The AAAH Factor

Jane Austen's world, in reality and in fiction, may not have been very different, one from the other. It's true that Jane did not marry, but she had in impecable unserstanding of the courting ritual, the manners and the frequent romantic intrigues of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Last night I watched a new production of Persuasion. This evening the treat was Northanger Abbey and I would have continued with Mansfield Park had I not needed to do other things:)

What is "The AAH factor?"

Where Austen is concerned this phenomenon repeats . . . With the first deft strokes with which she paints her world, comes a great "aah." And the sensation is repeated on every page, or, in the case of movies, with each scene. The unfolding of the expected still manages to keep the reader/watcher in suspense. We allow, happily, Miss Austen to "lead us by the nose" through winding lanes dripping with rain, or dappled with sun, into spartan but still charming vicarages and about the houses of the impoverished gentry, the landed wealthy, and the titled aristocracy.

My greatest fascination is with the little twists I feel as the villain fibs, manipulates and manages to prey upon the sensibilities of honest and honorable people. Of course I've read all these stories a dozen times before and I know goodness always wins, but I still niggle away at myself until everything is safely delivered and exactly as it should be.

There is such an "Ah," when the hero strides onto the page/stage. We know him without being told his identitity. "The cut of his jib" is unmistakable. All other men pale by comparison and, in the end, it is his honor that declares him the winner of the prize: true love, the love of a selfless, endearing woman.

I can almost hear the yawns all this may get from those who are unfamiliar with Jane Austen. Pshaw, I say to you! Hurry up and correct this huge ommission from your experiences.

Now I'm left longing to write another historical novel. I'd like to get back to Mayfair Square, or Bath, or Scotland, Dorset or Cornwall, and dive into the Regency and Victorian times again with a story that would be a little scary, a little funny--and even a little naughty. Must almost be time to do that.

Cheers, Stella

Do you have a favorite Jane Austen novel?