Sense and Sensibility

By Joanne Trollope

This book is a modern version of the Jane Austen novel of the same name.

I thought the author did quite a good job of providing a modern version of the tale.  The story is set in the present.  However, the young girls and their mother still find themselves thrown out of their house upon the death of their father/husband.  The family had been living with an elderly family  member, he bequeathed the house to the father's step son, who the family has had no contact with. The man supposedly promised his father that he would after his mother and sisters, at the father's deathbed.  However, his scheming wife has other plans and convinces him that they must leave.

A distant relative offers them a small cottage.  Not a quaint old English cottage but a recently built, but small one, on his estate.

 One of the girls, Elinor, falls in love with her stepbrother's brother-in-law much to the chagrin of the girl's sister in law who is totally against the relationship.  She and her mother , both of whom are very concerned with wealth and staus, have much better plans for the young man.  This does not include marrying a poor girl of no social standing.

Elinor, the only sensible one jn the familh tries to take his abandonment stoically.  She realizes they have little money and sets out to find a job to have some income for the family. 

Here sister, Marianne, suffers from severe asthma, as did her father.  Marianne is rescued when she is having a severe attack by a handsome young man driving an Astin Martin sportscar.    She falls for this handsome young man, heir to a neighbouring estate. He later breaks her heart by marrying someone else.  This ruins her health and sanity.  The family member who has invited the mother and girls to live on his estate has a male friend who spends a lot of time at his property.  This man takes an interest in Marianne but she isn't interested in him. He is very nice and kind but the family considers him to old and boring to think of as a potential suitor.

In the end Elinor's beau decides to go against his mother's wishes and follow his heart.  He proposes to Elinor and she accepts.  This means he will likely be written out of his mother's will but he is convinced they will do okay.  Elinor convinces him to go and visit his mother to explain his decision.  He does. and the mother relents and gives them some money.

The other sister, Marianne decides that she can accept the offer of marriage from the boring older man.  She realizes he is kind and she likes his company.  He too suffered from an unfulfilled love. The book shows that while some things have changed since Austen's time, some things--young love, treachery, romance still exist today. A fun read.