific video!

[@MirandaMills]

Oh wonderful! I do hope you love Persuasion too :)

[@isamandrino9082]

I think I love all Jane Austen books especially Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma and Persuasion ; they are real gems which I reread from time to time. It's so difficult to rank these 4 ones. I think the beautiful TV serie with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and the film with Emma Thomson and Hugh Grant make me prefer P&P and S&S.

[@141moose]

Nice synopsis of the six Jane Austen masterpieces. Having read all of them multiple times, I agree that Northanger Abbey is my least favorite. Fanny is a top three heroine, but Mansfield Park comes in 5th. Love Elinor, S&S is 4th. Mr. Knightly is the Perfect foil for the overindulged Emma in 3rd. P&P and Persuasion are both incredible and depending on my mood could both be first. Feet to the fire I'd give P&P the edge, if only for wit and sarcasm. Elizabeth and Anne are both fantastic and are personalities to fall in love with.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you very much! I agree that it's very hard to choose between P&P and Persuasion! Both Anne and Lizzie are such fabulous if very different heroines 💕

[@MartaZobeniak]

Persuasion is also my favorite... by far :)

[@khayes8111]

100% agree on N.Abbey - it was written to poke fun at the novels of the period as a pop-crit book like Ben Elton and his books on Big Brother in the late 90s/2000s - not all of the books from the period have made it on to bookshelves in 2020 - can't say I own a copy of the Castle of Otranto! My faves are 1. Persuasion 2. P&P 3. Tricky as I prefer S& S and Mansfield Park equally. I couldn't get on with S&S then read it quickly before the Emma Thomson movie came out and then really understood it . In light of everything we've learned about slavery and society in recent years I think I will re read Mansfield P again for veiled references she has made - there was a film with Harold Pinter as Sir Bertram and it explored this more deeply/visually. 4. Emma- don't know what it is I just find it hard to connect . 5. N. Abbey. The most wonderful think about Austen is her comic/cringe characters, no one can touch her for the skill at drawing them - the Elton's. Mrs Norris, Mr Collins, Mrs Bennett - they are just wonderful.

[@MirandaMills]

Thanks so much! I enjoyed reading your observations too xxx

[@anitaday599]

I must look into audible Miranda. I spend a lot of time on the road driving backwards and forwards to the country. I've never read Jane Austen, so this could be a good place to start.

[@MirandaMills]

They'd be great for your car journeys then, Anita! I love listening to Jane Austen on audible - some of my favourite ones are Emma read by Jenny Agutter, Sense & Sensibility read by Juliet Stevenson and Pride & Prejudice read by Lindsay Duncan xxx

[@janetsmith8566]

Almost exactly the same! And I so seldom find others who agree with me. Our only difference is over sense and sensibility. I do notice this is not much of a favourite amongst booktubers but it’s always been one of my absolute favourites. For many years it was number two! I’d love to hear a breakdown from people who do not admire it as much as to why it ranks so low. For me, there is a huge gap between the top four: persuasion, pride and prejudice, Emma, and sense and sensibility, and the other two which rank a great deal lower. In my maturity I do appreciate Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey much more than I used to - especially Northanger Abbey if I read it strictly as a satire and refuse to take it seriously. Taking it too seriously is what I think ruined my reading previously. Mansfield Park is the one I have changed my mind the most over the course of my life. I disliked it the first time through, liked it a little better the second time, then the third time for some reason I really adored it. Thinking I’d enjoy it at that level once again I read it last year and was disappointed. In spite of her great virtues I don’t have that much fun with Fanny. I feel the whole book Misses something important that is there in the top four - how would you define it? Lightness? Playfulness? So I’ve resolved that I admire Mansfield Park rather than love it. Like you I have to listen or read them every month, over and over, and I make no apologies! LOL! Would you discuss some of your favourite audio versions of them? I absolutely adore listening to Prunella scales reading Emma. She of course played Mrs Bates to absolute perfection once upon a time and that is a joy to hear on the audio. Thank you for a lovely video. 💕💕

[@HerHomeschoolHomestead]

Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice are my top two picks. But I adore them ALL! I am never able to pick between Elizabeth and Anne.

[@laurapiranese1418]

Hi Miranda! English literature has been fascinating to me these days. I'd like to start knowing this word from something from Auster or Brontë. Which one is better in your opinion?

[@flavioamaral4544]

I love this books

[@Courtney6]

I just started reading Jane Austen and I’m starting with Pride & Prejudice. I’m about 2/3rd through it and the amount of times Jane uses the word amiable is stressing me out. Lol. I even stopped reading to google why to no avail. 🤔 I’ll try Persuasion next.

[@MirandaMills]

That is an interesting point you have made and you're right that there is definitely considered meaning behind every word choice in Jane Austen's books! Jane Austen does indeed use the word 'amiable' a lot in Pride & Prejudice, and there is a reason why. I would argue that in all of her books, her protagonists continually watch for clues as to the character (as well as social standing) of others. Who is 'amiable' and who is not is very important within Pride & Prejudice. Wickham is presented (at least initially) as extremely amiable, whereas Mr Darcy appears anything but! But as the novel progresses, Elizabeth becomes better at judging where true amiability lies. Here is an extract from a very good article that talks about JA's choice of words: "There are words that Jane Austen works hard across all her novels: adjectives ‘agreeable’, disagreeable’, ‘amiable’ are favourites with her; so too is the noun ‘opinion’. What they share are social and moral valuations. The reader is informed, early in their acquaintance, that ‘it was not in [Elizabeth Bennet’s] nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable appearance as Wickham’ (Pride and Prejudice, ch. 17); Mr Bingley, too, is described as ‘“truly amiable”’ (ch. 16), while Mr Darcy is judged on his first appearance at the Meryton assembly rooms to have a ‘disagreeable countenance’ (ch. 3). By the novel’s end, Elizabeth’s confession of her love for Mr Darcy includes the statement, ‘“he is perfectly amiable”’ " You can read the full article here (it's well worth a read!): www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/jane-austen-and-social-judgement Hope you enjoy my favourite novel, Persuasion! xxx

[@Courtney6]

Miranda Mills Interesting article. Thanks Miranda! It does make sense when explained.

[@MameysMedley]

Hi Miranda! I ended up watching the Gweneth Paltrow adaptation of Emma and I really enjoyed it. I have yet to watch Pride and Prejudice. I have not read Jane Austen in YEARS but you have convinced me I need to revisit her books. Thank you so much.

[@MirandaMills]

So glad you enjoyed Emma, and you've got a treat in store with P&P! I would definitely encourage anyone to reread Jane Austen's books - I think you get so much more out of them on subsequent reads xxx

[@MameysMedley]

@@MirandaMills I couldn't agree more. I can't believe you read them when you were 9!!! I would have NEVER understood a word of those books at such a young age. I had difficulty as a teenager with the language. Well, I am MUCH older now so a revisit is in the future. Thank you again Miranda. Your podcast, youtube videos and Instagram has inspired me like no other. I promise you, I am not a stalker...LOL. Just a bookish friend.

[@MirandaMills]

@@MameysMedley haha, thanks very much! I'm so glad you enjoy my content :) xxx

[@emiblux98]

Hello Miranda! I love your channel! I want to buy a set of Austen novels in a good quality to replace my old tattered ones, do you have any recomendation? I was thinking about the Chiltern ones because I love the covers...but I dont know...perhaps ones with commentaries or pictures... do you know any? In the Chilterns price range I mean... Thanks a lot! I really would like your opinion because we have so similar taste...books and gardens and general cozyness 😄 Cheers from Argentina!

[@emiblux98]

Also your list is exactly like mine!

[@ileanaaaaa]

My Top 3 are Emma, Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion but I can't rank between them, sometimes my favourite is Emma, at other moments Persuasion and and so on and so forth. In the middle (also depending on my mood) are Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility and my least favourite is Mansfield Park. Technically speaking, Mansfield Park is better than Northanger Abbey and S&S but I just enjoy it less for some reason... Tilney is my favourite hero, so there you go and I love the exploration of the relationship between sisters in S&S.

[@ileanaaaaa]

Ps. She is also my favourite author! 😊

[@MirandaMills]

I agree it's so hard to choose between those top three! They're all sublime! xxx

[@milky7200]

everyone says persuasion is their favourite !!! but i don't have a copy currently and i don't think i'm getting one anytime soon 😭

[@ilonagray7037]

Thanks

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you so much, Ilona for your kindness! Your support truly means so much ❤️📚

[@julierogers1155]

Your thoughts/video may inspire me to finally read Jane Austen. I tried, once, to read Pride and Prejudice and found it daunting and hard to read.

[@MirandaMills]

I'd love to inspire you to try Jane Austen again! I understand she's not for everyone, but I do think Pride & Prejudice is a wonderful book. Sometimes it just takes a little while to adjust to the language. If you enjoy audiobooks, then I'd recommend giving P&P a try as an audiobook as that can really help to bring it alive. Lindsay Duncan does a wonderful reading of it available on audible xxx

[@julierogers1155]

@@MirandaMills Thanks! I'll try the audiobook and I appreciate the specific narrator recommendation. I find the narrator makes ALL the difference in my enjoyment (or not) of the audiobook.

[@julierogers1155]

@@MirandaMills I did it, just purchased the audiobook. ALSO, I purchased the P&P letters edition that you mentioned in another video (contains correspondence). I bought it through YOUR link, from Blackwell's. Apparently Blackwell's ships to the USA. Who knew?! Thanks again.

[@MirandaMills]

@@julierogers1155 oh wonderful! I do hope you enjoy listening to it. And how lovely you purchased the P&P! Thanks for using my link - I don't have affiliate links so it doesn't impact me in any way, but it still is nice for Blackwells to see where a purchase came from! I love Blackwells, partly because - when we lived in the USA when I was little - my Mum ordered books from them. In the days pre-internet, she would handwrite letters with her orders which always reminds me of 84 Charing Cross Road!

[@Klearhead]

I just found your video. I really like your discussion if why you rank Austen's books in the order you do. I have a completely different take on Persuasion, as it is my least favorite of the six novels. Although Ann Elliott is a commendable character, I find her boring and too willing to allow mistreatment by her own family. I also don't like Wentworth, who I find very resentful. Here is my ranking:. 6) Persuasion, 5) Northanger Abbey, 4) Mansfield Park, 3) Sense and Sensibility, 2) Emma, and 1) Pride and Prejudice. There are times I would switch my ranking of Sense and Sensibility and Emma, but the more I read Emma, the more I love it. The love story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice is what places it at the top for me, as well as the absurdity of some of the other characters, such as Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennett. It makes for some comic moments. Emma is second because the love story between Emma and Mr. Knightley is not strong and it kind of jumps out at you suddenly at the end. I do love Emma, and Mr. Knightley is my favorite hero in all of Austen's novels. He is honest, kind, just, loyal, sensible and playful. The characters are well-defined. The transformation of the main characters in Pride and Prejudice and in Emma is another factor in my ranking them the top two. I love the juxtaposition of personality of the two sisters in Sense and Sensibility. I agree that the storyline is more about the two sisters than the lovers. I think the movie with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, who played their parts to perfection, made me fall in love with this novel. Northanger Abbey has some interesting characters in it that I prefer to Persuasion. I don't like any of the characters in Persuasion, but Catherine in Northanger Abbey is likeable, even if very young and naive. It could have been longer to develop the love story more. Mansfield Park's heroine has an inner strength and integrity in spite of her timidity. I like her more than Ann Elliott. The characters in Mansfield Park are well-defined and interesting. The moral tone in the novel doesn't put me off because it represented the strict behavioral expectations of the time. This ranking is how I feel about the six novels.

[@Klearhead]

I would like to add that although Persuasion is my least favorite of Jane Austen's novels, I think it is the most well-written. Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility are full of too much discussion and opinions about books and literature of the period IMO.

[@dorisvolper5257]

Best books for women and men who want to understand females

[@llandrin9205]

Do you think Jane Austen may have been regretting not marrying when she was engaged while a young woman when she wrote Persuasion?

[@annereidy7981]

By the time you got to 'Mansfield Park', I think that I had figured out there is no typical Jane Austen heroin.

[@mkv1783]

Sorry, I disagree. My personal ranging would be" 6) Mansfield Park 5) Northanger Abby 4) Persuasion 3) Emma 2) Sense and Sensibilities 1) Pride and Prejudice.