I adored Alyssa Goodnight’s novels, Austentatious and her new release Austensibly Ordinary. They center on a magical journal through which Jane Austen provides romantic advice, making them pure fun for fans of the Austenesque.
Austensibly Ordinary follows high school English teacher Cate Kendall as she juggles her sexy alter ego, her attempts at matchmaking à la Emma Woodhouse, and her feelings for her mysterious Scrabble partner, Ethan.
I’m thrilled to have Alyssa as a guest on Diary of an Eccentric today. She’s here to talk about her favorite Austen novel, Emma, (mine, too!) which is referenced throughout Austensibly Ordinary. Like me, she loves Mr. Knightley. Yay! So please give a warm welcome to Alyssa Goodnight.
How thrilling to be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice this week! P&P is certainly an impressive accomplishment all on its own, but the idea—the reality—that it’s inspired such an enduring and ever-expanding legacy is truly mindboggling. Jane Austen has proven herself a literary titan.
Deep breath…and release.
Now, I have a confession: Pride and Prejudice is not my favorite Austen novel. Emma wins that accolade quite easily (although Northanger Abbey just might be edging it out.) I know I am in the minority, and while I understand why my favorite isn’t as revered and beloved as the incontrovertible classic, Emma certainly has its merits.
For instance, in a Darcy versus Knightley debate, I would come out staunchly on Team Knightley. The man is sensible, steadfast, and selfless, willing to sacrifice his own happiness for his true love’s. He is witty and sexy and best friend material: everything a man should be. Unless you like brooding. If you like brooding, then Darcy is definitely your man.
On the topic of conflict, some would argue that while Pride and Prejudice has it in spades: Elizabeth and Darcy, Darcy and Wickham, Mrs. Bennet and anyone who dares to have a contrary opinion, not to mention vindictiveness (Caroline Bingley, Lady Catherine de Bourgh…), Emma is positively full of likeable characters who have little trouble getting along (at least until Mrs. Elton shows up or Harriet Smith decides she’s in love with Mr. Knightley). While financial circumstances and society strictures—not to mention the namesake pride and prejudice—kept Darcy and Elizabeth apart, Knightley is waiting, right next door, for Emma to notice him, to realize that marriage to him would be quite wonderful.
To me, Pride and Prejudice feels like a classic romance novel and Emma like a humorous romp. The novel was adapted into the movie Clueless, after all (which I love). That should really say it all. It’s a witty, light-hearted story about finding oneself, with a dash of romance thrown in along the way. Romance between best friends. I love the carriage scene with Mr. Elton, when he’s pouring out his love for Emma and she’s horrified! I love the bits where Harriet Smith acts like a goofy-in-love buffoon, and the tension-filled moments that are spent between Emma and Knightley (unchaperoned!). Ms. Austen kept tragedy and harsh reality from this novel, and as a result, Emma is an enjoyable, escapist read (and still a classic!). I wanted to capture a little of that feeling with Austensibly Ordinary, and I hope I succeeded on some level.
If you haven’t read Emma…maybe you’ve never strayed from the allure of Mr. Darcy…I encourage you to give this slightly lesser-known Austen novel a chance. Maybe on a rainy Saturday afternoon, when you need a little smile, or perhaps even a reason to giggle. And then, most definitely, you must watch the adaptation of the novel starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, and Alan Cumming. You must!
I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement while reading this guest post! Thanks, Alyssa, and I sure do hope this will be an entire series of books!
Disclosure: I am an Amazon associate.
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Great post from Alyssa 🙂
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I agree!
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It sounds like I need to try Emma!
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Yes, definitely! I loved it way more than I expected to. It’s my favorite Austen (at least for the moment). 😉
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I like the points she makes here. I still love Darcy, but I like my fantasy men a little less best-friend like. LOL I still have to read Persuasion though, which I hear is even better than my beloved P&P
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I guess it just depends on what fantasy mood you’re in, LOL. I don’t think I realized how much I loved Knightley until I saw Jeremy Northam’s portrayal and then read the Barbara Cornthwaite books. And then I revisited my favorite parts of Emma…
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I too totally agree with this guest post — and I do love the film. Thought it captured the feel of the book beautifully!
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Yes! Northam IS Knightley, though I think the Romola Garai/Jonny Lee Miller version is a better adaptation overall.
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I love the debate. Great job. Tweeted.
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Thank you!
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I prefer Mr. Knightly to Mr. Darcy too. Emma is a great funny story whereas P&P is more serious. I love them both though. Thanks for making the giveaway available to Canada as well.
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Yes, there is so much humor in Emma. I used to think Northanger Abbey was the most humorous Austen, but there is some seriousness to that one, too, that isn’t present in Emma.
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This is a fantastic guest post! Thank you Alyssa and Anna. I’ve always adored Emma and put it at the top of my list of Austen’t books (although I still have to read Northanger Abbey!). I love how funny it is, how wise and how Emma learns a thing or two. It helps that I, too, have always been a fan of Knightley over Darcy. So I was thrilled to read this post.
And thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
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I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who prefers Knightley over Darcy. You really should read Northanger Abbey. I really enjoyed that book, too.
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[…] Alyssa Goodnight, Austensibly Ordinary […]
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I do like Emma, though it is not my favorite. I love the movie Clueless! I would love to read Austensibly Ordinary! Thanks for a chance to win a copy!
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I remember enjoying Clueless when I saw it years ago, before I knew it was a retelling of Emma and before I’d read Emma. I tried to watch it again recently and I just couldn’t get into it. I found Cher too annoying, LOL.
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Well, Emma is my least favorite of the 4 I’ve read but I wonder if it’s because it’s the only one I listened to? Maybe I need to read the real deal 🙂
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Hmm…maybe you should try reading it and see? I haven’t listened to any of the Austen novels, so I have no idea. I’ve heard there’s an Emma version narrated by Jeremy Northam…must look that up!
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Emma is third on my fave list, first P&P, then S&S.
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S&S was the first Austen book I read back in high school. I think it’s time to re-read that one for sure! Right now, my fave is Emma, followed by P&P and Persuasion, but whichever one I like best really depends on my mood.
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[…] on my preference for Knightley over Darcy before. If not on Austen Authors, then definitely somewhere… But in the midst of the frantic Christmas preparations (and with my husband out of town), I […]
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