An Incomplete Continuation?
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
This review ended up being very timely as the Sanditon miniseries just finished airing in the US this past Sunday and I’m sure many of us are ready to discuss and share our thoughts!
This completion of Sanditon by Jane Austen and Kate Riordan is a tie-in novel based on the Andrew Davies’ TV adaptation. Having watched many of the episodes soon after the correlating chapters of this book, I can confirm that they follow the same series of events and most of the same dialogue exchanges.
Jane Austen’s unfinished fragment doesn’t provide a lot of clues about the directions she was intending to take with Charlotte Heywood, the Parkers, and Sanditon. In fact, many scholars look at the manuscript and believe that Jane Austen was about to embark upon a story with a style quite divergent from its predecessors. And as many of you might already be aware (or have heard), Mr. Andrew Davies’ adaptation/continuation tends to aim more towards captivating and entertaining modern-day audiences than completing the unfinished manuscript in a manner Jane Austen would have intended.
WHAT I LOVED:
- Exploring Themes Jane Austen Introduced: Especially the gamble of speculation with Sanditon and Thomas Parker (Gah! So much tension and drama in that storyline!)
- A Cut-Throat Battle for Inheritance: Another theme Jane Austen introduced between Clara Brereton and the Denhams reaches new levels in this adaptation. I loathed Sir Edward Denham (which I think we were supposed to), but initially felt a lot of sympathy for and interest in Clara.
- Lady Denham: She is spirited and sharp, and not afraid to bluntly speak her mind. She kind of reminds me of a super cynical Lady Violet Crawley. I especially enjoyed her developing relationship with Esther Denham.
- Lord Babbington, Arthur Parker, and Mr. (Young) Stringer: Definitely some of the most likable characters in this series! I was completely endeared to Lord Babbington’s indefatigable pursuit of Esther, Arthur’s adorable overtures of friendship to Miss Lambe, and Mr. Stringer’s sweet interactions with Charlotte.
- Eventful: Balls, a cricket match, and a regatta – such delightful bustle and comings and goings! Not to mention more than one forbidden romance, several love triangles, and the rising tension accompanying the development of Sanditon. It kept me riveted and turning pages!
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Sidney and Charlotte Relationship: Sadly, I could not get behind this relationship. In some ways it felt a little like a pale imitation of a Darcy/Elizabeth hate-to-love trope. He was unlikable and a brute to her, she was naive and outspoken. And then their animosity changed and tender feelings of regard developed quickly without much cause. Sidney felt changeable and incomplete, and I thought Charlotte, who I typically adore in every other adaptation I’ve read, was a little one dimensional. I guess it felt too manufactured for my tastes.
- Secondary Characters: Similar to Mansfield Park, there ended up being a lot of characters that are hard to like in this series (aside from the ones we aren’t supposed to like), such as: Georgiana Lambe and Clara Brereton because of their selfishness and sour/spiteful qualities. (I initially had Esther Denham on this list, but she proved a pleasant surprise!) In addition, where was Susan Parker? And what a missed opportunity with Diana…she could have been hilarious.
- In the Foreground: We all know that Jane Austen’s novels have scandals and seductions, but her style was for those events to happen off-page. Andrew Davies placed all the scandals and seductions front and center with this miniseries. Which may coincide well with much of our modern-day programming and culture, but at the same time still felt a little jarring and malapropos for Jane Austen.
- It Might Remain Unfinished: According to @MasterpiecePBS on Twitter, currently “there are no plans for another season” of Sanditon. POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! Season One of Sanditon ends with a lot unresolved. Which at first, I didn’t mind…I liked the idea of more (especially since I wasn’t satisfied with some developments anyway). But if there is to be no more, then this book and miniseries will forever feel incomplete! It would seem that like Thomas Parker, the creators of this series were engaging in a bit of dangerous speculation with this first season… 😉
CONCLUSION:
I am grateful to see dear Sanditon in the spotlight, it is an unfinished work worthy of attention and development. As a completion to Jane Austen’s fragment, this miniseries and tie-in novel sadly do not fully satisfy. But as a period drama production in the style of Downton Abbey, this miniseries and tie-in novel is one that entertains and intrigues! I am exceedingly glad to have watched/read Sanditon, even with my list of quibbles. After all, how often do we get a new multi-part series of a Jane Austen work to enjoy?
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Our sincere thanks to Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose for inviting us to take part in this lovely review roundup!
~ SANDITON REVIEW ROUNDUP SCHEDULE ~
January 13 Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog
January 14 History Lizzie
January 17 Babblings of a Bookworm
January 20 Confessions of a Book Addict
January 20 Living Read Girl
January 25 Margie’s Must Reads
January 26 My Jane Austen Book Club
February 03 The Lit Bitch
February 10 Unabridged Chick
February 10 Laura’s Reviews
February 13 Bookfoolery
February 14 Half Agony, Half Hope
February 17 Scuffed Slippers, Wormy Books
February 18 Impressions in Ink
February 23 From Pemberley to Milton
February 24 So Little Time…
February 24 Vesper’s Place
February 26 Austenesque Reviews
February 28 My Vices and Weaknesses
I’m only halfway through watching the miniseries with my family. I know a bit of what happens, having seen comments on social media, but from what I’ve seen so far, I agree with many of your comments. It is so clear that Charlotte & Sydney are supposed to be the Elizabeth & Darcy of Sanditon, but I’m not feeling it. Maybe I’ll see something more in the upcoming episodes, but at the moment they both annoy me more than anything. I am enjoying the bits of humour, though, and the seaside locale.
Great review! Very thoughtful. 🙂
I tried so hard not to be overly critical and influenced by others opinions, but I just need a higher standard of romantic development than this series delivered.
I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts when you finish the series!
Oh yes, I do love the the seaside, all the gorgeous panoramic shots, and the music!!!
We finished watching it, and I’m afraid my opinion was not altered. None of us liked it. I do find the inappropriate for the period behaviour annoying (ladies and gentlemen writing to each other when they aren’t engaged? Egads!), but we just could not connect to any of the characters.
Oh well; they can’t all be winners! I’m very glad that so many people did enjoy it.
Meredith, thanks for your review. I did not read the book. I enjoyed watching the adaptation, but most of that was due to the environs, costuming and the Regency correlations. I also found the relationship between the main characters frustrating. Yes, he did cater to the modern audience.Ha! I kept expecting Mrs. Bennet to pop onto the set and call “Compromise” for all the unchaperoned scenes. LOL. Still, I do love JA adaptations and wonder what the next one will bring forth.
LOL! Yes, you are so right! She would have a field day! Lots of Regency rule-breaking! Glad to hear you found a lot to enjoy with the series still though!
I believe Meredith that a second season was hanging on how it was received in the States. Obviously it didn’t go as well as expected because I read that the cast were on standby to start filming straight away if it went down well over there. It’a a pity because even though I didn’t think much of it, I would have liked to have seen it finished and not left up in the air like it was.
Yes, I signed a couple of petitions to help the cause. That is a shame for all the actors and crew involved…it sounds like they were very much expecting to continue. 🙁
While I had my reservations about Sanditon as I watched it unfold, by the end I wanted to see what happened to Charlotte and Sidney. As it is, if they don’t film more episodes I shall always wonder.
Oh for sure! It is very much left hanging for so many characters. I wonder if they will ever let us know how it was intended to play out!
incomplete…
personally, I found the show to be a hot mess, so it’s not a great loss if it doesn’t continue.
My opinion–no one has to agree with me…
denise
I’m glad you shared your opinion, Denise. I know there are many who feel the same way.
I had to laugh when you mentioned that the attempt to complete Sanditon will likely stay incomplete. I’ve actually been enjoying the TV adaption when I treat it as a general historical costume drama from Masterpiece Theater instead of a Jane Austen continuation. I think I’ll be more mad about not getting the whole story than the liberties taken. I’m an Esther fan, too. 🙂
I will join the chorus and say that I also have really enjoyed the series on PBS. I give any Jane Austen production wide leeway since I love all the costumes, period drama, and interesting Regency characterizations. As stated above, I was left hanging after episode 8 and feel this is either a plea for us to rally for the rest of the story with Andrew Davies or else it is inexplicable!
That is a smart approach to any costume dramas. Since I’ve been reading several other Sanditon-inspired stories these last few months it was a bit challenging to not compare and think of Jane Austen’s style while watching/reading this adaptation. I hope they find a way to resolve the unfinished story for us!!
The irony, right?
Yes, that is the best way to treat it! I do agree, lack of resolution is definitely a bigger disappointment!
While there was definitely a lot of modern creative license taken, I still enjoyed it. The scenery was gorgeous (and I include Theo James in this!) and I will take any JA adaptation, even weaker ones. I liked Charlotte as a heroine and I absolutely adored Arthur Parker, Lord Babbington, and Young Mr. Stringer, as you did, Meredith.
I also signed petitions, as well as posting about it on Instagram, hoping that Sanditon will get a second season, so that we might have closure and clarity.
Thanks for the great review!