Sense and Sensibility


Title and Author: Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
Type: Modern Retelling
Perspective: Elinor 
Romance Level: 
Recommended: yes, 3.5 stars

John Dashwood inherited Norland Park from his father and promised to care for his half sisters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) as well as their mother. Fanny, John's wife, has other plans. When a distant Dashwood cousin (Sir John) offers them a cottage to live in, they can hardly refuse. This is the third book in the Austen Project I have read and the only one that was translated well into a modern retelling. 

As they settle in, they meet family, neighbors and friends of Sir John, Mary, Ms J, Charlotte, Wills and Bill. The characters come to modern life and the plot makes sense in the modern context.

Pros:
* The author was creative in coming up with events and relationships that are as similar as can be found to the original in a modern context.
* The characters are so quirky that it is entertaining.

Cons:
* It is Austen and the ideas that women can't get jobs, pay rent, etc. is a bit hard to translate. 
* Weak women seem contrary to true Austen. 

All Books Reviewed
Other Modern Austen Retellings: Eligible, Darcy Swipes Left, Epic Fail, Emma (Smith), and The Bennet Women 

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