Manga and Jane Austen

I was going to start reading another graphic novel of some type, so a title on one of the library shelves caught my eye: Emma, Vol. 1, by Kaoru Mori, with a cover drawing of a young maid in a Victorian English scene. It turned out to be my first venture in manga, the Japanese comics. At first I had to continually remind myself not only to read the book from back to front, but use that same direction inside each comic strip frame - otherwise the conversations don't make sense!

The story is sort of a takeoff on the old BBC tv drama, Upstairs, Downstairs, but not really too interesting to me. But I am enjoying seeing how the Japanese author conveys that time and place.

And, speaking of things English, a young niece just asked me for a copy of Pride and Prejudice to take along on a 17-hour drive to New York. Besides my vintage bound copy (autographed by my Irish grandmother), I also had a little paperback version. Always snap up those garage sale bargains - you never know when they'll come in handy!