Mark Twain vs Jane Austen

The most shocking thing I learned from reading Mark Twain’s recently published autobiography was that he hated the work of deceased writer Jane Austen. He said, after reading her novel Pride and Prejudice, “I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shinbone.” I can’t help wondering what Jane Austen would have thought about the works of Mark Twain. She was a lady of gentility, so I like to think that she would have been kinder in her criticism.

I imagine Twain’s objection to Miss Austen’s writing stemmed from his view that, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.” Twain got right to his point, nailing exactly the right word, which he makes look easy; I know from experience, however, that it is not at all easy. Austen, on the other hand, wrote in the language of her day and her class, frilly verbosity that must have tried Twain’s spirit.

Criticism of one author by another can be vicious and extreme as equally as it can offer praise and respect. Just look at what Harold Bloom had to say about J. K. Rowling.

How to read 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'? Why, very quickly, to begin with, and perhaps also to make an end. Why read it? Presumably, if you cannot be persuaded to read anything better, Rowling will have to do.

Ouch. If I have critics among the authors of my lifetime, I hope that I never run across any of their nasty comments. I don’t write for other authors or for critics; I write for the pleasure of the reader. One of my essays, which placed well in a magazine contest, is on the January page of my blog. I hope you read it and I hope you had fun.