Also, I am really grateful that I never 'did' any Austen at school. I expect that I would have got past that at some point and started enjoying her anyway, but English literature lessons and me were not a very happy combination. I remember once asking my teacher if she thought I could do A-level English (without the remotest intention of doing so) and she very perceptively said that she thought I probably could but that I would hate every minute of it. Now, of course, I think I'd really enjoy it.