There are others that are even more fun, but those don't occur as often. I think one of the typos I was thinking of was "neice" for "niece", that occurred a few times iirc. Shew and surprize obviously aren't typos, just antiquated spelling.


For instance, at one point Emma sends Jane a note to say she'll come by and pick her up with her carriage. She gets a note in return which is quoted (as in, put between quotes) as being "Miss Fairfax' compliments and thanks, but is quite unequal to any exercise". Now obviously that wouldn't have been what Jane wrote, she'd have written "My compliments and thanks, but I'm quite unequal to any exercise". Hence, paraphrases presented as quotes. It's odd.

Or further on the same page, Miss Bates is quoted as saying "Indeed, the truth was, that poor dear Jane could not bear to see anybody". Again, obviously, the literal quote would have to be different (is instead of was and can instead of could, at the very least).

There's tons of those, so evidently it was the custom at the time, but I find it weird.

I see I have to stop talking about this or you'll just reread the full 1300 pages worth of Austen novels.

I find it interesting how "old" the women in Austen marry, now that you mention it. That is, there are some who do marry quite young (Lydia Bennet, for one), but the heroines are generally over twenty. In the books I've read, that is. I suppose lower class girls would marry earlier, though, and Dickens does of course write a lot more about lower class people.

I haven't, no. I think I'll just read it anyway and see what I think of it.