Ranking Jane Austen’s Leading Men

#JaneAustenJuly #ClassicsCommunity

Here is my personal ranking of Jane Austen’s love interests. I’d love to hear below your personal ranking of her leading men!

Books I Mentioned:

Persuasion by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Social Media:

[hannahwebster]

Emma would be outraged at you calling him 'Knightley'

[lorriemerson]

Mr. Knightley, Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth, Colonel Brandon, Henry Tilney, Edmund Bertram, and Edward Ferrars. I had to finish rereading Northanger Abbey before I could give you my ranking as my memories of Tilney were too fuzzy.

[delfinamoyanopicca]

Time stamps in case you are yet to read them all:
00:52 Edmund - Mansfield Park
02:58 Edward - Sense and Sensibility
05:14 Mr. Darcy - Pride and Prejudice
07:58 Captain Wentworth <3 - Persuasion
10:30 Mr. Knightley - Emma
13:16 Henry - Northanger Abbey
15:04 Colonel Brandon - Sense and Sensibility

[TheJengagirl]

Yes- Tilney!!! I feel he is so under-rated but like you said he’s got this light-hearted humour that really shines, such as when he says ‘Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again’. Plus he knows about muslin.

Then it’d be Captain Wentworth. I think he’s an interesting character and I think his relationship with Anne is one of my favourites because it got all this pining, regret and history to explore. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope’- I mean what more can you say!

Also there’s two persuasion adaptations in the works which i’m so excited for and wonder how each approach will differ. I think they are such a fun way to access the texts (I love the Northanger Abbey one in all it’s cheesy glory)

Whilst I like the character of Knightley, i agree i find the age gap a bit uncomfortable. Mainly because, he’s known her since she was a child and is friends with her father and is so obviously more experienced than her. In the book he tells her ‘I have been in love with you ever since you were thirteen at least’. He’s 16 years older so he would have been 29 and it doesn’t sit well with me. ‘At least’ as well like ‘ew she’s a child’.

The recent de Wilde adaptation was really lovely and smoothed some of his edges but i’ll have a soft spot for the BBC mini series with Jonny Lee Miller.

[faithbooks]

Ciaran Hinds made me fall in love with Captain Wentworth even more. I do think he's my all time favorite, though I do love Henry Tilney too.

[PrincessLessons]

You’re definitely making me rethink my ranking! I would choose Tilney to date. I love his sense of humor. As a reader, Darcy is my favorite, but I wouldn’t want him in real life. Edward is lower on my list, too, but I still like him. I read an interesting article about engagements in that era and how women could sue men for breach of contract if they didn’t stick to their engagement. So it made me realize how stressful that whole situation actually was for him.

[meghanthestorygirl]

Loved this video! Have you seen the 2007 Persuasion? I like Rupert Penry-Jones much more as Captain Wentworth than Ciaran Hinds. Also, that's so true that it's a real strength in S&S that you don't know who will end up with who.

[sofia-kfrh]

I quite enjoyed the 2007 Persuasion. This could or could not have anything to do with the fact that captain Wentworth is Thomas Hanilton from Black Sails

[tasi]

To be honest, if Henry Crawford was constant with his affections for Fanny and stayed loyalto her, he should've ended up with her. Or Austen should've judt let Fanny remain single and happy. Edmund did not deserve her.

[RaineyDayReads]

Yes to what you said about Darcy, Tilney AND Brandon! I feel like I need to do this same video, but I also think I might say all the same things as you. Hmmmm let’s see

1. Tilney
2. Brandon
3. Wentworth
4. Mr. Knightley
5. Edward
6. Edmund

[barnes-mdmf]

I am reading Mansfield park for the first time, and oh boy. The hero and heroine in this book are definitely my least favorite of any couple. We will see how I feel by the end of the book.

[goodstrongwords]

My rankings would probably be very similar 😂. My two favorites are definitely Colonel Brandon and Mr. Knightly. I probably am just into older men😂. Great video!

[takingteawithcatherine]

In my ranking I put Mr. Darcy much higher than I would if the main criteria was my personal compatibility. Dissing my family would be a hurdle to get over, but then Tilney seemed to move past Catherine's basically calling his father a murderer.
Not sure why I am okay with Brandon's age gap and Knightley not so much.

[foxedfolios]

Fun video Jennifer. 😊
The main difficulty, as I see it, in ranking all of Austen’s main men is that none of them are John Thornton from North and South by Gaskell! 😂😂

#JohnThornton4Evar 😬😬

[taylorrae]

Loved this even more after our highly complex group chat 😄😍 I seriously need to reread Northanger Abbey asap, I think Tilney may go up in my estimation after that 🤔

[marjorietalcott]

Jennifer, what fun! I’m re-reading all of her novels this month but studying them for the rake characters. It’s my “Ranking the Rake” month. Scandalous! But speaking of Ciarán Hinds, have you seen him play Mr. Rochester in the 1997 Jane Eyre? If not I suggest it for a viewing. Happy Jane Austen month! 📖

Forgot my list:

1. Mr. Knightly
2. Captain Wentworth
3. Colonel Brandon
4. Henry Tilney
5. Mr. Darcy
6. Edward Ferrars
7. Edmund Bertram

[kdonaldson]

Great list, I agree with you about Brandon, but I don’t know if Alan Rickman had influenced me, for my list would be
1. Brandon
2. Darcy
3. Tilney
4. Wentworth
5. Knightly
6. Edmund
7. Edward
8. Bingley

[BookZealots]

I haven't read all of the books yet, so I can't list them. I agree about the age gap for two of the men and young girls. Last year I read P&P for the first time. Darcy came across as a narcissist. It would be fun if someone wrote a book continuing the story with Darcy being a narcissist and Lizzie's first impression being spot on!

[jadepark]

You are in luck! There will be an adaptation of Persuasion with Dakota Johnson as the lead. You should check it out. Great list, I feel the same way about Mr.Darcy.

[sarahel]

The distinction you make between your enjoyment of the leading men as a reader and as a person is very interesting. As a reader, Darcy is my absolute favorite, but I'm sure I would not like him if I met him. I think I would be intimidated by his coldness and would not feel like talking to him. I would be much more at ease with Henry Tilney.
On my last reread of Emma I came to appreciate Mr Knightley more than when I first read it. He is a caring and sensible person. I also like Captain Wentworth and Colonel Brandon. I'm not sure about Edward Ferrars: I love the character played by Dan Stevens in the 2008 adaptation, and Hugh Grant's interpretation is also good, but in the book I feel like Edward is not enough on the page to make him interesting.