Real Men Read Austen

That's the title of the first chapter of Peter Leithart's book on Jane Austen. In a recent discussion on Pemberley, someone was bemoaning how tedious it is to keep arguing with men that Jane Austen is not "chick lit." Here's a response from William L - a delightful old man who always makes me laugh with every post:

Don't bother arguing with idiots. If anybody wants to know of men who were Jane Austen lovers, here's a few: Gilbert Keith Chesterton; Disraeli (read P&P 17 times); Mark Twain; William L here from ROP who has read P&P more than 17 times.

Chick Lit? My old wazoo. I'm a WWII veteran, had a career of more than 30 years in steel mills, played football in high school, and shoot pistols for fun.

He's wrong about Mark Twain, but there are many others he could have added to the list. Others like C.S. Lewis, for example, who said, "I've been reading Pride and Prejudice on and off all my life and it doesn't wear out a bit."

Check out what famous men have said about Jane Austen here. And if you really want to know (you don't) you can check out what some famous women ought not to have said. . . (Charlotte Bronte's meanness is about half-way down.)

Andrea says:
Melodee, in light of our conversation tonight about love and all that junk, this totally enforces your point. If you want to be a real man, you MUST read Austen. (Not Nicholas "girly-man" Sparks)