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Sense & Sensibility

(The Austen Project #1)

Joanna Trollope

3.51 · Rating details · 14,063 ratings · 1,233 reviews

John Dashwood promised his dying father that he would take care of his half sisters. But his wife, Fanny, has no desire to share their newly inherited estate with Belle Dashwood's daughters. When she descends upon Norland Park with her Romanian nanny and her mood boards, the three Dashwood girls—Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret—are suddenly faced with the cruelties of life w ...more

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Hardcover, 362 pages

Published October 29th 2013 by Harper (first published January 1st 2013)

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Start your review of Sense & Sensibility (The Austen Project, #1)

Sep 28, 2013 Leah rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2013, literary-fiction

Why???

Warning! This review may involve wailing and gnashing of teeth, not to mention cursing...of both kinds. Persons of a sensitive disposition may wish to look away now. And on the assumption that no-one will be interested in this who doesn't know the original, there are some mild spoilers...

The Austen project is a strange little idea to rewrite all the Austen novels for a modern age. Why? It certainly can't be because the originals are unreadable - I'd imagine they are more popular today than ...more

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Dec 15, 2013 Bebe (Sarah) Brechner rated it it was ok

Not worthy - even in the capable hands of Joanna Trollope, this retelling of Austen's classic is just chick lit pablum. And there is no way I'd ever characterize Austen's work as such!

I've always enjoyed Trollope's work, but here, she brings none of her usual finely drawn characters and subtle commentary on contemporary life. Austen's characters come across as useless, helpless, dependent, complaining women - because you cannot bring 1811-era characters and situations into the 21st century by j ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 Nicolette rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I appreciate the mission of the Austen project, but this story was not successful for two main reasons. First, the was an element of forced modernization - a mention of an iPad or Facebook seemed to exist just for the sake of reminding the reader of the time period regardless of if it interrupted the flow of the dialogue. Secondly, other than the haphazard mention of electronics, the story was not modernized. Things like a 16 year old swooning to get married or being connected on Facebook but fa ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Online Eccentric Librarian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

More reviews at the Online Eccentric Librarian http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Modern retellings of classic novels so often tend to lose the heart and soul of the original: the names are the same but the story only has basic plot similarities. Especially with Austen, so much of the wit and pathos of the novel can be lost at the hands of authors of lesser talent.

Not so with Joanna Trollope's very modern but also very layered retelling of Sense and Sensibility. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book with depth and interest, well written and with quite a few very astute observations on her characters, especially in their translation to a modern milieu.

Trollope keeps most of the story intact but through careful selection of social situations, jobs, social media, and the modern trappings of a 21st century England, the transition is smooth and the character not only remain intact but also fully fleshed and interesting. Rest assured, the novel is very well written, the author has more than just read the books, she's analyzed them and brought in her own thoughts on the characters as well. E.g., one of my favorite lines from the book is a succinct observation on Willoughby through his car, a fancy Aston: "he likes a fantasy of a good thing......I mean, that it's probably leased. No many people can buy a car like that."

There are many more observations about the characters and their motivations. Edward comes out feeling even more like a sad sack while, in contrast, Bill Brandon is much more appealing and given more attention in this book than the Austen. As well, the girls' mother Belle, third sister Margaret, and the supporting characters are more fleshed out here and definitely feel very real and modern, despite keeping the heir/nobility/wealth trappings of Regency England.

In all, this was a thoughtful read but definitely not cumbersome or overly literate. In fact, I felt more like I was watching a movie than reading a book - the characters especially from the Ang Lee movie were in my head throughout. Sort of a Notting Hill meets Sense and Sensibility movies - in a good way.

For once, it was a pleasure to read a retelling of an Austen classic. Kudos to author Trollope for really understanding the characters and thinking through clearly their translation to a modern world. ...more

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Mar 01, 2017 Melindam rated it did not like it

Shelves: ja-bandwagon, too-stupid-to-live-heroine, meh, why-oh-why-did-i-bother, spectacular-letdown

I tried to write a proper review for this book, but realised I just could not be bothered.

Suffice to say that I hated it with a vengeance. The 1 star is for the nice cover, but obviously that cannot counterbalance the abysmal content.

The article Modernising Jane Austen: 10 traps to avoid [The Guardian] by the excellent John Mullan says it all, no need to add anything from my side. I just wish all authors on the Jane Austen bandwagon would read & heed it. ...more

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May 07, 2014 Kami Bee rated it did not like it

I absolutely love this Austen Project thing. It's so much more respectful to the original books, which are brilliant, than all this cheap sea monster nonsense, and has the potential to actually introduce Jane Austen's stories to an audience who might not have the patience to wade through the very classic nature of the original writing.

I thought Sense and Sensibility would probably be one of the harder and more interesting updates, given so much of the story revolves around inheritances and moral ...more

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Nov 12, 2013 Koeeoaddi rated it did not like it

Shelves: ditched, 2013, life-is-too-short

Sorry. I really wanted to love this but could not get past page 75. I think the author's decision to try to stay close to the storyline and even the language of the original while updating it with jeans, iPods and artsy smocks just didn't work for me. If you can't give me something sharp and clever and new, like Amy Heckerling did with Emma in Clueless, then I'd just as soon re-read Jane Austen's masterpiece. For the umpteenth time.

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Feb 18, 2014 Lee rated it did not like it

Shelves: chick-lit, romance, depressing, did-not-finish, english, austenesque

Wow... So... The Austen Project is well-known authors rewriting the actual books for a modern audience. Unlike some of the other Austenesque books out there, they aren't adding vampires or murder mysteries or whatnot, just writing the same story and setting in the 2010s. And... Wow... Who'd have thought that someone of Trollope's reputation could update such a wonderful story and make it so so so so bad? Really who *would* have thought, given that there must be a team of editors working with the Wow... So... The Austen Project is well-known authors rewriting the actual books for a modern audience. Unlike some of the other Austenesque books out there, they aren't adding vampires or murder mysteries or whatnot, just writing the same story and setting in the 2010s. And... Wow... Who'd have thought that someone of Trollope's reputation could update such a wonderful story and make it so so so so bad? Really who *would* have thought, given that there must be a team of editors working with these authors. No one was reading this and thought that maybe they needed to direct Trollope on another path? Like one going in an entirely different direction... Let me start at the beginning: I was so excited to see this book on offer at the library, and began to read even though I was already in the middle of reading some other books. At the end of chapter one I blinked, and then I blinked again, but read on, thinking I was terribly uncharitable and should give it more of a chance. After chapter two, my blinking had increased to some sort of deep sleep REM. After chapter three, I fired up the ipad and looked up some reviews to see if I was the only one sensing there was little sense in this version of Sense and Sensibility. I found many others had the same opinion. (I truly think there are some bogus reviews on this site to bump up the average. Average 3.3 stars? Really? There's like ten 1/5's in a row, you'd need about ten 5/5's in a row to get to that average. Who could give it 5/5?) Anyway, I plodded on for another couple of chapters, finally giving up and throwing this firmly into my 'did-not-finish' shelf. What's wrong with it, you ask. Wow... Where do I start? Modernising Austen, to me, doesn't mean using the exact same conflicts, tossing in a couple of trendy words to decorate the exact same dialogue, and exchanging the corsets for ipod headphones. To me, it's writing it so that a young person who has no idea about the plot/characters can pick it up, understand it without having to refer to a dictionary for words like 'entail', and appreciate the conflicts/hardships the characters are enduring. Instead we get bad fanfic which was published. Let's just look at chapter one, shall we? Henry Dashwood dies and his estate goes directly to his only legitimate son, John, because (insert shocked faces here) he had never married the mother of his 3 daughters. Yes, in this day and age it's a great scandal for someone to live with a man, have 3 children to that man, and never legally marry him. (Didn't you know this?) It's also apparently impossible for that said defacto wife, or her children, to take the new heir to court and fight for the estate legally. I have trouble getting past this point really. It's so ridiculous to think they had no rights as they'd apparently lived in the house (mansion apparently) for 20 odd years. Instead, they become destitute! Well, destitute with savings amounting to 200 thousand pounds, but apparently they can't rent a decent place in England with that sort of cash... Someone (probably Fanny) does suggest getting a job to pay for your new house's rent, but that's a horrid suggestion! And, even without these possibilities, there is apparently no pension/dole/social security/insurance/rent assistance/anything available in England today. How odd... The main problem with this scenario is that instead of feeling so horribly sad for the Dashwood women, as you do in the original, you now just want to slap them and give Fanny a high-five for her assertiveness. If you're going to write like Austen, you need to add some of the social issues of today, but there was none. If you're going to write like Austen, you need some subtlety, some wry humour, something... I did meet Edward, but I refused to read on to meet Colonel Brandon. The Colonel is one of my all time favourite literary characters and I despaired at what he might become in this version, or what he might be called. (Really, did no one suggest to Trollope that her choices of nicknames were just plain wrong?) Okay, I really need to stop ranting. Thank goodness this is a library book and I never paid good money for this. If you're young and don't understand the book, watch Emma Thompson's version, it will be much more satisfying. ...more

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Nov 14, 2013 Hayden rated it did not like it

In theory, I abhor the idea of modernizing Austen: being a writer, I know I would hate people messing around with my books, throwing them in a different time period or (heaven forbid!) adding vampires or zombies or sea monsters to them or something. And why do you need to update stories I still find relevant today, anyway? However, in practice, I’ve read and watched my share of modernized Austen classics- I remember picking up Debra White Smith’s retellings a few years ago, and while I never did In theory, I abhor the idea of modernizing Austen: being a writer, I know I would hate people messing around with my books, throwing them in a different time period or (heaven forbid!) adding vampires or zombies or sea monsters to them or something. And why do you need to update stories I still find relevant today, anyway? However, in practice, I’ve read and watched my share of modernized Austen classics- I remember picking up Debra White Smith’s retellings a few years ago, and while I never did get into The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I have been (mostly) keeping up with Emma Approved. So when I first heard about Harper Collins “Austen Project” I was disdainful…but when I saw a copy of Sense and Sensibility at the library, I picked it up. Typical.

The Austen Project is an upcoming series of books setting Jane Austen’s books in modern day, the first of which, Sense and Sensibility, came out this year. I admit I was curious, but when I began to read I was instantly disappointed. Not from the fact that it was set in modern day, but the fact that according to today’s world, “modernized” might as well be synonymous with “inappropriate.” Aside from Marianne and Willoughby's (called “Wills” in this update) highly unacceptable relationship, there was language- and I mean language. Not so much so that it was on every page or something, but the actual words were very offensive (and I’m not talking about a D**n used a few times, either).

I also felt like something in the book was missing- I couldn’t put my finger on it until later. Though Austen never explicitly mentions God in her works, her characters operate in a very clear Christian worldview. Joanna Trollope takes away that entirely (even Edward, who wishes to become a pastor in the original, wishes to do something “public service-y” rather than religious in this modern story) And that really takes away from the book. It gives the allusion of this update being too much like the original and too little: the things don’t mesh together because of it. Their morals are different, so the idea of Willoughby getting a young girl pregnant is just not as appalling as in Austen’s classic. Instead, he gets her hooked on drugs because that’s so much worse, apparently. The Dashwood girls, frankly, aren’t as likable because their moral standards aren’t as high. The reason we love Jane Austen’s heroines and heroes are because they have flaws but at heart they’re good. Joanna Trollope lowers the level of their morals- which means she has to make the villains even worse to gain the reader’s appropriate reaction. For example, when Wills takes Marianne to see his home and they- ahem- become rather intimate (which was NOT in the original, my friends!), Elinor is upset not because of what they did, but because they did it secretly without his aunt’s knowledge. Because apparently it’s okay to have an inappropriate relationship if you keep it out in the open, but not if you use deception. It’s as if the author had to make excuses about why certain characters’ actions were wrong, because while they might have been scandalous back in Jane Austen’s day, today they’d garner nothing more than an eye blink.

And it was *too* much like Austen's classic in the fact that the author tried too hard to make certain plot points work that just *didn't* in modern society. Even the way the Dashwoods lost their house sort of had me scratching my head a little bit.

As far as this book was being advertised- as Jane Austen’s classic story with the addition of social media and technology- it wasn’t as overt as I was expecting. Marianne naturally texts Willoughby obsessively, while her hysterics at finding him in London end up on youtube (poor girl). Margaret fiddles with her earbuds and is a bit more on the bratty side than usual (although I was half afraid they would get rid of her character altogether). Practical Elinor is the one to get a job to support her family- unheard of in Austen’s classic but of course a very necessary and a believable addition here.

The thing is, because each of the novels in the “Austen Project” are being written by different authors, I would be willing to read more of the upcoming ones (albeit a bit nervously. If they end up changing Fanny Price’s character-!). However, I highly doubt I’ll ever pick up another book by Joanna Trollope. ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Aimee Packwood rated it liked it

I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I've read all her books hundreds of times, and the thought of anyone else taking on her work initially made me very nervous, so I'll admit that when I was asked to read Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope I was a little aprehensive. As a fan of the deeply crafted characters, and witty prose, I've never enjoyed other writers' take on Austen novels or characters. Don't even get me started on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But Sense and Sensibility was never my fa
I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I've read all her books hundreds of times, and the thought of anyone else taking on her work initially made me very nervous, so I'll admit that when I was asked to read Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope I was a little aprehensive. As a fan of the deeply crafted characters, and witty prose, I've never enjoyed other writers' take on Austen novels or characters. Don't even get me started on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But Sense and Sensibility was never my favourite of Austen's work, so I was willing to give it a go. Had I never read any Austen, I think I would have found it an enjoyable novel; easy to read, likeable characters; a charming and engaging story. And as an Austen adaptation it very nearly works. But I wasn't quite sold. Trollope's characterisation is excellent (with the exception of Fanny who I think is a bit overplayed) and I think she really understood the motivations of the characters. But the attempt to make it relevant t o a modern audience doesn't quite come off. To be fair, I think Sense and Sensibility is perhaps slightly harder to adapt. The writers who get Persuasion and Emma will be luckier. And some of the modernisation I completely get; I can imagine Marianne as an emotional art student, and swapping carriages for cars is perfectly logical. However (unless in the upper tiers of society to which I am not privvy) money just isn't a motivater for marriage anymore. I would have liked Trollope to keep the same themes, but change the motivation; I would have liked to see Willoughby as a struggling actor shacking up with a film director, or a young MP having an affair with a cabinet minister.The book could still have explored ideas of being trapped and feeling like there was no choice (when of course there is, it's just that the choice is unpalatable to Willoughby) as well as family obligation, but with motivations that ring true to today's audience. The constraints of the characters of the girls are still as relevant today, but the society that they are operating in has changed, and trying to keep that the same means the whole thing feels hollow; and as if Austen is no longer relevant. I do feel that Austen is timeless, and it is a shame that Trollope has made her seem outdated by being too literal. I will read the other novels in the Austen project with interest, and they will probably be just as enjoyable as books in themselves; but as attempts to modernise and make Sense and Sensibility relevant, I'm afraid it's not quite there. ...more

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Sep 30, 2013 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing

Purists believe that Jane Austen’s six novels are complete in and of themselves and should never be imitated, extended or parodied. I prefer to judge each Austen spin off on its own merits. This latest addition to the sub-genre is excellent in my opinion. It is the first instalment of the Austen Project set up by the publishers Harper Collins. Well known authors are being commissioned to translate the six novels into modern settings and this is the first to be published.

I thoroughly enjoyed read ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Rikke rated it did not like it

Shelves: romance, jane-austen, owned-books, chick-lit, fanfiction

As one of the reviewers before me have asked: why? Why was this book necessary? Why was it introduced as a modern retelling, when it in reality is the exact same story with an iPod and a Facebook profile thrown in once in a while? What is the point of this book? Why does it claim to be anything new?

I have read quite a lot of Austen fanfiction over the years. It is my favorite guilty pleasure. While the books seldom are great literature or even well-written, they're always a bit entertaining. Aus As one of the reviewers before me have asked: why? Why was this book necessary? Why was it introduced as a modern retelling, when it in reality is the exact same story with an iPod and a Facebook profile thrown in once in a while? What is the point of this book? Why does it claim to be anything new?

I have read quite a lot of Austen fanfiction over the years. It is my favorite guilty pleasure. While the books seldom are great literature or even well-written, they're always a bit entertaining. Austen's universe of elegance, ballrooms, heroines and heroes are such a comforting world to escape into once in a while. I can easily understand Austen's popularity and the perpetual fascination of her novels. I am a part of the Austen craze myself.

In general I have low expectations for Austen fanfiction; I simply expect to be entertained. This version of "Sense & Sensibility" seemed as an interesting way to reinterpret Austen's classic story. After watching "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" and "Emma Approved" on YouTube, I know how well Austen's stories can be translated into a contemporary setting; adding something new to the plotline without losing Austen's beautiful structure and storytelling.

This is why, Trollope's version of "Sense and Sensibility" was such a huge disappointment. She doesn't adapt the story to a modern society; she simply tell us a story we already know, and adds an awkward sprinkle of modern technology. Her only new addition is the occasional mention of text messages and Facebook stalking. The story remains the same, and while I do think integrity is a good thing, the story falls apart because of it.

Why, why, why would a family be so deprived of everything with the loss of a house? Why can't Mrs. Dashwood and Marianne just get a job? Why does Edward's mother focus so much on an advantageous marriage, when clearly her family has money enough? Why is the inheritance of property such a huge question? It doesn't seem reasonable in a modern frame. Neither does Marianne's constant swooning, and Willoughby's seemingly deep connection to a newly built cottage.

There's no reason in this. The novel isn't really modernized or reinvented - it is simply a write-off. While I can only imagine how daunting a task it must be to rewrite an Austen novel, too much integrity is the easiest choice. If I wanted to read a tale exactly similar to "Sense and Sensibility", I would simply choose to read Austen herself. After all, there is no one better. ...more

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Aug 30, 2013 Melissa Rochelle rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, arc, read-2013

S&S has never been my favorite Austen novel (my favorite wavers between Persuasion, Emma, and Pride and Prejudice depending on my mood), so I was hesitant about this modern day retelling. I think Trollope did a fantastic job of staying true to the Austen novel, but maybe a little TOO true to the source. I felt at times that the only thing that changed was the mention of an iPad to remind me that this was in "modern times" (I mean, I imagined it going a little deeper than that you know? Is that t ...more

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Nov 24, 2013 Ellie rated it did not like it

It is possibly true to say that I was never going to read Joanna Trollope's Sense and Sensibility with a totally clear mind. It annoys me that, rather than encouraging people to read and appreciate the wit, the beautiful prose, of Austen's novels, and to learn of and understand the social mores that existed, and which still influence some prejudices these days, it has been considered appropriate to dumb down the classics to the status of chick lit.

And dumbing down is certainly what Trollope has It is possibly true to say that I was never going to read Joanna Trollope's Sense and Sensibility with a totally clear mind. It annoys me that, rather than encouraging people to read and appreciate the wit, the beautiful prose, of Austen's novels, and to learn of and understand the social mores that existed, and which still influence some prejudices these days, it has been considered appropriate to dumb down the classics to the status of chick lit.

And dumbing down is certainly what Trollope has done, with this book apparently aimed at viewers of scripted reality shows like Made In Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. The Dashwood family sneer at a part-time, Devon-based salary of £18k, they think an Alfa Romeo Spyder Mark 4 is a typical engagement gift.

But these are not the important elements of a book. For me to enjoy a book, it must have a good story, and good characters. Austen had both of these in abundance. Trollope has taken the basic plot, but left out the wit and social commentary that help to make Austen' work a classic, while, to quote The Guradian's John Crace "Joanna Trollope has achieved the near impossible by making every Jane Austen character appear shallow and unlikable".

Trollope has given more airtime to the characters of "Belle" (Austen's Mrs Dashwood) and Margaret. Perhaps an admirable undertaking, given how little Austen required of them. But perhaps there was reason for that. Austen called upon them only when necessary for the plot; Trollope reels them out unnecessarily several times, but I can see no benefit, they add nothing. Trollope's Margaret's only purpose seems to be to remind us that this is a 'modern' version, by constant references to social media and other modern phenomena.

Meanwhile, Edward, never a character I could really take to, is here made a complete wishy-washy wimp, with no purpose or aim until his potential in charity work is picked up by Brandon. Austen's Edward made it difficult for me to understand what Elinor saw in him. Trollope's left me totally unable to understand.

The worst crime, however, is left to Trollope's interpretation of Marianne. Austen's Marianne is a girl who can appear rude, not for the sake of being rude, but to break through the social mores and the hypocrisy of the time in which she lives. She suffers a deep depression, and knows that it is only her own sensibiliy that lead the illness that almost took her life; as she says "had I died, it would have been sef-destruction". In Trollope's novel, Marianne becomes M, a horrible, whiny creature, rude for rudeness sake, with no redeeming features. How anyone could fall in love with M is beyond me. Worse, by making asthma to blame for her near-death, Trollope totally removes the function of depression and self-harm in Marianne's condition. Ultimatlely, M is nothing but a pretty face, an airhead, whereas "the least interesting thing about Marianne is her beauty; what matters are her sense (intelligence), her sensitivity (sensibility) and her brooding intensity"

If the aim of this book was to demonstrate that Austen is relevant in the modern world, it has failed miserably. Reading this would make people think the exact opposite. But Austen's themes are relevant. Unfortunately, Trollope chose the wrong elements to update, and completely overlooked the key messages. ...more

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Oct 29, 2013 Dayna McCormick rated it did not like it

It gets one star just because it got published, which is something I have never done, so hooray for you. But this was just a complete pile of crap. Just don't touch Jane Austen, go stick a fork in an outlet next time you have the urge.

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May 12, 2014 Lorenzio Phillibuster Fireworks rated it did not like it · review of another edition

The Austen Project is the ambitious task undertaken by six authors to recreate the works of Jane Austen. When I first saw Joanne Trollope’s Sense and Sensibility I was intrigued and it sparked a quest to either reread or experience Austen’s novels for the first time via audiobook. I have read adaptations of the Classics before – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mr Darcy’s Diary, and a few others worth mentioning even less – and I found them all to be pretty disappointing. With the Austen Project ...more

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Nov 02, 2014 Michelle rated it did not like it

This is a modernization of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with none of the heart, depth or wit of the original. Most of the problems I have with it can be summed up in four points.

1. Weird mixture of unnecessary slang and old-fashioned expressions that are completely inauthentic for the time period.
One of the many instances where the language is completely inauthentic and jarring is the first appearance of Mr Willoughby (or Wills). In the lead-up to Marianne being rescued by Willoughby Marian This is a modernization of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with none of the heart, depth or wit of the original. Most of the problems I have with it can be summed up in four points.

1. Weird mixture of unnecessary slang and old-fashioned expressions that are completely inauthentic for the time period.
One of the many instances where the language is completely inauthentic and jarring is the first appearance of Mr Willoughby (or Wills). In the lead-up to Marianne being rescued by Willoughby Marianne is running along in the rain. Marianne says she can’t keep running and Margaret replies “You can! You can! You must.” This is the same girl who says things like “ridic” and at one point even says “crikey.” Now I’m Australian and I have only ever heard someone say “crikey” on TV. When Margaret stumbles upon Willougby:
“Even in acute distress, with her vision partially obscured by her wet hair, Margaret could see that on the scale of hotness, he registered fairly close to a full ten.” I am not convinced that there is the remotest possibility that Margaret who assesses Willoughby on the “scale of hotness” would say “you must” especially in a panicked situation. When Marianne then describes the situation to Willougby he says “ye gods.” YE GODS. The author doesn’t even have the excuse of borrowing language directly from the original because I checked and Willoughby does not say “ye gods” upon rescuing Marianne in Austen’s version. Later in the book it is revealed that Mrs Dashwood “had been suspicious of Wills from the start. Who wouldn’t be, faced with such utter male glory?” Wow. Just, wow. Now Elinor also says to herself “I couldn’t quite summon up the energy to behave as I ought to have done.” You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who still uses the word ‘ought’ especially a 20-something. And on the other end of the spectrum we have the irritating Nancy Steele who uses stupid bits of slang like ‘totes amaze’ ‘hilar’ and ‘amazeballs’ every sentence. The old-fashioned expressions are jarring and the slang feels incredibly contrived. Put together the it all feels bizarre and false.

2. Mentions of technology that felt forced and added nothing to the plot, just so the author could prove to us we were in 2013. There are many mentions of Twitter, Tommy Palmer’s BlackBerry, Facebook and Wi-Fi connections. Many of these references to technology are completely unnecessary. Margaret also grumpily listens to her iPod for most of the book. In fact it appears that Margaret’s sole purpose in this book was to be the stereotypical sullen and technology-addicted teenager.

3. The actual modernization was lacking, the author followed the book too closely and as a result the characters were unlikeable and many plot points were far-fetched. Marianne and Mrs Dashwood being oblivious to practicalities in the original was not unbelievable. Women did not generally have to think of such things during that time. In this modern era their obliviousness is grating and unrealistic. When Elinor tells them she’s found a job which will help pay their rent and bills, Mrs Dashwood (or Belle as she’s called in this version) vaguely says “What bills?” It also seems completely ridiculous in this modern context that Marianne, who appears to have recently graduated high school, sits around doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the whole book. When your family is destitute the logical thing to do would be FIND A JOB. Or at least GO TO SCHOOL SO YOU HAVE QUALIFICATIONS TO GET A JOB. Marianne doesn’t consider doing either. In fact when Elinor brings up the topic of Marianne’s future and asks her if she’ll study music or maybe teach it, Marianne cries and says “Don’t bully me, please don’t bully me.” WHAT? Does ‘bully’ mean something different in England? Even in the straight-to-DVD Latina version of Sense and Sensibility ‘Prada to Nada’ (the film is exactly how it sounds) Marianne at least goes to school. And in another straight-to-DVD adaptation ‘Scents and Sensibility’ (yes, you read that correctly. The Dashwood girls eventually start a soap business) Marianne gets a job doing some sort of admin. When the characters in films named ‘Prada to Nada’ and ‘Scents and Sensibility’ show more sense than yours, you know you have a problem.

4. Bland characterization. There is no real sense of Marianne or Elinor except what we are explicitly told (and what anyone who had read the original would know anyway), that there is one sensible, reserved sister and one dramatic, passionate one. Marianne is also constantly described as being absolutely stunning even when she’s just been crying/sick/just thrown on the first clothes she saw.
“The pajamas were very old, made of brushed cotton and patterned with teapots. They had always been too big. But even dressed in them, with her hair in damp ropes on her shoulders, and her eyes circled with fatigue, Marianne looked, well, outstanding.”
Spare me, please. She’s also a complete brat. She’s rude and constantly has fits of tears and does a lot of shouting. Lots of people in this book shout, actually. Despite being unforgivably rude, everyone seems to be enamoured with her, especially men who apparently want to protect her because she’s so “fragile.” This leads me to Colonel Brandon/Bill. He is terribly bland. I don’t recall him having any meaningful interaction with Marianne before he’s head over heels in love with her.
“Marianne looked so lovely, didn’t she, lying there asleep.’”
Bill says this to Elinor at a stage when Marianne has expressed ZERO interest in him. He also tells Elinor “Give her my love.” To a girl who has IGNORED HIM most of the book. Generally when you’re in love with someone who has made it clear that she does not at all reciprocate YOU DON’T FURTHER EMBARRASS YOURSELF BY DRAWING ATTENTION TO YOUR ALL-CONSUMING LOVE. HAVE SOME PRIDE BILL, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Ms. Trollope is a prolific writer and I’m sure she has books worth reading. This is not one of them.
...more

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May 10, 2020 Daniela rated it it was ok

I wanted to see if Marianne Dashwood was as annoying here as in the original book.

She is.

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Jan 11, 2016 Esther rated it did not like it

Shelves: abandoned, fiction, austenesque, romantic

Blergh. Boring as batshit, I couldn't finish it.

And what is the point of writing a modern adaptation which is still set in the same British aristocracy-and-military world, with the same issues of inheritances, as the original? I want to read adaptations that make an old story relatable in today's world, and Marianne playing a Taylor Swift song on the guitar isn't quite what I had in mind.

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Feb 14, 2014 Deborah Markus rated it really liked it

Twice upon a time, there were three Dashwood sisters, though no one took much notice of the youngest one. Their father died far too young, and they and their mother were forced by their cruel sister-in-law and weak half-brother to leave the home they'd grown up in.

_Sense & Sensibility_ -- the first one, that is -- is a novel many readers find hard to love. I hated it the first time through. Marianne drove me *insane.* All that screaming and selfishness! "I don't *care* what anyone thinks, I sha ...more

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Jul 14, 2013 Noodles78 rated it liked it · review of another edition

I'll start off by saying that I LOVE Austen, she makes me happy. She is one of my go to authors when I need perking up. The idea of a reworking of an Austen novel always makes me happy, and so this should have ticked all the right boxes.

I enjoyed it, alot, but not completely. I'm not sure what my problem was, I read it in under a day, hell in few hours and could not put it down, but I think I feel a little disappointed that I knew EVERYTHING that was going to happen. Which is stupid as it's a r ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Renita D'Silva rated it liked it

Wonderful, witty and fun.

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Aug 09, 2017 Dana Al-Basha دانة الباشا marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: own, anything-jane-austen

So, when I moved to Kuwait, many of my dear books stayed behind, I just had to buy another copy from this book until I could reunite with my previous one.

...more

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May 29, 2018 Kate rated it it was ok

I was more content with this book for longer than other reviewers, but by the end I was flabbergasted. I tolerated the nicknames (Ed, Wills, Tommy Palmer, Abi Jennings, Belle, Ellie, and Mags Dashwood) except for the execrable M for Marianne which is incomprehensible as written, knocks you from the story every time. The Misses Steele make no sense at all, not their language, actions, or Nancy’s speech. “Amazeballs” is the least of it, what sort of accent was THAT? I appreciated seeing how Trollo I was more content with this book for longer than other reviewers, but by the end I was flabbergasted. I tolerated the nicknames (Ed, Wills, Tommy Palmer, Abi Jennings, Belle, Ellie, and Mags Dashwood) except for the execrable M for Marianne which is incomprehensible as written, knocks you from the story every time. The Misses Steele make no sense at all, not their language, actions, or Nancy’s speech. “Amazeballs” is the least of it, what sort of accent was THAT? I appreciated seeing how Trollope matched the S&S storyline, liked Elinor as an architect trainee, didn’t totally object to Edward as interested in social work and not religion (although, why? The only other minister is referred to as “camp” so perhaps I don’t know enough about modern Anglicanism.) I developed a grave dislike for “Ed” and did not need some tale of woe to explain why he would have the conscience to stick with Lucy when their engagement came out. Why that explanation but no discussion of Marianne/Bill Brandon age difference which is a much more difficult issue for modern ethics, mystifies me. I needed not a party for everyone to be mildly reconciled at the end. In truth, though, this lost all the stars when Ed yelled at John Dashwood that he was “p-w’d”, a word I will not even type because of the deep sexism inherent in the comment. How could you even like Edward after that? Certainly the John Dashwood of the original novel seems manipulated by his wife and mother, which has fewer sexist overtones but rather a sense of women using what little power they have, but here he is both a jerk and the assistant to a narcissist, evil in his own right. So much possible depth squandered in trying to fit the deep, complex characters of Austen into a modern frame. Marianne, here, has asthma as a plot device - but I kept wondering, why not meningitis? Or suicidal depression? Or strep? Lots of conditions would allow for the plot without seeming so oddly more debilitating than modern asthma really is. Well, another book knocked off the long “to-read” list I guess. ...more

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Aug 01, 2015 Tamsen rated it did not like it

1.5 stars.

I adore the original Sense and Sensibility. It's hard to say if it's my favorite Austen (Pride and Prejudice is just, wow) but it's a very close second.

It's hard to retell Sense and Sensibility in a modern setting, because the whole premise falls apart. For those of you who don't know the beginning of S&S, a woman and her three daughters are left, essentially, destitute because the men are dead and women can't be heirs. Instead, the heir is identified as Uncle John, who verbally promi ...more

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Nov 05, 2013 Dianna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I've been reading a little of the debate over the modernisation of Jane Austen's novel, which ranges from criticism of Trollope's book to readers who won't read it but don't like its existence for their own reasons, to readers who really don't like the idea of any publisher commissioning any writer to do anything that is so blatantly cashing in.

So we have Austen's original 'Sense and Sensibility,' and all her novels. Then we have their movies and TV series, some good, some bad. And then barrow l ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Kathryn rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-reading-list, fiction, aty-2019, ps-2019

I have to say - if I was rewriting Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, I wouldn't have done it as Joanna Trollope did it. I think in some cases she missed points that the original text was trying to make and in other cases made too much of things that weren't issues in the original. Or perhaps Jane Austen is just best left set in Regency England... ...more

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Sep 25, 2014 Shefali rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Full Review: http://shefalilohia.wordpress.com/201...

Warning! Spoilers, snarky words, and anguish. Ye be warned.

Plot: You won’t get a plot summary from me, because it’s THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL. Of course, with a few “modern” updates.

- The reason step-brother John gets Norland and the Dashwood women don’t? Because HENRY DASHWOOD DECIDED NOT TO MARRY THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN IN A FIT OF ARTSY, FREE-LOVE HIPPINESS. And then died, and allowed for his home to be willed away from them. Flimsy, you ...more

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Oct 21, 2013 Margaret Sullivan rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013, jaff

(Reposted from my review on AustenBlog)

Early in Joanna Trollope’s modern-set rewrite of Sense and Sensibility, Fanny Dashwood sweeps into Norland, which she is going to run as a commercial concern (a B&B), and tosses out the rumpled, genteel, shabby-chic furnishings, replacing them with shiny sleek modern decor.

And they say irony is dead.

When we first heard about what Harper is calling The Austen Project, we were intrigued by the idea, but had a difficult time figuring out what Harper was trying (Reposted from my review on AustenBlog)

Early in Joanna Trollope’s modern-set rewrite of Sense and Sensibility, Fanny Dashwood sweeps into Norland, which she is going to run as a commercial concern (a B&B), and tosses out the rumpled, genteel, shabby-chic furnishings, replacing them with shiny sleek modern decor.

And they say irony is dead.

When we first heard about what Harper is calling The Austen Project, we were intrigued by the idea, but had a difficult time figuring out what Harper was trying to accomplish. It’s one thing if an author is inspired by the idea of writing a book based upon one of Jane Austen’s novels. No matter one’s feelings about such an endeavor in general, it is coming from the author’s inspiration. She may want to play with the characters in a modern setting; he may want to tell a story about what happened to the characters next; she may want to introduce a spanner into the works, and see what happens. In all of these cases, the author is trying to accomplish something. None of the authors involved with The Austen Project had a thought to doing this on his or her own; they were all assigned the book by the publisher. Why did they accept? For money? Perhaps. There’s nothing wrong with that; we don’t think Jane Austen would have begrudged any author some “pewter” for his or her work. But we felt like there was no heart or soul to Ms. Trollope’s workmanlike rewrite of Sense and Sensibility. At best, it could be considered an intellectual exercise, and we hope that for Ms. Trollope’s sake, it was.

We think this book will inevitably be compared to The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine and The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman, two other modern-set books inspired by Sense and Sensibility. Unlike the former, it is not a meditation upon how women in these modern times often still have the same financial issues as women in Jane Austen’s time; and unlike the latter, it is not an homage, with the original story a mere shadow in the background of the author’s story. This is a rewrite. It is a copy of the original, set in modern-day England. Everything in Austen’s original is there; nothing is missing. For the Janeite, there is a comfort in that; but one wonders who is the audience for this. Young People bored or intimidated by Austen’s “Olde English” are a touch below Ms. Trollope’s usual audience; and that usual audience would likely just read Austen’s original. It appears that the audience is not Janeites. (Perhaps that’s why we’re having trouble figuring out this book, as we are a non-anorexic American who owns a Regency gown, and therefore apparently cannot hold a valid opinion. As we opined on Twitter, Ms. Trollope’s humility must disarm reproof.)

We liked this book. It was a pleasant and enjoyable read, at times funny, and with a few scenes that we really liked. (One in particular should satisfy those who howl that Marianne and Colonel Brandon are ill-suited: they discuss who was more broken-hearted over their lost first loves. They really are a lot alike.) There’s nothing wrong with this book.

But in our way we are as romantic as Marianne Dashwood. We think anything associated with Jane Austen should make our heart sing. We should love it, and not by halves. On Goodreads, our personal star-rating system is: 1, hated it; 2, didn’t like it very much; 3, liked it, would recommend; 4, loved it; 5, want to get naked and roll around in it. This book will get a 3 on that scale. We liked it, sure, but we didn’t get “any burst of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good” from it, either. If you are curious, read it; just don’t expect to love it. ...more

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Dec 24, 2013 Josie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'll come right out and say that S&S is my least favourite Austen novel, but I was interested to read this to see how it worked as a modern adaptation. (I love Clueless and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, for example.) But this... was just S&S transplanted into the modern era. There were no clever touches, and Joanna Trollope never strayed from the source material. She just rewrote it in her own style -- which seemed to involve an overly-generous use of commas. It's no exaggeration to say that I near ...more

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About Joanna Trollope

Joanna Trollope

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Joanna Trollope Potter Curteis (aka Caroline Harvey)

Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trol ...more

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The Austen Project (4 books)

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Quotes from Sense & Sensibility

“We’re so useful, we practical people. We hold it altogether. But we’re seen as killjoys, somehow. Most unfair.” — 3 likes

“Was it worth saying that she was no longer going to do anything for anyone since it seemed to her that the more generous she was, the more she herself seemed to get punished?” — 2 likes

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