I have been dying to get to the point where we can discuss the whole book. I finished it early and have been sitting on my hands waiting for this moment.

I think here is a real darkness at the heart of the book, and it is incredibly modern in its psychological insights. The Tilneys are an amazing portrayal of what happens in such a family, with such a father. And John Thorpe is doing what we would now name as sexually harrassing Catherine. Underlying it all is the awareness of how vulnerable women were - even silly Isabella. She is lucky she flirted only with Frederick Tilney in Bath, and not with Willoughby or Mr Elliot.

The only thing I could remember about Henry was the chat about muslins - and you can imagine how attractive that was to someone whose romantic ideal for a quarter of a century has been Captain Wentworth!!! However, I now think he is one of the most interesting of the JA men. I did wonder whether, if we met him in a modern film, with his urbanity and wit, his ability to chat about dresses and his good looks, we would not all jump to the conclusion that he was gay! I like the way he is so relaxed about Frederick's behaviour; he would never do it himself, but he knows his brother and is not going get judgemental about him. And when he defies his father he is a real hero; he will accommodate to his father's petty tyrannies, but not to this.

I really liked the way JA makes use of some obvious devices at the end - Eleanor's suitor inheriting unexpectedly etc - to save her from having to write a more detailed ending. The work of the novel is done by then and so she can take a shortcut to bring it to a close. For a book which has played around with the idea of the novel, this seems appropriate.