Books

Mansfield Park

Young woman successfully deflects a marriage proposal from a bad suitor, ends up with a better guy.

Fanny comes from a relatively poor family, and she’s sent to live with affluent relatives. She adopts an accordingly meek persona, but her obvious merit shines through. 

Awful Henry and Mary pass through, stirring up all kinds of trouble. Fanny rejects Henry’s proposal, and everyone thinks it’s foolish until he’s later caught in a scandal and realize her wisdom. 

She ends up with her beloved cousin Edmund, who is super right for her. 

This is my second favorite Jane Austen novel. It’s much more human, relatable, and cozy than the rest. Fanny is relatable in a way most Austen heroines are not. 

But if you’re new to Jane Austen, don’t prioritize it. Pride and Prejudice is clearly her magnum opus, start there. If you like nothing else about it, you’ll at least have wonderful Lizzy for company.

I, Claudius

Historically accurate novel presents itself as an autobiography of Roman emperor Claudius. 

The genius of this book is in its perspective. Even those of us who know and love classical history can have a hard time relating with immediacy to a time when rulers were considered literal gods and grandmothers would consider poisoning their grandchildren to further political ends. 

But the clever, self deprecating, gossipy version of Claudius we’re presented in the book’s first person narration is the perfect mechanism to make us breathe easier in such rarified air. A crippled weirdo doing his best to dodge all those beheadings and cups of poison is infinitely more relatable than the people doling them out. 

Seeing all that political intrigue through the lens of an insider by birth allows it to make sense and give full coverage. But seeing it through the eyes of an outsider by nature lets it feel right and real.

An incredible achievement of historical fiction. Highly recommended.

nice! this should be a good follow up to The Lives of the Caesars

nice! this should be a good follow up to The Lives of the Caesars

https://farcaster.xyz/bgrill.eth/0x359c6e66