Jane Austen would love the internet - or maybe not??

Over the years, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was one of my favorite books - this gentle, romantic social comedy is perhaps not quite so gentle as it seemed to me on my first reading it as a young teenager. In fact, the book pulls no punches as it explores the customs and foibles of the top echelons of society - so it worked well then as a critique of the society of the day. How much - or how little - has changed today?? Perhaps less than we like to admit. I am sure Jane Austen would be amazed at the quick, effective global reach of the internet. I like to imagine that she would have belonged to Facebook and Blogger - maybe also selling her works as eBooks on Clickbank .

I love the BBC's adaptations of Jane Austen's works. Because these adaptations are mostly faithful to the original writings, they make a great way to study the sharpness of Austen's social commentary and to compare it to society today.