Austen’s characters: Love them — or just love to hate them????

When the natives get bored on the Facebook Jane Austen Fan Club — and they seem to get bored perilously easily — some member almost always pipes with “Poll!!! Who’s the worst mother/villain/sister/adulterer/whatever in Austen’s novels?”

Polls are conducted… opinions shared… and sometimes some seriously vicious judgement calls get handed down.