Books like The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, Vol 1: Sense & Sensibility/Pride & Prejudice/Mansfield Park

I've been wanting to read Jane Austen for a few years now, partly because I want to have some knowledge of her books when I finally get around to watching The Jane Austen Book Club, and partly out of curiosity. The only movie adaptation that I've ever seen is Emma (which I LOVE!).It took me a good third to half of the first novel (Sense and Sensibility) to get into the book. The language is so quaint that it slowed me down quite a bit at first. Quaintness aside, I did - once I acclimated to the flow of the language - enjoy the stories immensely. It's obvious that Austen had a keen eye for the absurdity of Victorian society and an even keener wit, and - despite the language and the settings being dated - the plots themselves are not. Yes, they're all love stories at heart. Will the bright, misfit girl get the rich, handsome man (or the moral, reserved one)? Of course she will! But even more than being your typical boy meets girl story, these novels are about families and the many ways that they can either lift us up or hold us back - often at the same time!Out of these first three novels, I have to admit that Mansfield Park was my favorite. Maybe it's only because I read it last and, therefore, it is freshest in my mind, but I really felt for Fanny and despaired of things ever turning out well for her and Edmund. I also enjoyed Pride and Prejudice more than Sense and Sensibility, partly because I struggled through most of the first novel, perhaps, but I doubt it. While I liked the Miss Dashwoods well enough, I really couldn't have cared less about the romance aspect of that one.