Autumn is the perfect season to read Jane Austen. For whatever reason, the crisp weather just makes me want to get cozy with a cup of tea and indulge all my lurid fantasies of Frederick Wentworth. Unfortunately, fall is also the perfect season for getting your life together after a summer spent on the beach, at the park, on your friend's rooftop... everywhere but home. There's cleaning to be done! And organizing! And baking! Luckily, there's a simple solution: Jane Austen audiobooks. The six I've compiled below all bring you Austen's most beloved romances — as read by celebrities like Emma Thompson and Rosamund Pike.
If you'd prefer to listen to an audiobook while enjoying cool temperatures and vivid foliage, remember the words Austen wrote in Persuasion: "Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn — that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness — that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling."
Here are six Jane Austen audiobooks read by celebrities to enjoy this fall:
'Pride and Prejudice' read by Rosamund Pike
Amy Dunne, a.k.a. Jane Bennett, a.k.a. actress Rosamund Pike brings Pride and Prejudice to life in this Audible original. The story of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy's will-they-won't-they romance gets an electric update with her narration.
'Emma' narrated by Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, and Morgana Robinson
Emma Thompson — yes, the same Emma Thompson who played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and gave a Golden Globes acceptance speech in the style of Jane Austen — narrates the latest audiobook of Emma, and it's a delightful take on the story of amateur (and dubiously successful) matchmaker Emma Woodhouse. Bustle has an exclusive excerpt if you need convincing.
'Sense and Sensibility' narrated by Rosamund Pike
She's back! Rosamund Pike also narrates Sense & Sensibility, the story of two sisters — one very reasonable, one very romantic — who fall in love and get their hearts broken and fall in love again.
'Northanger Abbey' narrated by Emma Thompson, Douglas Booth, Ella Purnell, Jeremy Irvine, Lily Cole, and Eleanor Tomlinson
Do you miss Downton Abbey? Would you like an audiobook that basically plays out like a BBC drama? Have I got news for you: The Audible original version of Northanger Abbey is narrated by a full cast of British actors, including actors Emma Thompson, Douglas Booth, Lily Cole, and Jeremy Irvine.
'Mansfield Park' narrated by Frances Barber
Mansfield Park is far from my favorite Jane Austen novel, but the audiobook version is sure to convince even the most dubious readers. Frances Barber sparkles in her performance of the story of Fanny Price and her unrequited love for her cousin (it's less creepy than it sounds).
'Persuasion' narrated by Greta Scacchi
Persuasion is the best Jane Austen novel (fight me on this), and it is brought to life beautifully in this audiobook narrated by Greta Scacchi. The story of Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth's eight-year-long separation and dramatic reunion is the perfect pick-me-up for a chilly fall day. Plus, this story contains one of the most romantic love letters in literature.
