Is anyone too young to read Jane Austen?

How early should one start?

Opinions vary, but I'd say you can't go wrong reading Pride and Prejudice to a two-week-old baby. That's what I did when I visited my niece, and there were none of those "what is an entail" or "why doesn't Jane just text Bingley when she's in London" sorts of questions. In fact, my reading lulled her into a deep, soothing sleep.

Some believe in starting even earlier. Just ask Cherilynne Perdigon, daughter of the school librarian at my nephew's elementary school. She began reading Austen to her daughter Sybilla in utero. Sybilla is now 14 months old, and mom's still reading her Austen. I imagine by the time she is five, she may be saying things like, "Kinderdance? At an assembly such as this it would be insupportable!"

[My niece enjoying the beneficial effects of having Pride and Prejudice read to her.]

Comments

[Laurie Viera Rigler]

Love it. More male Austen fans. My post WAS meant to be a joke (though the stories are true), but seriously, I do wish I had been introduced to Austen at an early age. Though I think nine or ten would have been early enough for me! But what do I know; perhaps if my mom had read Austen to me as a baby, I'd be discussing the finer points of Mansfield Park at age five.

By the way, at one of my talks, a high school student told me she was trying to read Pride and Prejudice but having problems with the language, and she asked my advice. I suggested she get an annotated edition (something that an eighth-grade teacher recently told me she does with her students), and also to watch one of the film adaptations. I think these are both good approaches to break any language barriers.

[Barbara]

I do not think you can be too young to read or have someone read Austen to you. I started reading her late in life and wish I would have read her earlier. My boys who are 6 and 12 now love seeing movies made from her books and hearing me read them as well. Everyone can relate to her stories and there is always a moral to the story. You can't go wrong with Jane Austen.