Rescued From Misery

Tell Melinda Bergman Burgener, “A Pilgrimage to Jane Austen Country” (Nov. 13), that I, too, was rescued from misery by the delightful Jane Austen, under whose portrait I dined every night as a child (Dad is an English literature scholar), and to whom I gave not a moment’s thought until I discovered her on my own. Then, during a lonely year in London, I picked up a copy of “Pride and Prejudice” and was overjoyed to read so much of what I was thinking, but which I could not yet articulate. I was 14 years old. I am now nearly 30 and I still read Austen regularly.

JANE PINNEY FAULKNER

Santa Barbara