Which Austen Should You Read First?

Everyone says start with Pride and Prejudice. For about half of you, that's the wrong answer. Answer two questions about your afternoon and the chart hands you the one you'll actually finish.

It starts with your afternoon

Some nonsense, someone to pine for, or other people's problems. That first question does most of the work.

Six novels, six moods

Northanger Abbey through Mansfield Park, each one matched to the reader it's waiting for.

One page, one answer

Print it, pin it, or hand it to the friend who keeps starting with the wrong one.

Started with the wrong one and quietly gave up? You're in good company.

Somebody handed you Mansfield Park because it was on the shelf. Or you started with the one everybody names and it just didn't land. Forty pages in, you decided Austen wasn't for you.

She wrote six novels and they're six different moods.
The funny one and the aching one are not the same book.
The hard one is the one people keep gifting.

You don't need a course, a companion volume, or a degree. You need someone who's read all six more than once to point at the right one for you. This chart does that in two questions, and it fits on one page you can print.

I have read all six twice and I still argue about where people should start. This settled it for my book club in about four minutes.

Sue H.

Ready when you are.

The guide, your match, and 20% off. One email.