Sweet Romance RTG

I tracked down this book because my great-grandmother mentioned reading it in her diary in 1941. I thought it would be a period piece, something dated but perhaps interesting. Was I wrong! It was an INCREDIBLY funny and smart book about a teenage girl going through what teenage girls of all eras go through – dealing with boys, getting in and out with the groups of girls, school, parents, and especially an annoying older sister. The writing is excellent, and each chapter stands alone as sort of a mini-story. Read one a night and savor each one. This is perfect for any teenage girl in your life, but is also amazingly fun for older women as well! https://www.amazon.com/Men-are-Like-Street-Cars/dp/B000JRA27U/ Book cover images are copyright to the original author. They are used in this review as a fair use usage.

Persuasion was the book Jane Austen was working on when she died at age 41 in 1817. Many people feel it is an autobiographical story – Jane herself fell in love in her late teens, but was unable to wed the man she loved. She was proposed to at least once later in life but never did marry. Anne Elliot is the middle of three daughters. Her father, Sir Walter, lost his wife many years ago, and has pretty much adopted eldest sister Elizabeth as his companion for spending money and throwing balls. Together, the two of them have blown through the family money and are now broke. Youngest sister Mary has married off to a neighboring family, so it is up to Anne to find a solution. She rents out their large house to bring in money, and the family plans to move to Bath. Unfortunately, the people who rent the house are related to the man Anne loved dearly as a teenager – Captain Wentworth. She did want to marry the Captain, but her father and godmother convinced her that he was not worthy of the family connection. She has regretted it ever since, and never married despite…

I love historical novels and Jane Austen holds a special place in my heart. Even so, I have issues with Emma. I adore much of the writing style, but the plot and characters irk me. Let me start by saying that Jane gets kudos for trying to do something different here. In other stories she had not-well-off young women who were desperately trying to get by in life, to thrive in the world they had been born into. Emma is Jane’s efforts to focus on a new kind of heroine. Rather than being poor and worried about her future, Emma is quite secure. She is wealthy. She has a father who dotes on her, a house she loves, and she is perfectly content to live like this forever. She has no need of a husband or really of a partner at all. This is an interesting diversion from other stories. Emma, aged 21, grew up without a mother and with a loose-handed governess. So she is spoiled and very aware of her class and status. It might be hard especially for American readers to relate to just how stratified English culture was at the time. Some situations – like how…