THE SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BICENTENARY CELEBRATION - GUESTPOST AND GIVEAWAY. LAUREL ANN NATTRESS, MARIANNE DASHWOOD: A PASSION FOR DEAD LEAVES AND OTHER SENSIBILITIES

This is the twelfth and the last guestpost in this series celebrating the Bicentenary of Sense and Sensibility (1811) . On this occasion, I'd like to thank all my guests for contributing so generously to the success of the event with their brilliant essays: Jennifer Becton, Alexa Adams, C. Allyn Pierson, Beth Pattillo, Jane Odiwe, Deb Barnum, Laurie Viera Rigler, Regina Jeffers, Lynn Shepherd, Meredith Esparza, Vic Sanborn and Laurel Ann Nattress. My gratitude to Katherine Cox, too, who created the logo for our celebration here at My Jane Austen Book Club. 


Now, to close this incredible monthly event, the lady of Austenprose,  Laurel Ann Nattress, with a thorough and delightful post about Marianne  Dashwood and her inclination to ... sensibilities. Enjoy and leave your comment as well as your e-mail address to enter the giveaway of a copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It, the anthology of Austen-inspired short stories edited by Laurel Ann. The giveaway ends on December 31st and is open worldwide.

Thank you Maria for including me in your Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Celebration. I have so enjoyed the eleven previous essays by fellow Janeites this year.

Even though Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, is now two hundred years old, it is still pertinent to today’s readers thanks to its two intriguing heroines, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood.

I especially requested to be your last contributor in your celebration because I wanted to talk about Marianne Dashwood, Jane Austen’s young, emotional and “sensible” co-heroine. She should have the last word. Can you imagine what this novel would be like without Marianne? The story would dull, dull, dull, and passionless. She is the kindling of the narrative, supplying all the high strung energy and melodrama to ignite the plot. Her elder, and more staid sister Elinor, is quite the opposite in personality, offering us all that is “sense,” decorum and practicality.

So, why did Jane Austen write about two sisters that were so divergent in how they react and view life’s challenges: Marianne, all self-indulgent, unguarded and unfiltered opinion and emotion, and Elinor, all practicality, proper decorum, and as unreadable asthe prisoner ofPignerol? If these two young ladies sound like polar opposites, then you are correct in your analysis. This intriguing combination of personalities plays off each like fire and ice, setting the scene perfectly for Austen’s between the lines social commentary on women, money and love. 

Kate Winslet as Marianne (1995)

Let’s start with the title of the novel. The meaning of sense and sensibility to modern readers might fly over their heads, but is actually a juxtaposition of terms. Today, sensibility equates to having sense, or being rationally composed and practical. In Jane Austen’s day, sensibility had an entirely opposite meaning. In fact, there was a literary genre devoted to it called the “sentimental novel”or “sensibility novel” which celebrated the “emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility.” This was based on the 18th-century Cult of the Sensibility: whereby genteel society  believed in the exaggerated expression of emotions. Women’s mannerisms revolved around the delicacy of their sensitive nervous system, equaling expression of feelings through blushing, swooning and crying in response to a situation. Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady (1748) is a perfect example of a “sensibility novel” containing a young, innocent, virtuous, heroine who blushes, swoons and cries in response to her abuse by her family and a corrupt man who seduces her for his own entertainment. Ironically, in her usual stroke of brilliance, Austen chooses to use some of the same plot devices in Sense and Sensibilityand cleverly flip-flops them, makingMarianne a sentimental, emotional firecracker of a heroine plopped down into apractical environment fueled by money worries, the marriage market, social standing and sense.

Here are a few of my favorite Marianne quotes to exemplify my points involving: dreadful indifference, common-place notion of decorum,pleasure and regret, determining intimacy, fixed opinions, anddead leaves:

“I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own. He must enter into all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both. Oh mama! how spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night! I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my seat. To hear those beautiful lines which have frequently almost driven me wild, pronounced with such impenetrable calmness, such dreadful indifference!” Chapter 3

“Elinor,” cried Marianne, “is this fair? is this just? are my ideas so scanty? But I see what you mean. I have been too much at my ease, too happy, too frank. I have erred against every common-place notion of decorum! I have been open and sincere where I ought to have been reserved, spiritless, dull, and deceitful. Had I talked only of the weather and the roads, and had I spoken only once in ten minutes, this reproach would have been spared.” Chapter 10

“Dear, dear Norland!” said Marianne, as she wandered alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; “when shall I cease to regret you? -- when learn to feel a home elsewhere? -- Oh happy house! could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more! -- And you, ye well-known trees! -- but you will continue the same. -- No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer! -- No; you will continue the same; unconscious of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any change in those who walk under your shade! -- But who will remain to enjoy you?” Chapter 5

“You are mistaken, Elinor,” said she warmly, “in supposing I know very little of Willoughby. I have not known him long indeed, but I am much better acquainted with him, than I am with any other creature in the world, except yourself and mama. It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy: -- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others. I should hold myself guilty of greater impropriety in accepting a horse from my brother than from Willoughby. Of John I know very little, though we have lived together for years; but of Willoughby my judgment has long been formed.”

Elinor thought it wisest to touch that point no more. She knew her sister's temper. Opposition on so tender a subject would only attach her the more to her own opinion. Chapter 12

“Perhaps, then, you would bestow it as a reward on that person who wrote the ablest defence of your favorite maxim, that no one can ever be in love more than once in their life -- for your opinion on that point is unchanged, I presume?” (Edward Ferrars)

“Undoubtedly. At my time of life, opinions are tolerably fixed. It is not likely that I should now see or hear anything to change them.” (Marianne Dashwood)

“Marianne is as stedfast as ever, you see,” said Elinor, “she is not at all altered.” Chapter 17

“And how does dear, dear Norland look?” cried Marianne.

“Dear, dear Norland,” said Elinor, “probably looks much as it always does at this time of year. The woods and walks thickly covered with dead leaves.”

“Oh!” cried Marianne, “with what transporting sensations have I formerly seen them fall! How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind! What feelings have they, the season, the air altogether inspired! Now there is no one to regard them. They are seen only as a nuisance, swept hastily off, and driven as much as possible from the sight.”

“It is not every one," said Elinor, "who has your passion for dead leaves.” Chapter 16

Marianne Dashwood – the seventeen year old middle daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood of Norland Park may be spontaneous, excessively sensible, overly romantic,  idealistic, impulsive and determined to love the a risky suitor John Willoughby – but she never loves by halves – absolving all her trying faults and blunders. Austen does eventually have her come to her “senses” and realize the err of her ways – and change, but I always feel a “sense” of loss at her transformation from wild innocent to contrite adult, choosing to marry the practical Col. Brandon by the end of the novel. I never truly believe that she does not mourn the loss of the admiration of dead leaves and other sensibilities. Like a wild mustang, breaking Marianne’s spirit, broke her charm to us. This was Austen’s bittersweet message of women’s lot in the early 1800’s. Today we have more options, but Marianne’s message still rings true today. Never love by halves. Don’t be “reserved, spiritless, dull, and deceitful” to your true self. Discover “everything that is worthy and amiable” in yourself and revel in it.

Author Bio

A life-long acolyte of Jane Austen, Laurel Ann Nattress is the editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It, an anthology of twenty-two Austenesque stories published by Ballantine Book in 2011, and Austenprose.com, a blog devoted to the oeuvre of her favorite author and the many books and movies that she has inspired. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, a regular contributor to the PBS blog Remotely Connected and the Jane Austen Centre online magazine. An expatriate of southern California, Laurel Ann lives in a country cottage near Snohomish, Washington where it rains a lot. Visit Laurel Ann at her blog Austenprose – A Jane Austen Blog, on Twitter as @Austenprose, and on Facebook as Laurel Ann Nattress.

THE SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BICENTENARY CELEBRATION - VIC SANBORN, MR PALMER DISCUSSES HIS FELLOW MINOR CHARACTERS. GUESTPOST & GIVEAWAY

Vic Sanborn writes two very  popular Austen-dedicated blogs, Jane Austen's World and Jane Austen Today  which I , like many of you, greatly appreciate.  I'm really  glad to welcome her on my little Austen-dedicated corner of the blogosphere. She is one of the Austenites and Austen experts involved in our Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Celebration. 

Read her piece about the minor characters in Sense and Sensibility and leave your comments + e-mail address to enter the giveaway of  JANE'S FAME by Claire Harman offered by Vic and open worldwide. This giveaway contest ends on November 30th when the winner is announced. 

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Mr. Palmer Discusses His Fellow Minor Characters

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 I, Thomas Palmer, Esq., have been charged to analyze and discuss the traits of my fellow minor characters in Sense and Sensibility, the first of six novels by Jane Austen. I shall endeavor to do JUSTICE to that estimable author's first published effort, which made its way to the public some 200 years ago and has never failed to be in print since.

I must first cast my thoughts upon Fanny and John Dashwood, whose miserliness oblidged the Dashwood women to leave their comfortable home at Norland to establish themselves in Barton Cottage and live a FRUGAL life in Devonshire amongst strangers. Miss Austen was a mere 20 years of age when she first conceived of this novel in epistolary form, first naming it Elinor and Marianne. That such a young author, whose knowledge of the world was CONFINED largely to books and the experiences of others, could create two such memorable characters as Fanny and John Dashwood portended her genius. 

Fanny in particular is a character like no other in literature. Her manipulation of her weak husband in persuading him to abandon his PLEDGE to his father on that man's deathbed is breathtaking in its audacity and avarice. The sequence of her skewed logic and her husband's reaction to her CONTRIVANCE to preserve every pence of her darling son's inheritance is matchless. Even I could not have conceived of a more cynical, darkly humorous dialog than young Miss Austen presented through these two minor characters, thereby setting the novel's direction and tone. “People always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them.” One simply cannot add or take away a word to improve this utterance by Mrs. Dashwood.

The John Dashwoods represent, like so many minor characters, a FOIL – brilliantly conceived foils, to be sure – that are meant to contrast with other characters. Take my rather vulgar brother-in-law, Sir John Middleton, who is renowned for his generous impulses. Whilst the Dashwood ladies were figuratively shoved out of Norland by the John Dashwoods, Sir John, a distant relation, emerges from nowhere to offer them a hearth and home. The CONTRAST twixt the two Johns – one so weak and tight-fisted that he willing to break his vow to his dying father, the other so generous that he is forever inviting the entire neighborhood to sample the contents of his larder – cannot be ignored. 

I next turn my gaze upon the Steele sisters, Lucy and Anne. Anne is a flat minor character who is doomed to learn nothing from life's experiences, but who interjects a running COMIC gag over her obsession with Dr. Davies (he will never offer his hand in marriage). Her main purpose in the novel is to REVEAL the engagement of Lucy to Edward at a most awkward moment.

Her sister Lucy, a smarter, prettier version of Anne, is as mean, cunning and scheming a creature as I have ever come across. I had her measure from the start, I assure you. Lucy's sole ambition is to ingratiate herself with her betters in order to take her place in SOCIETY. Knowing of Edward Ferrars' attraction to Miss Dashwood, she makes a preemptive strike by CONFIDING her secrets to Elinor, forcing our hapless heroine to LISTEN to matters that, while they pain her deeply, she must keep to herself. Many minor characters play the role of confidante to a novel's protagonist, but Lucy Steele turned the table on Elinor, forcing her to listen to matters that were most distasteful and hurtful. Our scheming Lucy more than turned the table on Edward, eloping with his younger brother Robert when it becomes apparent that the latter will INHERIT the Ferrars fortune of £1,000 per year. One can only cheer knowing that this feckless couple will always be dissatisfied with each other, always wanting more possessions.

Minor characters provide a diversity of roles in a story. The novelist will, without beating a reader over the head, contrive to have a minor character DEMONSTRATE another character's flaw (or perfection, as it were). Take Eliza Williams, who we meet only through Colonel Brandon. The fact that she bore a child out of wedlock and was ABANDONED shows us Willloughby's dark, amoral side. When confronted with the love of an outstanding woman (Marianne), he JILTS her in favor of Miss Sophia Grey, a manipulative heiress who directs Willoughby to give Marianne the CUT DIRECT in London or else suffer the consequence of the end of their engagement. Willoughby's charm as a suitor pales more quickly for the reader than for poor Marianne, who must suffer both emotionally and physically before her heart is opened to Colonel Brandon's steadfast and mature love. 

To be sure, choices such as Willoughby's are not unusual in19th century England. That a man cast off by his benefactress would chuse an heiress over a penniless girl was no mere WHIM. Indeed, at the end Willoughby consoles himself for having chosen wealth in order to indulge his love for horses and dogs over wedded bliss with his true love. 

 I have briefly touched upon Sir John Middleton, my generous brother-in-law, whose COLD FISH of a wife is the elder sister of my spouse, Charlotte. Their fond mama, Mrs. Jennings, is as generous and gregarious as Sir John, and as vulgar as the day is long. Her husband made his fortune in TRADE and the scent of that association still clings to her like hay to a horse. Miss Jane Austen acknowledged the inevitable rise of the middle class through minor characters such as the Jennings (and the Bingleys in Pride and Prejudice), and pursued the topic with Captain Wentworth's rise in fortune in Persuasion.

Mrs. Jennings' vulgarities gave Miss Marianne no end of discomfort, and her conversations with Sir John were often so tactless at dinner that even Miss Elinor Dashwood at times would have rather plucked chickens than be subjected to their HINTS about the gentlemen in their lives. Yet Miss Austen has a decided fondness for Mrs. Jennings, for in that good woman she created a person who would abandon her annoying ways and do everything in her power to support a friend or relative in need.

What of myself as a minor character, you must wonder? Be ASSURED that I have reserved the finest of Sense and Sensibility's minor characters for last. I am, after all, running for PARLIAMENT and would not be doing so if I did not think I had an excellent chance of winning. I have the reputation of thinking highly of myself, but how could this be otherwise in someone who can lay claim to my confidence, intelligence, and superiority? 

Some might describe me as rude or even insolent, but I think of myself as a discerning man, for I do not DESPISE those who possess a modicum of sense, such as Colonel Brandon, Miss Dashwood, and Miss Marianne (when she is not moping around). I DO despise myself for having fallen prey to a pretty face with a fortune, having discovered since my nuptials how an empty head and vacuous good cheer can GRATE upon a man's tranquil nature. I also admit to possessing a healthy degree of self-admiration. However, at my estate, Cleveland, you will find me as good a host as any you have ever encountered.

I must add my opinion to other critics about YOUNG Miss Austen's cleverness in parading my unhappy marriage in front of the two Miss Dashwoods, both of whom had the opportunity to compare their notions of a happy union against the reality of mine. The contrast of my marriage to the ideal state could not be ignored, even by you, the reader. Through the use of minor characters Miss Austen interjected humor and satire as well as INSTRUCTION about the human condition – no mean feat.

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So there you have it, my analysis of the minor characters inhabiting Miss Austen's estimable "Sense and Sensibility". Oh, I could have delved further into the topic, for I did not mention Mrs. Ferrars or Mrs. Henry Dashwood, for example, but my discourse was designed for a blog post in which the typical reader is willing to give no more than 4-5 minutes of their time to learn something of VALUE. I thank Maria Grazia for inviting me to join other bloggers in celebrating "Sense and Sensibility". In doing so, I daresay that I have learned as much about myself as others.

Vic Sanborn

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BICENTENARY CELEBRATION: SENSE AND SENSIBILITY FAN FICTION - AN OVERVIEW BY MEREDITH ESPARZA + GIVEAWAY OPEN WORLDWIDE

This month's guest for the Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Celebration is Meredith Esparza. A long-time admirer of Jane Austen and an avid reader, Meredith started writing reviews as a hobby several years ago. In September 2009 she became more serious about her hobby and started her own blog, Austenesque Reviews, a blog devoted to the reading and reviewing the numerous Jane Austen sequels, fan-fiction, and para-literature that have been recently published, as well as the ones that were published years ago. In addition to reading Austenesque novels, Meredith takes pleasure in reading novels by the Brontës, Louisa May Alcott, and Georgette Heyer! You can find Meredith on Facebook, Goodreads, and on Twitter. 

Sense and Sensibility Fan Fiction – An Overview

As many of you already know, there is a multitude of Austenesque novels about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, yet nowhere near as much for her other novels.  But that doesn't mean they don't exist!  Readers may be surprised to learn that there are 21 Austenesque novels for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and that number is growing – and most likely will continue! 

In honor of Maria Grazia's Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Celebration I have compiled a list and guide for all published Sense and Sensibility Fan Fiction (that I know of).  Hopefully you will find this guide helpful in your search for Austenesque novels for Sense and Sensibility. 

1. The Book:  Expectations of Happiness by Rebecca Ann Collins

• Published:  2011
• Type of Novel:  Sequel
• Main Characters:  Margaret Dashwood, Marianne Brandon, and Elinor Ferrars
• Premise:  A companion novel to Sense and Sensibility, exploring the lives of the three Dashwood sisters several years after the close of Jane Austen's novel. 
• Have I read it:  Just started! 

2. The Book:  Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler

• Published:  2011
• Type of Novel:  Young Adult, Modern Adaptation
• Main Characters:  Gabby and Daphne Rivera
• Premise:  Two diverse sisters battle high school, boys, and each other.
• Have I read it:  Yes! (August 2011) 5 stars!  I loved it!

3. The Book:  The Dashwood Sisters Tell All by Beth Pattillo

• Published:  2010
• Type of Novel:  Austen-Inspired
• Main Characters:  Ellen and Mimi Dodge
• Premise:  Two sisters, who have grown apart and do get along, travel to England to find an appropriate place to scatter their mother's ashes but discover Jane Austen and themselves along the way!
• Have I read it:  Yes! (May 2011) 5 stars!  I loved it! 

 4. The Book:  Murder on the Bride's Side by Tracy Kiely

• Published:  2010
• Type of Novel:  Austen-Inspired, Mystery
• Main Characters:  Elizabeth Parker, Aunt Winnie, Peter McGowan, Bridget Matthews
• Premise: While attending her best friend's wedding, Jane Austen fan, Elizabeth Parker gets embroiled in a mystery.
• Have I read it:  Yes! (December 2010)  4 stars!  A very fun mystery with a lot of nods to S&S!

5. The Book:  The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

• Published:  2010
• Type of Novel:  Austen-Inspired
• Main Characters:  Emily and Jessamine Bach
• Premise:  A tale about sisters, collectors, tech-companies, rabbis, and tree conversationists.
• Have I read it:  Yes! (October 2010) 3 stars.  I liked Jessamine's story, but not Emily's. 

6. The Book:  Rifts and Restoration by M. Eucharista Ward

• Published:  2010
• Type of Novel:  Sequel
• Main Characters:  Margaret Dashwood
• Premise: After seeing Elinor and Marianne's heartaches, Margaret isn't even sure she wants to marry!
• Have I read it:  Not yet! 

7. The Book:  The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine

• Published:  2010
• Type of Novel:  Modern Adaptation
• Main Characters:  Annie, Miranda, and Bettie Weissmann
• Premise:  Three women in reduced circumstances battle heartbreak and disappointment.
• Have I read it:  Yes. (January 2011)  3 stars. Not my favorite.

8. The Book:  Willoughby's Return by Jane Odiwe

• Published:  2009
• Type of Novel:  Sequel
• Main Characters:  Margaret Dashwood and Marianne Brandon
• Premise:  Marianne plays matchmaker for her sister Margaret, while the ghost of Willoughby haunts her marriage.
• Have I read it:  Yes!  (December 2009)  5 stars!  Best sequel for Sense and Sensibility I've read so far!

9.  The Book:  Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

• Published:  2009
• Type of Novel:  Paranormal Retelling
• Main Characters:  Elinor and Marianne Dashwood
• Premise:  The Dashwood women are forced to live on an island and encounter various types of sea monsters. 
• Have I read it:  Not yet.  Not sure if I want to...

 10. The Book:  Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange

• Published:  2009
• Type of Novel:  Point-of-view/Retelling
• Main Characters:  Colonel Brandon, Eliza Williams, Marianne Dashwood
• Premise:  A fleshed-out retelling of Sense and Sensibility from Colonel Brandon's perspective. Includes the history of Colonel Brandon and his first love, Eliza Williams.   
• Have I read it:  Yes!  (November 2009)  4 stars!  I loved learning about Colonel Brandon's past with Eliza. 

11. The Book:  Sensing Jane Austen by Kerri Bennett Williamson

• Published:  2009
• Type of Novel:  Austen-Inspired
• Main Characters:  Cassandra Atwood
• Premise:  A once-wealthy heiress is forced to live as a servant and wear rags, surviving her tragic circumstances with the help of Jane Austen and Sense and Sensibility.
• Have I read it:  Yes! (May 2010) 4 stars!  Jane Austen meets Cinderella!

12. The Book:  Eliza's Daughter by Joan Aiken

• Published:  1994 (republished in 2008)
• Type of Novel:  Sequel
• Main Characters:  Eliza Williams
• Premise:  Willoughby's illegitimate child, Eliza, seeks a life of adventure and romance.
• Have I read it:  Not yet!

13. The Book:  The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love by Rosie Rushton

• Published: 2005
• Type of Novel: Young Adult, Modern Adaptation
• Main Characters:  Ellie, Abby, and Georgie Dahswood
• Premise: Three sisters lose their father and their childhood home. 
• Have I read it:  Not yet!  On my TBR shelf!

14. The Book:  Miss Lucy Steele by Ruth Berger

• Published:  2005
• Type of Novel:  Point-of-view/Retelling (in German)
• Main Characters:  Lucy Steele, Edward Ferrars
• Premise:  A retelling of Sense and Sensibility from the perspective of Lucy Steele. 
• Have I read it:  Not yet!  But I really want to!  I hope it gets translated into English!

15. The Book:  Suspense and Sensibility: Or First Impressions Revisited by Carrie Bebris

• Published:  2005
• Type of Novel:  Sequel, Mystery
• Main Characters:  Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, Elinor Ferrars, Kitty Bennet, Harry Dashwood
• Premise:  Darcy, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Kitty travel to London.  Intrigue ensues.      
• Have I read it:  Yes! (July 2007)  4 stars!  Not my favorite in the series, but still fun!

16. The Book:  Reason and Romance by Debra White Smith

• Published:  2004
• Type of Novel:  Modern Adaptation
• Main Characters:  Elaina and Anna Woods
• Premise:  A modern adaptation of Sense and Sensibility with some Christian undertones.  A part of the 6 book Austen Series by Debra White Smith.    
• Have I read it:  Yes! (March 2005)  4 stars! I enjoyed the integration of Christian faith. 

17. The Book:  The Third Sister by Julia Barrett

• Published: 1996
• Type of Novel:  Sequel
• Main Characters:  Margaret Dashwood
• Premise:  Four years after the close of Sense and Sensibility, Margaret is grown up and looking for an eligible match
• Have I read it:  Yes. (January 2007) 2.5 stars.  Was not very captivating or memorable. 

18. The Book:  Elinor and Marianne

• Published: 1996
• Type of Novel:  Sequel, Epistolary Novel
• Main Characters:  Elinor Ferrars and Marianne Brandon
• Premise: Newly married Elinor and Marianne exchange letters.  Willoughby comes back into their lives. 
• Have I read it:  Not yet.  Have not heard many positive things about Emma Tennant.

19. The Book:  The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson

• Published: 1995 (revised in 2002, 2007)
• Type of Novel:  Reference
• Main Characters:  Emma Thompson
• Premise: Emma Thompson's diaries from shooting Sense and Sensibility.  Includes screenplay script complete with stage directions. 
• Have I read it:  Yes! (July 2010)  5 stars! Emma Thompson is hilarious!

20. The Book:   Brightsea by Jane Gillespie

• Published: 1987
• Type of Novel:  Sequel 
• Main Characters:  Nancy Steele and Lucy Ferrars
• Premise: Spinster Nancy Steele takes a position as a paid companion to a rich, young heiress. 
• Have I read it:  Yes!  (October 2007)  3.5 stars!  Those Steele sisters are something else!

21. The Book:   Margaret Dashwood or Interference by Mrs. Francis Brown

• Published: 1929
• Type of Novel:  Sequel 
• Main Characters:  Margaret Dashwood
• Premise: Margaret, now seventeen, attracts a suitor or two...
• Have I read it:  Not yet!  I wish I could track this one down!

  

GIVEAWAY!!!  

A Sense and Sensibility Austenesque Novel of YOUR Choice. (Open worldwide)

Expectations of Happiness

Sass and Serendipity

The Dashwood Sisters Tell All

The Three Weissmanns of Westport

Willoughby's Return

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Colonel Brandon's Diary

Sensing Jane Austen

Eliza's Daughter

Suspense and Sensibility: Or First Impressions Revisited

How can you win?

Just leave a comment stating which Sense and Sensibility Austenesque novel you are interested in reading and why. Don't forget to add your e-mail address!  The giveaway ends October 31 when the winner is announced.

Meredith Esparza

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BICENTENARY CELEBRATION : SETTLING FOR THE COMPROMISE MARRIAGE. GUESTPOST BY REGINA JEFFERS + GIVEAWAY

This month's guestblog to celebrate the bicentenary of Sense and Sensibility (1811 - 2011)  is by Regina Jeffers and is about the idea of a "compromise marriage" in Jane Austen's world and novels, with special reference to the Daswood sisters. 

This month's giveaway is  of a signed copy of Regina Jeffer's latest publication, "The Scandal of Lady Eleanor". The details of the giveaway can be found at the end of this post. 

You can read all the guestposts in the Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Celebration following the links you'll find HERE.
Enjoy Regina's post and join the discussion!

Settling for the Comprise Marriage

What hope was there for the dowerless daughters of the middle class during Jane Austen’s lifetime? Such is a topic Austen explored repeatedly in her novels. Elizabeth and Jane Bennet sought men of a like mind. The Dashwood sisters found their choices limited by their financial situation. Fanny Harville and Captain Benwick could not marry until he earned his future. General Tilney drove Catherine Morland from his home because of the lady’s lack of funds. Charlotte Lucas accepted Mr. Collins as her last opportunity for a respectable match. The intricacies and tedium of high society, particularly of partner selection, and the conflicts of marriage for love and marriage for property are repeated themes.

Watercolour painting by Jane Odiwe

 Marriage provided women with financial security. Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey explains, “… in both [marriage and a country dance], man has the advantage of choice, woman only the power of refusal: that in both, it is an engagement between man and woman, formed for the advantage of each.” Women of Austen’s gentry class had no legal identity. No matter how clever the woman might be, finding a husband was the only option. A woman could not buy property or write a will without her husband’s approval. If a woman was fortunate, she would bring to her marriage a settlement – money secured for her when she came of age – usually an inheritance from her mother. The oldest son or male heir received the family estate, and the unmarried or widowed females lived on his kindness. The ladies of Sense and Sensibility have this reality thrust upon them when Uncle Dashwood changes his will and leaves Norland to his grandnephew. In Uncle Dashwood’s thinking, this change will keep Norland in the Dashwood family. However, the four Dashwood ladies suddenly find themselves living in a modest cottage with an income of £500 annually. As such, they have no occasion for visits to London unless someone else assumes the expenses. Their social circle shrinks, and the opportunities to meet eligible suitors becomes nearly non-existent. With dowries of £1000 each, the Dashwood sisters are not likely to attract a man, who will improve their lots. Jane Austen, herself, lived quite modestly. The Austens lived frugally among the country gentry. The Austen sisters were well educated by the standards of the day, but without chances for dowries, Jane and Cassandra possessed limited prospects. Jane met a Mr. Blackall the year Cassandra lost her Mr. Fowle. In a letter, Blackall expressed to Mrs. Lefroy a desire to know Jane better; yet, he confided, “But at present I cannot indulge any expectation of it.” To which, Jane Austen responded, “This is rational enough. There is less love and more sense in it than sometimes appeared before, and I am very well satisfied.” Imperfect opportunities were Jane Austen’s reality. In 1802, Jane Austen accepted an offer of marriage from Harris Bigg. With this marriage, Jane would have become the mistress of Manydown.

Yet, despite her affection for the family, Austen could not deceive Bigg. The following morning, she refused the man’s proposal. Whether she thought to some day find another or whether Austen accepted the fact that her refusal doomed her to a life as a spinster, we shall never know. In the “limited” world in which Jane Austen lived, she could not have known her eventual influence on the literary canon. Austen held personal knowledge of young women seeking husbands in one of the British colonies. Reverend Austen’s sister, Philadelphia, traveled to India in 1752, where she married an English surgeon Tysoe Hancock, a man twenty years her senior. When the Hancocks returned to England a decade later, Reverend Austen traveled to London to greet his sister. However, Philadelphia and Tysoe were not to live “happily ever after.” Unable to support his family in proper English style, Tysoe returned to India to make his living. He never saw his wife and child again. Despite its tragic ending, this “marriage” secured Philadelphia’s future and the lady’s place in society. Only marriage could offer a woman respectability. 

 In Jane Austen for Dummies (page 134), Joan Klingel Ray breaks down the financial prospects of the Dashwood sisters. Converting the £500 to a modern equivalent, Ray comes out with a figure of $46,875. For the gentry, supporting four women, two maids, a man servant, paying rent, buying clothes, food, coal, etc., that sum would have meant a poor existence. I find in reading Sense and Sensibility that I am often disappointed with the eventual choices of the Dashwood sisters. Edward Ferras and Colonel Brandon have less of the “glitz and the glamour” that my innate Cinderella syndrome requires in a love match. However, if any affection did exist between the couples, then Marianne and Elinor, under the circumstances and the times, made brilliant matches. They settled for the “compromise” marriage common in the Regency era.

About the author: 

Regina Jeffers is the author of several Jane Austen adaptations, as well as Regency romance, including Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation, Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion, Vampire Darcy’s Desire, The Phantom of Pemberley, and The Scandal of Lady Eleanor. She considers herself a Janeite and spends much of her free time with the Jane Austen Society of North America and AustenAuthors.net. A teacher for 39 years, Regina Jeffers is a Time Warner Star Teacher Award winner, a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, a Columbus Educator Award winner, and a guest panelist for the Smithsonian. She has served on various national educational committees and is often sought as a media literacy consultant.

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About the book

The Scandal of Lady Eleanor is a sweep-the-reader-away story of romance, adventure, and intrigue set in the Jane Austen era.

A master at capturing the elegance, grandeur, and literary style of the Regency era, Regina Jeffers has developed a loyal following with her many popular Jane Austen spin-off novels. In The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, Jeffers offers a completely original Regency romance featuring highly engaging characters and exciting—even shocking—plot twists. James Kerrington, a future Earl and a key member of the British government’s secret unit, the Realm, never expected to find love again after the loss of his beloved wife. Kerrington’s world shifts on its axis when Eleanor Fowler stumbles into his arms. Eleanor, however, is hiding a deep secret: she had hoped the death of her father, the Duke William Fowler, would give her family a chance at redemption from the dark past, but when Sir Louis Levering proves her father’s debauchery, Eleanor is thrown into a web of immorality and blackmail. Kerrington and his friends must free Eleanor from Levering’s diabolic hold.

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