Grapes 2.0: Spam and spammability

Here’s a chunk from a spam email I received:

Mrs. John Dashwood had never been a favourite their sakes avoid a breach with their brother. Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught. Marianne's abilities were, in many which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought for, was created again and again. They gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every forbearance. Margaret, the other sister, was a good-humored, well-disposed girl; but as she had everything reminded her of former delight, was exactly what suited her mind.

And here’s a passage from a completely different piece of spam:

Three thousand pounds! he could spare so considerable a sum with little the indelicacy of her conduct was so much the greater, and to a woman in Mrs. Dashwood's situation, ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought for, was created again and forbearance.

There’s much more, and so far one other similar message.

The alert reader will have spotted that the text is a quoted passage from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. My heart leapt when I saw it, because I imagined for a second they were targetting me individually. But I don’t think so.

I think all they’re doing is drowning the spam message in a huge wodge of text so that the message has less chance of setting off spam triggers. The spammers are awful ghastly rat bastards, obviously, but you have to admire their elegant taste in this instance.