“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
A very true statement, if a bit scathing, from Jane Austen. This quote comes from Northanger Abbey, Austen’s first novel to be completed. As a writer herself, Austen certainly felt quite strongly about this, and I would guess that most other writers would agree. Stories are a wonderful thing; good stories ought to be enjoyed to the fullest. What’s actually amusing here is that Austen may have been using this line to insult her contemporaries. Austen lived in an age where most novels were looked down on. But clearly, she had other thoughts, proved in her own excellent writing.
Do you have a quote from literature you love? Share it in the comments and I’ll include it in an upcoming post!
The best extant definition of a gentleman is “a man who never gives offence unintentionally
Jane Austen is the best!!