“ The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid. I have read all Mrs. Radcliffe's works, and most of them with great pleasure. ”
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1817). copy citation
| Author | Jane Austen |
|---|---|
| Source | Northanger Abbey |
| Topic | pleasure reading |
| Date | 1817 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/121/121-h/121-h.htm |
Context
“It always puts me in mind of the country that Emily and her father travelled through, in The Mysteries of Udolpho. But you never read novels, I dare say? ” “ Why not? ” “ Because they are not clever enough for you—gentlemen read better books. ” The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid. I have read all Mrs. Radcliffe's works, and most of them with great pleasure. The Mysteries of Udolpho, when I had once begun it, I could not lay down again; I remember finishing it in two days—my hair standing on end the whole time. ” “ Yes, ” added Miss Tilney, “ and I remember that you undertook to read it aloud to me, and that when I was called away for only five minutes to answer a note, instead of waiting for me, you took the volume into the Hermitage Walk, and I was obliged to stay till you had finished it. ””
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