Sense and Sensibility
Author: Joanna Trollope
Type of Austenesque Novel: Modern Adaptation
Release Date: October 29th, 2013
Pages: 384
Available in: Hardcover, Paperback, and Ebook
Available at: Amazon and Barnes and Noble
from goodreads.com:
Two sisters could hardly be more different . . .
Elinor Dashwood, an architecture student, values patience and reliability. Her impulsive sister, Marianne, takes after their mother, Belle, and is fiery and creative, filling the house with her dramas and guitar playing while dreaming of going to art school.
But when their father, Henry Dashwood, dies suddenly, his whole family finds itself forced out of Norland Park, their beloved home for twenty years. Without the comfort of status, they discover that their values are severely put to the test.
Can Elinor remain stoic and restrained knowing that the man she really likes has already been ensnared by another girl? Will Marianne’s faith in a one-and-only lifetime love be shaken by meeting the hottest boy in the county, John Willoughby? And in a world where social media and its opinions are the controlling forces at play, can love ever triumph over conventions and disapproval?
With her wit and eye for social nuance, Joanna Trollope casts Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility in a fresh new light to retell a wonderful coming-of-age story about young love and heartbreak, and how, when it comes to money especially, some things never change…
MY THOUGHTS:
- This is exciting! From what I understand HarperCollins is planning to have modern rewrites of the six major Jane Austen novels written by six contemporary and “globally significant” novelists!
- An architect and artist – very apropos occupations for the Dashwood sisters.
- I wonder what are the circumstance that force the Dashwoods out of Norland and without funds? Translating the reduced situation the Dashwood family find themselves in to modern times could be challenging since women working and earning income is quite common nowadays and perfectly acceptable!
- I’m looking forward to meeting the men in this book – I wonder what professions and backgrounds they will have!
- Kinda not so thrilled they are using the same title – hopefully this won’t be the norm for the whole series?!? 1. Those titles are already taken! 2. It’s going to get confusing when you discuss and compare the two books with people.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
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Previous Posts:
- Austenesque Novel Finds # 20 – Unequal Affection
- Austenesque Novel Finds #19 – The Highbury Murders
- Austenesque Novel Finds #18 – Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood
- Austenesque Novel Finds #17 – Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match
- Austenesque Novel Finds #16 – Austensibly Ordinary
Good find Meredith! I’m with you on the title though, publishers, I think you’ll find that this title was taken some 200 years ago!
LOL! Someone already beat you to it! Hoping to read this one soon – it has been awhile since I read anything S&S related.
Definitely don’t like the same title being used but I have read a couple of her books. ( but I much prefer her great Uncles’ works)
I haven’t read a book by either! Looking forward to seeing what I think of this one!
I can’t wait to read this one. I was a little surprised that they kept the same title, too. My first thought was “Nooo….that’s Jane’s title!!” 😉
LOL! I agree. Looking forward to sharing thoughts with each other about this one!
I agree about the title. I think it shows a lack of imagination. Hopefully the finished product will show a little more creativity.
I wonder how things like a man breaking an engagement and or a woman being too flirtatious without being engaged will translate to a modern audience where those things aren’t as scandalous as they were when Jane was writing.
Yes, hopefully we will find much more creativity on the inside of the novel then we see with the title!
Those are some great points, Heather! Wonder what keeps Edward engaged to Lucy in this situation?
I’m reading this book right now and so far,so good. They will be using the same titles for the rest of the series(Curtis Sittenfeld is set for P&P and Val McDermid has Northanger Abbey),so when I review it, I’ll be referring to it as “Joanna Trollope’s Sense and Sensibility”.
Are you? That’s great! And I didn’t know about the other authors, I tried finding some info online about what was next, but couldn’t find anything.
I agree- I like the concept, but the re-titling seems….rude, to the source material.
It’s nice to see the interest in Jane Austen and her works, hopefully it will bring loads of new readers to the wonderful world of JAFF and Austenesque novels!
I’ll just add to everyone else that snitching titles from the originals doesn’t seem right, but I love the idea of having these books done. Thanks for sharing!
I agree! I’m looking forward to all these upcoming releases! I also think the cover is cute!
Interesting! I saw this the other day on someone’s Goodreads “want to read” update and I didn’t realize at first that it was a different S&S than Jane Austen’s. lol Had to look twice. It does seem odd to have kept the exact title, but it’ll be interesting to see how the plot is modernized.
Aha! The double titles could be misleading. 😉 Yes it will be interesting how the author modernizes and translates the story to our time period. 🙂
Don´t like the title-thin as well, but I´m looking forward to reading it – and even more the Persuasion modernization. My all thime favourite Persuasion-modernization is Juliet Archers Persuade Me – I´m really looking forward to finding out how this is going to be.
Oh yes, that is such an exciting prospect, isn’t it! It will be great to see Modern Adaptations for books that don’t get a lot of attention, like Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park!!
I didn’t realize that the one I saw on Goodreads was different also as one of the other readers commented on. I really agree with all the people above. They should have retitled it somehow. I just don’t feel it is right. I like how Lady T is going about reviewing it. Though it does sound like a good book to read.
I imagine that a lot of readers are not pleased with the title. But despite all that, I’m looking forward to reading it soon!
Lady T does have a great idea, I’ll probably label both S&S in my review as Joanna Trollope’s S&S and Jane Austen’s S&S – it just might get a little bit of a mouthful.