First, thank you very kindly for hosting this group read. I had avoided reading NA to date, because I thought it would be juvenile from the bullet descriptions on the flap. I am actually somewhat shocked at how far that is from the truth. I think that Jane's wit and sarcasm are sharper and more evident here than in some of the later works. How silly of me to underestimate JA!

Second, despite all the hints that this is NOT a gothic novel, I am just waiting for some terrible calamity to befall CM. I have the same sense of impending doom that I always have when I read these novels. If Henry turns out to be a cad, I think I'll cry. (Although, I could see that oxygen thief John Thorpe forcing himself on her.)

Third, I see somewhat of a parallel developing to the events in Belinda. I believe that Mrs. A's poor guardianship is going to allow CM to make some stupid social faux pas, just as Belinda's aunt (although somewhat more deliberatly) put her into an awkward situation.

Finally, I would like to add a suggestion for a FUP: IT N.A.S. U.T.H.