Love and Friendship (Easy Classics)

Written by Jane Austen and Gemma Barder

Narrated by Charlie Sanderson

An adapted and illustrated edition of Jane Austen's romantic classic - at an easy-to-read level for all ages!
Laura has lived a fairy-tale life until a stranger knocks on her cottage door. Then her adventures and her troubles begin. In dramatic letters, Laura tells of heartless fathers and runaway children, long-lost grandfathers and thieving cousins. Hers is a story of doomed love, fierce friendship, and the unexpected dangers of fainting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
• Release date: Jul 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781782266167

Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose works are among the most popular novels ever written. Her keen eye for social tension, and ear for taut, witty dialogue have delighted readers for centuries, while her novels have maintained historical importance through their analysis of the dependence of women on marriage to gain social standing and security. She has been widely adapted for both stage and screen, and continues to be among the most widely-read of late-18th-/early 19th-century writers.

Reviews for Love and Friendship (Easy Classics)

[elizabeth_foster-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jane Austen wrote this very funny, relatively short, epistolary tale at the tender age of fourteen or so. The foreword of my edition gives a thorough explanation of the word sensibility as it was understood in Jane Austen's time and that helped my reading of the story immensely. I love Austen's sense of humour and there is plenty on show in Love and Friendship.

[amydross · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating read, it feels very different from other Austen novels. More sharply, openly satirical, but I got the feeling that Austen herself wasn't sure how she felt about her protagonist. Is she really evil, or simply making the best of the poor hand life has dealt her? I think ultimately, the scales tip toward "evil", but then, she does all right for herself in the end, so what's the message there?

[karin7-11 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Love and Freindship and Other Early Works by Jane Austen, published posthumously , Harmony Books 118 pages
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This is an example of something written by an otherwise good to great author that was published posthumously, perhaps just to make money. While there are some delightful gems interspersed, some of this was written before Jane was even fifteen. While they show many of her stellar qualities, they are still at a more undeveloped stage. Some of these she called “novels” but nothing in this is longer than a short story length, and they are all comprised solely of letters. They are fictional, and do show how Jane’s insights were already sharp and developing even at such a young age. I picked this up for a challenge because I didn’t see this the year I read every Jane Austen book in my library where I was living at the time and it was long enough, but not long, so that I could squeeze it in for a challenge.

[jnwelch_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen was written when she was 14 and 15 (mine has her History of England in it, too). Mainly in the form of letters, outrageous spoofs of the romance genre abound. There is some presaging of what is to come with this author, with discussions of the importance of marriage and wealth, obsessions with appearance, inflated pomposity, and more. The writing is impressive - she has a remarkable sense of flow and timing even at such a young age. The spelling disarmingly needs work, particularly on the "i before e" rule.And large swatches are really funny. The young, love-obsessed duo of Laura and Sophia regularly faint at unexpected romantic developments:"She (Sophia) was all Sensibility and Feeling. We flew into each other's arms and after having exchanged vows of mutual Freindship for the rest of our Lives, instantly unfolded to each other the most inward secrets of our Hearts. -- We were interrupted in the delightfull Employment by the entrance of Augustus (Edward's freind), who was just returned from a solitary ramble. Never did I see such an affecting Scene as was the meeting of Edward and Augustus."My Life! my Soul!" (exclaimed the former) "My Adorable Angel!" (replied the latter), as they flew into each other's arms. It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself -- We fainted alternately on a sofa".Perhaps as a sign of maturity, Laura begins instead to regularly "shriek and run mad" at dramatic moments in her life. Soon they are comparing the health benefits of the two, with frenzied fits having the benefit of warmth in the blood and exercise. During a quiet moment, an unplanned entry into a dark carriage one night turns out to be a coincidental reunion with most of Laura's relatives (the carriage somehow having tardis-like proportions), two of whom had stolen money from her during one of her fainting fits.It's believed that Austen would read installments of Love and Freindship aloud at night to entertain her family. One can easily imagine the family's laughter at the wit of this young teen writer, and the exhilaration of her emerging talent.This would not be the place to start reading Jane Austen (too juvenile in the end), and it's hard to imagine someone choosing to read it who is not already a fan of the author via her novels. But for those who are fans, it's a lucky chance to share in the humorous tales of a hugely talented young girl who became one of the world's most famous authors.