Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope --- 362 pages

Joanna Trollope's modern re-tooling of Jane Austen's 19th century classic is the first of a planned series of re-tellings of Austen's six published novels  to be issued by Harper Collins' Austen Project. Each re-telling will be written by a best-selling contemporary author.  2014 will see the publication of Northanger Abbey by British mystery writer Val McDermid and Pride & Prejudice by American (and St. Louis) author Curtis Sittenfeld.  Harper Collins also recently announced that Alexander McCall Smith has signed on to produce an updated Emma. Yet to be revealed are authors for rewrites of Austen's Mansfield Park and Persuasion.


Trollope, related to although not a direct descendent of Victorian author Anthony Trollope, is the author of many popular contemporary and historical novels. Her updated version of Austen's story is clever and plausible but falls short of Austen's penetrating eye for the ridiculous and ironic.

And as more than one reviewer has mentioned, her heroines, Ellie and M. (Elinor and Marianne), and all the people around them, are curiously old-fashioned in their attitude toward marriage as the ultimate source of financial security for women.

An amusing read, although I suspect that to appreciate the fun the reader needs to be familair with the original --- there are crucial passages that will leave those who are not familiar scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about.

 Click HERE to watch a BBC-TV interview with Joanna Trollope talking about her S&S and Austen's.

Joanna Trollope and Jane Austen