Tag Archives: Sense and Sensibility

The Second Chance: A Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility Variation, by Joana Starnes – A Review

Posted in Austenesque, Book Reviews, Regency Era by

The Second Chance by Joana Starnes 2014 x 200From the desk of Christina Boyd:

In this wild, wild west of the new publishing world, we are seeing more books being published and through many different avenues. No longer are traditional publishers the only way to get a book into the hands of readers as there are smaller independent presses, hybrid publishers and many self-publishing resources. In the past, I have been an unabashed on-line Jane Austen fan fiction reader. During the height of my online Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF) addiction, I might have followed anywhere from 10 to 15 works-in-progress (WIPs) at various on-line sites. Anything from continuations (a story that continues after the original novel ends), the alternative universe (a story when the author deviates from the original canon and creates events to effect a different action) and even crossovers (a fanfiction integrating characters and places from another story source). But I must confess, as many of these on-line authors have taken their stories to the next step and even stepped away from posting their new works on-line, I too have transferred my reading of on-line fan fiction to my e-reader by purchasing the published works and even adding the bound books to my collection.

One rainy day in December, I found myself reading in my pajamas all day author Joana Starnes’ newly released “The Falmouth Connection”. I was instantly engaged by the unexpected, surprisingly smart, and innovative handling of “Pride and Prejudice” in a very alternate universe where Elizabeth becomes an heiress to a fine fortune. Therefore, when Laurel Ann, our blog mistress, asked if I would be interested in reading Starnes “The Second Chance: A ‘Pride & Prejudice – ‘Sense & Sensibility Variation’ ” for review, how could I not jump at the chance! Continue reading →

Sense & Sensibility: Little Miss Austen (BabyLit), by Jennifer Adams – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Children's Books, Jane Austen, Nonfiction by

Sense and Sensibility Babylit Primer by Jennifer Adams 2013 x 250Board books are a brilliant concept. A child’s first book-sized for their little hands printed on cardboard pages that are practically un-rippable, and, it doubles as a teething ring for toddlers. Add to that a Jane Austen theme and you are on your way to creating the next literati in the world.

In 2011, Jennifer Adams introduced us to Pride & Prejudice BabyLit, her first Little Miss Austen board book. It was a big hit. She has now created a cottage industry out of board books inspired by classic literature for very young readers including Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, The Hounds of Baskerville to name a few! Each one is exquisitely illustrated by Allison Oliver and handsomely published by Gibbs Smith, who excel at gift books and illustrated editions.

Sense & Sensibility: Little Miss Austen (BabyLit) is a beautiful package with a clever theme. On the front cover, we find the image of Jane Austen’s two heroines Marianne and Elinor Dashwood. Anyone who has read the original book, or seen any of the popular movie adaptations, will recognize the two divergent sisters and understand the irony that they have been chosen to represent an opposites primer. The fact that Marianne is impulsive and overly-romantic and Elinor stoic and even-tempered will matter not to toddlers or kindergartners. It is the adult that is buying the book. They will connect with the association and want to teach their child about it too. After all, you can never start too early with the education of Janeites.

SandS Little Miss Austen image 2 x 200 SandS Little Miss Austen image 1 x 200

The book has eleven illustrations of opposites helping the child learn the differences between big Norland Park and little Barton Cottage, happy Mr. Willoughby and sad Colonel Brandon and single Marianne and Elinor and then married, symbolically standing on top of their own wedding cakes with their bridegrooms by their side. While the choices in Sense & Sensibility do not relate to the story as directly as they did in the Pride & Prejudice BabyLit counting primer, I still found the illustrations charming and the concept interesting and creative. Continue reading →

Margaret Dashwood’s Diary: Sense and Sensibility Mysteries, Book One, by Anna Elliott – A Review

Posted in Austenesque, Book Reviews, Regency Era by

Margaret Dashwoods Diary by Anna Elliot 2014 x 200From the desk of Lisa Galek:

Margaret Dashwood is only rarely mentioned in Sense and Sensibility. She starts the story as a girl of thirteen who loses her father and her home and then sits back to watch her two older sisters fall in love and get married. But, what kind of adventures did Margaret have after Jane Austen’s classic was done? In Margaret Dashwood’s Diary, Anna Elliott explores the life and loves of the youngest Dashwood sister.

As the title indicates, this novel takes the form of a diary and we begin with a brand new entry. See, Margaret has just burned her old journal after breaking off an engagement to a very eligible and rich young bachelor. She means to start fresh and has gone to stay with her sister, Marianne Brandon, at Delaford House for a change of scenery.

Colonel Brandon is away hunting down some dangerous smugglers that are operating in the neighborhood, but Margaret still runs into all kinds of old favorites. Elinor and Edward pop up every now and then. Mrs. Jennings is still poking her nose into everyone’s business. And even Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are in town to add to the laughs. But, when John Willoughby and his wife rent a house in the neighborhood things start to get a bit awkward for everyone. Continue reading →

Sense and Sensibility: The Austen Project, by Joanna Trollope – A Review

Posted in Austenesque, Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction by

Sense and Sensibility: The Austen Project, by Joanna Trollope (2013)From the desk of Katie Patchell”

Many books have been written to continue the stories of the characters that Jane Austen created, including sequels, prequels, continuations, and diaries. Most of these books have been written about the most popular of her novels, Pride and Prejudice while ignoring some of her other different, but equally well-written and beautiful novels–Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion. Now for the first time, all six of Jane Austen’s books have been re-imagined and set in the 21st century. The Austen Project has started their new series with an update of Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope—a version filled with unique problems and surprises from today’s world, while still holding true to some of the qualities in Jane Austen’s original novel that makes Sense and Sensibility a timeless tale of sisterhood and second chances.

Invariably, as with all modern retellings, things were left out or changed that were in Jane Austen’s original. While the basic plot stays the same, Joanna Trollope’s Sense and Sensibility has some minor differences in characters and culture—an understandable change because of the different time setting. The updated characters include: Colonel (Bill) Brandon–who converted Delaford into a rehab for drug and alcohol addicts, Edward Ferrars–the philanthropic black sheep of his family, Elinor–the practical student of architecture who has to financially (and emotionally) support her two sisters and mother, Belle Dashwood–Elinor and Marianne’s free-spirited and sentimental mother, Margaret–the moody teenager who is addicted to Facebook, Twitter, and her iPod, Marianne–the guitar-playing romantic who suffers from severe asthma attacks, and John (Wills) Willoughby–the very hot and seemingly rich playboy.

I enjoyed seeing all the characters from Sense and Sensibility from a modern perspective. Joanna Trollope had to answer some uniquely modern questions in her novel. How to keep Regency titles and hierarchy in the setting of present-day England? The Dashwood women had to work to support themselves (unlike upper-class Regency women)—which one of them would be the one to keep everyone afloat, pay bills, and get a job? How to account for the lack of contact (and dramatic suspense) between love interests in an age of texting, cell phones, cars, and email? All the characters had to “transition” from the Regency world to the modern world, and for the most part, Joanna Trollope did a great job. Continue reading →