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Monday, August 10, 2020

Maria Edgeworth, better than Austen?

 Sacrilege, I know, but I think I might actually like Maria Edgeworth a tad better than Jane Austen, though I'm still a diehard fan, perhaps it is just that Edgeworth's characters get out of the house more?  Austen wrote what she knew: the rather confined life of a single woman of limited means in a rural setting, whereas there is a bit more variety in the experiences of Edgeworth's characters, but otherwise there is humor, excellent writing, a celebration of virtue, interesting characters and plot lines, keen social commentary, and piercing insight into the human condition to be found in the works of both authors.  I've looked for Austen's heir for a long time, and am still looking, but happily one of her contemporaries is definitely worth the read, and all their books can be found for free on Gutenberg.org, enjoy!

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