Customer Reviews

Jane Austen Unabridged CD Collection: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have listened to these recordings over and over again as I drive to work (many miles). All 3 novels are well done, the readers are excellent, and the novels are, of course, entrancing. There is so much here to enjoy and consider. I would say, too, that for the money you will not get a better bargain in recorded spoken word material. Le'ts assume you know the stories. You'll be aware that Persuasion is a bit of a downer, because Ann Elliott is so passive. Sensible, intelligent, quick-thinking, a wonderful person to have around in an emergency, but just unable to speak and act in the way that Elizabeth Bennet, or Emma can. They have some spirit, some liveliness. Ann is dutiful, possibly beautiful, but passive to a fault. She just wants to be useful. Its a good novel, but not my fave.

Pride and Prejudice, you must know, or else why would you be reading this review? Elizabeth is my favorite among Jane Austen's characters, and she is very well done in this set. There is a good deal of dialog in Jane Austen's novels and it can be hard to keep track of who is speaking. The readers in this set deal with that by creating a variety of voices so that each character's speech can be told by sound - usually. There are a couple of slip-ups, most notably in Emma where the reader confuses Mr. Weston with Mrs. Weston for a couple of lines at the point in the book where the Westons are sharing a discovery about Frank Churchill with Emma. These slips are rare and this is the only one that leaves the listener momentarily confused.

Emma, which I seem to have slipped into reviewing above, is another favorite character of mine. And she is well read in this set too. You''ll want to listen, also, to Jane Austen's writing technique in this book. She gets almost avant-guarde with her dialog when Ms Bates enters the ball at the Crown, and when Mrs. Elton is picking strawberries at Donwell Abbey. You'll see, or rather you'll hear. A word to the person hearing or reading Emma for the first time. This is a mystery novel, and you will do well to pause from time to time and add up the clues to see what is really going on. Otherwise you'll find yourself like me, saying at the end, "Why didn't I realize what was going on?" It's more fun to figure it out. Pride and Prejudice is a mystery to Elizabeth, but you need not be a careful reader to see what she does not. This is not true of Emma. Pay attention and you'll be rewarded.

I recommend this set highly.

I bought this collection to use as a teaching aid for my 12th grade English students, and at under $30 it sounded like an incredible bargain. The readers interpret Austen's books serviceably enough, but the CDs themselves are impossible to navigate.

Try finding chapter two! Skip to the next track and you advance to the middle of a sentence only half a paragraph forward; if I remember correctly, chapter 2 of Emma began somewhere midway between track 17 and 18. Why would the manufacturer create a CD with 50 random tracks on it, none of which advances you to the beginning of the next chapter?

I prefer Unabridged Audio Books. This filled the bill. Three Jan Austin Books in one package. I'm very happy with the product.

I too thought this was going to be a great deal with three titles in one, but the production of the CDs is substandard. I too had trouble with selecting tracks, and navigating the CD. I returned this set and ordered just Pride & Prejudice from another publisher here on amazon. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (Unabridged, 8-CD Set, Audio Book, Deluxe Edition) The publisher's collection is top notch, and each chapter is easy to navigate. They publish all of Austen's works, and I'll be adding them to my library based on the quality of this one.

This collection was missing a whole CD in the middle of the Pride and Prejudice book. I was really upset. How do we fix this?

I was doing a lot of driving when I bought this and if you like Jane Austen, this is a great way to pass the time in the car. I liked the voices of the readers, it's unabridged and in a convenient travel case. I am a fan.

This is an amazing value! Unabridged audio books of three Jane Austen favorites for about the price that one would normally be! They're even packaged in sleeves for easy access.

I made it all the way through Persuasion (barely) and half-way through Pride and Prejudice before I gave up. There are legions of re-prints, mash-ups, spin-offs, movies, etc. etc. etc. that testify to Jane Austen's enduring popularity. Unfortunately, I just don't get it.

Her plots are all so much alike -- how young misses from upper-middle-class early 19th century English society meet and find husbands among young misters from upper-middle-class early 19th century English society -- that they are practically interchangeable. Just change the names and you've got the next Austen book. If you've read one you've read them all.

Austen's books seem to be about 75% comprised of dialogue -- formal early 19th century dialogue in highfalutin language. And the action, if there is any, is so subtle and restrained that if you're not careful you'll miss it.

The result is that her books are so boring and tedious they practically put me to sleep. Even the excellent narration couldn't keep me focused on the story, but my mind kept wandering.

All you Jane Austen fans out there can throw tomatoes at me if you want, but that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. :)