AUSTEN-L "Pre-FAQ" Comments on Jane Austen Sequels, Continuations, and other Para-literature (Collected by Juliet A. Youngren) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments on Jane Austen sequels on the Jane Austen discussion list (AUSTEN-L) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [See http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/austen-l.html http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/austseql.html and http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/pre-faq.txt ] Q. What recommendations do you have about sequels to Jane Austen's novels? [I chose to use the word "sequel" since it is what most people say ... even Marilyn Sachs in the quote below.] A. Comments from the list follow. 'See both Marilyn Sachs on "The Sequels to Jane Austen's Novels" and David Hopkinson on "Completions" in "The Jane Austen Companion" (1986).' (Eric Walker, 7 February 1994) ====================================== CONTINUATIONS OF "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" "My favorite take on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE sequels was the parody cover illustration for (the non-existent) PRIDE AND EXTREME PREJUDICE, showing an elegantly-dressed 18th-century lady holding a smoking gun--a new Bennet sister 'Dirty Harriet' who tells Lady Catherine 'I have no objection, your ladyship, to your proceeding, since, by so doing, you shall render my afternoon quite agreeable.' (If this sequel had ever been written, it probably would have had just as much merit as some of the ones that are actually out there.)" (Henry Churchyard, 26 September 1995) DARCY'S STORY by Janet Aylmer ----------------------------- (Copperfield Books, 1996, ISBN 0 9528 210 28) "Not glaringly wrong, but really skimpy and light. Very little new or interesting is added--it's just P & P from Darcy's side, with most of the dialog straight from JA." (Wendy Jones, 28 January 1997--e-mail to compiler) "[I] enjoyed DARCY'S STORY ... although Darcy is a bit 'wet' in it. It fills in some gaps in an intriguing way." (Joy Pibworth, 1 February 1997) "I found DARCY'S STORY the worst continuation I'd ever read; in fact, I couldn't bring myself to finish it ... it reprints whole chunks of Jane Austen, linked together by bits of dull nothings." (Edith Lank, 2 February 1997) "It was quite boring, and ... offered nothing new. I would have appreciated the author expounding a little more than was implied by the novel or the movie!" (Wendy Jones, 3 February 1997) "It was a big disappointment with well over two-thirds (well it seemed that much) of the dialogue from P&P. Interleaved among this unattributed borrowing was very dull and obvious thoughts and some conversation between Darcy and Bingley, D and his sister, and with a few others. But no wit, no enlightenment, no special understanding. It is indeed a terrible book and certainly not worth the money ... I would recommend people read the original book again and 'read' between the lines." (Judy Doran, 3 February 1997) "I am reading it now and am glad that I got it from the NY JASNA library rather than paid for it. What a cheap way to get a book done by copying someone else's work. This wins the worst continuation award. As I was reading, I kept thinking, 'How dare she plagiarize, this would never pass an English class.'" (Nili Olay, 3 February 1997) "I have to defend the book a little. It is surely no literary masterpiece but it [is] both surely tolerable and readable. Compared to Emma Tennant's PEMBERLEY ... and other books like that DARCY'S STORY is really good. The borowed parts from PP are maybe a little too many. But they can at least partly be defended by the fact that the book covers almost the same time schedule as PP and Darcy and Elizabeth are present at these occasions at the same time. The portrait of Darcy is not totally bad either. Maybe Darcy is portraited a little bit wet and shy ... As a whole the book is readable however." (Anna-Karin Schander, 4 February 1997) PRESUMPTION: AN ENTERTAINMENT by Julia Barrett ----------------------------------------------- (M. Evans, 1993) [COMPILER'S NOTE: "Julia Barrett" is a pen name for Gabrielle Donnelly and Julia Braun Kessler writing as a team.] "Well written ... continues in JA's style--interesting characters, funny in spots." (Wendy Jones, 6 December 1994) "Pretty decent. I didn't get the major goosebumps that P&P gave me when I first read it 10 years ago, but for me it captured the spirit of Austen's pen enough that I didn't donate my copy to the library (I kept it) ... I felt the authors ... stayed true to most of the characters. By focusing on Ms. Darcy they allowed themselves some latitude, but they still had to recreate the atmosphere and witty conversations essential in P&P. It's not a classic, but close enough to be satisfying." (Donna LaFollette, 7 December 1994) "Interesting because it centers more on Georgiana Darcy (Elizabeth is absent for a large part of the book). The dialog is not as lively as [PEMBERLEY or PEMBERLEY SHADES]. The story line is slightly better than the other two, because there is more suspense in the story. And the theme of the novel suits more to the modern reader." (Julie Leung, 19 December 1994) "There are a few whiffs of the Austen style. My favorite line so far is when Lady Catherine has just met Mr. Collins' new blunt-spoken Yorkshire curate: 'Others might be lulled by the sincerity that underlay the young man's directness of speech; others could overlook its lack of blandishment; Lady Catherine's was the burden of her too-perceptive nature. In short she was insulted.'" (Frances Yasprica, 26 April 1995) "Much better than PEMBERLEY." (Edith Lank, 27 April 1995) "Awful." (Pat Foley, 27 April 1995) "PRESUMPTION was somewhat better [than PEMBERLEY] but really just seemed like a different story that could have existed by itself. It really bore little resemblance to P&P." (Mary Hunter, 2 May 1995) "In addition to the question of its intrinsic merit, or lack thereof, it also has quite a number of minor but annoying inaccuracies ... Another annoying thing about the novel is its constant 'Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch' cross-cutting between different groups of characters." (Henry Churchyard, 16 July 1995) "Numerous minor errors, along with the cloying style and shallow content, kept me from getting much more than a third of the way through it ...." (Henry Churchyard, 26 September 1995) "The book concerned a few-month span of Elizabeth's marriage to Darcy, and as such the problems in it were mundane, making Elizabeth seem, inevitably, lesser. I have very tolerant tastes, and was not repelled by the book. But my lukewarm reaction may very well translate into true coldness to a more exacting reader." (Pam Regis, 26 September 1995) "I'll agree that it certainly isn't Austen, or even close, but I have to admit I enjoyed it. I think that an inordinately curious nature has me always wondering what might have happened next to our favorite Austen characters and because of this, I like reading someone's opinion of this, regardless of the quality of the writing." (Jan Higbee, 30 September 1996) "I can remember little of this although I only read it a few months ago. Perhaps because I skipped large chucks, so dire was it." (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) "I was disappointed ... though I guess that's not surprising, since it would be difficult for anyone to fill Austen's slippers. The story was routine and somewhat predictable, and the characters had little depth. I was particularly disappointed with the rendition of Lizzy--all her lightness and sparkliness was gone, and she mostly sat around waiting for Darcy to come home so he could comfort her." (Leslie Wolber, 28 January 1997) "Just bad." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) "I thought it was awful. I thought that the characters came across as two- dimensional bad replicas of the originals in P&P. I think I purged it out of my memory." (Kathy Heilmann, 3 February 1997, e-mail to compiler) "KB Rating: 8-9 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] Satisfying because Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam are together against the human forces of evil. Jane Austen's style of humor and some lines from Pride and Prejudice make it fun." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) THE DARCYS OF ROSINGS by E. Barrington (real name Lily Adams Beck) ------------------------------------------------------------------ (The Atlantic Monthly Press, Boston, 1922) "KB Rating: 6 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] It is good but not good enough; the ending is too pat; the new characters are not fully developed; and there is little of JA's humor ... The story includes the son of Mr. Willoughby, that man who so disturbed Marianne Dashwood, and the infamous Wickhams." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) PEMBERLEY SHADES by Dorothy Alice Bonavia-Hunt --------------------------------------------- (E.P. Dutton, 1949, republished 1978) "The characters (except Kitty Bennett, who has shown improvement) are depicted just as they were in the original novel. There are some interesting dialogs between Darcy and Elizabeth, and Hunt did not try to quote verbatim from the original. The main story centers around this Steven Acworth, who acts strangely throughout the novel." (Julie Leung, 19 December 1994) "I read this at least twenty years ago and remember enjoying it-- surprisingly, since I usually have low expectations for JA sequels written by other authors. I remember it being better-written and truer to the characters than the more recent PRESUMPTION." (Marlene Kondelik, 1 October 1996) "KB Rating: 8 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] It is true to Jane Austen's style and to her characters. The plot is complicated enough to be interesting. There is some humor but not enough and Austen's clever, understated wit." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) "True to Austen, well-written, and with realistic characters. I wish it would come back in print. I think it is still the best sequel to P&P." (Cassandra Cookson, 13 April 1997) "I think its style is close to Austen ... The book is easy to read and hard to put down due to its mysterious plot. But I am not sure how well this mysteriousness fits with Jane Austen's style ... The other thing that bothered me is Elizabeth calling Darcy 'Fitz'. For some reason I never imagined it that way ... Also I never imagined Darcy and Elizabeth keeping secrets from each other in their married life ... What I liked most in the book is that the author captured the playful nature of Darcy and Elizabeth's conversations. Their being able to communicate with looks and tone of their voice in crowds was also a nice touch." (Aysin Dedekorkut, 14 April 1997) OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FANCIES by Sybil G. Brinton ----------------------------------------------- (Holden & Hardingham, Adelphi, London, 1912?) "KB Rating: 8 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] The characters from Pride and Prejudice are faithfully portrayed. Sybil Brinton did a better-than-usual job of capturing Jane Austen's humor." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) TEVERTON HALL by Jane Gillespie ------------------------------- (St. Martin's Press, 1983) ISBN 0-312-70371-5 "While I don't remember much about it, I was struck by the intelligence of its main question--how embarassing would it be to have Mr. Collins as your father?" (Edith Lank, 28 April 1995) "KB Rating: 8 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] "It's a fun read and true to the Jane Austen spirit but contains nothing about Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) PEMBERLEY: OR, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE CONTINUED by Emma Tennant ------------------------------------------------------------- (St. Martin's Press, 1993) "It's just WRONG in every way: As a novel about people, a romance, it's weaker than most of those cheap ones ... The plot (in several places) turns on spurious mysteries and secrets which are introduced by well-meaning attempts to spare people distress by not telling them things. It's all done very clumsily and is just implausible as a description of real adult people interacting with each other. "It's not true to P&P at all. She takes such liberties with the characters: makes the ones who are meant to be simple into complex tortured creatures with dark secrets in their past, while the ones who are meant to be sophisticated are simplified. The portrait of Elizabeth herself is a travesty, weakened and totally lacking in sparkle. "It's not true to the period. OK, I'll accept the narrator's voice being modern--no harm in that if she wants to do it--but the direct speech is full of anachronisms (people talk about 'situations' in the modern sense of the word!); the use of people's titles is inaccurate ('Lady de Bourgh'!); and more importantly they don't act according to the conventions of the time, don't observe the etiquette and the principles by which they would have acted, and by which Jane Austen's characters always do act--or rather, when they DO break the rules, they KNOW they're breaking the rules and everyone around them is suitably shocked. "... The best sequel to Jane Austen is Henry James. Or something like that. Not this tripe anyway." (Sarah Woodall, 6 February 1994) "It was 'fun,' that's about the extent of it. If you are starving to know what happens to the Bennetts it can fill that need on a very low level, and then just barely." (James McKeown, 7 February 1994) "The intellectual and creative difference between P & P and something that attempts to be (and fails) sultry is too vast for the understanding of the author of PEMBERLEY." (Tricia Urquhart, 9 February 1994) "I positively despised (I want to capitalize that, but I'm trying to control my dislike) PEMBERLEY, and think Ms. Tennant's claim to being related to Jane Austen does not qualify her to write a sequel. She took my hero Elizabeth and turned her into a simpering ding-dong who can't even take a walk without getting lost! And she failed (IMHO) to locate the ballpark parking lot in her attempts to write witty conversations." (Donna LaFollette, 7 December 1994) "If you thought PRESUMPTION was bad, don't even think about reading PEMBERLEY. Although the writing is more fluid than PRESUMPTION, the story is so silly it could have been written by Mrs. Bennet." (Ellen Pancoe, 7 December 1994) "PEMBERLEY is indeed silly. It quotes too much from the original novel (verbatim!). The behavior of the characters is not logical, considering how these characters are depicted in the first novel. The story line is therefore poorly constructed. However, this novel is more lively [than PEMBERLEY SHADES or PRESUMPTION] dialogwise." (Julie Leung, 19 December 1994) "PEMBERLEY seems to be about the least-esteemed Austen sequel of those that have been talked about in the list." (John Hopfner, 27 April 1995) "I was so distressed by PEMBERLEY that I resolved NOT to buy AN UNEQUAL MARRIAGE. I wouldn't want to encourage Ms. Tennant to write more. There are quite a few well-written sequels and spin-offs out there, but hers are awful!" (Wendy Jones, 27 April 1995) "I liked the plot of PEMBERLEY, but thought the actions of some of the people were *very* out of character." (Ana Kurland, 28 April 1995) "Dreadful ... I also thought the some characters 'out of character,' particularly Georgiana and also the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. This did not seem to follow what JA intended at the end of P & P." (Mary Hunter, 2 May 1995, two messages condensed) "Truly awful." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) "I actually ordered and paid for this--what a mistake! Dreadfully banal language, and sensationalist plot (albeit lifted from real episode in JA's own relative's life) re shoplifting. Ghastly." (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) "KB Rating: 2 of 10 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] I hated [this and its sequel, AN UNEQUAL MARRIAGE] because Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam are at serious odds ... The verisimilitude falters and there is no humor. Caroline Bingley, Mrs. Bennett, and Mr. and Mrs. Wickham cause more trouble. In both books, Elizabeth distrusts Fitzwilliam, and he keeps information from her. The `getting back together' scenes are quick and unsatisfactory." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) "I once gave [PEMBERLEY] a quick read at a Swedish bookstore and [it] almost made me jump up and down in fury." (Anna-Karin Schander, 4 February 1997) AN UNEQUAL MARRIAGE: OR, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE TWENTY YEARS LATER by Emma Tennant ---------------------------------------------------------------- (St. Martin's Press, 1994) "I'm having a difficult time forcing myself to read Emma Tennant's new sequel to P&P. It appears crammed with plot (poorly developed and vaguely resolved) and positively crowded with characters--everyone from P&P, plus everyone from Tennant's previous sequel PEMBERLEY plus some new people--but no wit, no character development and a style that makes me itch for a red pencil. A few sentences I've re-read twice without arriving at any idea of what is meant." (Edith Lank, 26 April 1995) "We have all been advised against reading the Emma Tennant sequels, as being unbearaby stupid, even for a Jane Austen sequel. So I bought these abridged tapes, in a fancy box, to listen to whenever I would be ill in bed and in need of diversion. It was hilarious. Usually I read one of those 7-pence- books, in which She meets Him, but He thinks that She ..., whereas She fears that He ..., then They have an argument mysteriously going all wrong; Both are very miserable, but after a frightful accident All Ends Well. The tapes were just like that." (Karen Kwast, 27 April 1995) "KB Rating: 2 of 10 [Pride and Prejudice is a 10!] I hated [PEMBERLEY and AN UNEQUAL MARRIAGE] because Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam are at serious odds ... The verisimilitude falters and there is no humor. Caroline Bingley, Mrs. Bennett, and Mr. and Mrs. Wickham cause more trouble. In both books, Elizabeth distrusts Fitzwilliam, and he keeps information from her. The `getting back together' scenes are quick and unsatisfactory." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) ====================================== CONTINUATIONS OF "EMMA" JANE FAIRFAX by Joan Aiken -------------------------- (Gollancz, 1990) "Jane Fairfax is too much like Emma's imaging and not like the real Jane who would only fall in love once." (Peggy Morten, 23 July 1994) "The story as seen from Jane's point of view is the best rendering of 18th C. style done in the 20th C. that I've read. And the author (whose name has slipped my fast-going mind) writes a convincing narrative." ("Burroughs," 1 February 1995) [COMPILER'S NOTE: It is not certain that this person was thinking of the book by Joan Aiken, as the book by Naomi Royde-Smith has the same title, but this sort of praise has more commonly been bestowed on Aiken.] "While not bad, [it] was a slog to get through." (Pat Foley, 27 April 1995) "Pretty good. Neither [JANE FAIRFAX nor MANSFIELD REVISITED] comes up to Austen of course but how can we expect anyone to? ... As for JANE FAIRFAX, it's a decent re-telling of the story from another point of view--what it was like for a child to wear Emma's castoffs when the whole village would recognize them, what really happened at Weymouth etc." (Edith Lank, 28 April 1995) "[I] enjoyed the re-telling of the story from Jane's perspective. My recollections are of a well-written story with additional details about Frank and the piano that seemed logical and believable. I had not read EMMA in many years when I read JANE FAIRFAX, but did re-read it shortly after, and I don't recall any negative reactions." (Gina Wallace, 27 January 1997) "I vote for [this book] as one of the best of the continuations. [It] is a reasonable speculation about the character and motivation of Jane Fairfax ... Joan Aiken presents a much more fully formed, complete Jane Fairfax than I found in JA. As such, both the reason for the novel and its execution make this one of the most satisfying of the continuations." (Ted Adams, 28 January 1997) "I found this fairly convincing as to period although I know some things are inaccurate. The story is interesting in the way it puts another perspective on one of the most mysterious characters in JA." (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) "I felt Aiken captured the feeling of Austen's works, and she wrote a good story. I especially liked reading about the events that took place before EMMA begins; after the two began to merge it wasn't as satisfying--I wanted to hear more about Jane's reaction to Box Hill, etc., which didn't seem to be covered enough." (Leslie Wolber, 28 January 1997) "Probably the best [continuation I have read] since it was at least fairly faithful to EMMA." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) "It gave a more complete story of how she came to be connected with the Campbells, the Dixons, and how she met Frank Churchill ... I liked that part very much. But I didn't like the second half, which tells the story of EMMA from Jane's perspective, as much. I felt like the author was too concerned that everything match up with EMMA. Aiken was willing and able to sketch out details that illuminated Jane's character in the pre-EMMA scenes that she was unwilling to do in the EMMA scenes." (Kathy Heilmann, 3 February 1996, e-mail to compiler) A VISIT TO HIGHBURY by Joan Austen-Leigh ---------------------------------------- (Also published as MRS. GODDARD, MISTRESS OF A SCHOOL) (A Room of One's Own Press, 1993) "A gem. Observes the happenings in EMMA from another point of view (another novel in letters, by the way) while telling another story as well, free from the anachronisms that have a way of bringing one up with a jolt in some attempts." (Edith Lank, 6 December 1994) "Using the epistolary form is intriguing." (Jan Higbee, 30 September 1996) "A good example of a book where the question, "Why this book?" is not satisfactorily answered. Mrs. G. is a minor character in JA, who as far as I can tell has no special reason to interest us. MRS. GODDARD'S SCHOOL in all of its various disguises and titles does not change my opinion in that regard." (Ted Adams, 28 January 1997) LATER DAYS AT HIGHBURY by Joan Austen-Leigh ------------------------------------------- (St. Martins, 1996) "It is written in the epistolary style, most letters being between Mrs. Goddard and a London-based sister, who is a near friend of Isabella Knightley. The story begins just after Mr. Woodhouse's death. The George Knightleys move to Donwell. Isabella has inherited Hartfield, but the John Knightleys, whose family have continued to increase, can't afford to retire and live there yet, so they have let it. I haven't finished it yet, but Emma and the other main characters have so far only figured by hearsay." (Jacqueline Magnuson, 31 January 1997) PERFECT HAPPINESS by Rachel Billington -------------------------------------- (Sceptre, 1996) "Better than EMMA IN LOVE by Tennant but that's not saying much. Again, contrived situation--bankruptcy for John Knightley, an unlikely friend from London for Emma, Knightley acting in a way towards Emma that is not very credible." (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) AUNT CELIA by Jane Gillespie ---------------------------- (St. Martin's Press, 1991) "Terrible." (Pat Foley, 27 April 1995) "It annoyed me to read "Aunt Celia", which is about Mr. Weston's daughter, who had actually been named, as absolutely ALL JA's eldest daughters are, for the mother." (Edith Lank, 17 July 1995) POOR EMMA by Reginald Hill (short story found in THERE ARE NO GHOSTS IN THE SOVIET UNION --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (The Countryman Press, Woodstock VT, 1988.) "This one is completely sequel, with a stunning account of Emma's marriage, fantastic but believable. Again, I won't spoil it for you, not even to hint at the murder involved..." (Edith Lank, 6 December 1994) "It does involve Mr. Knightley's keeping a mistress in London (if I recall correctly), nasty rivalry between Emma and Isabella about who is to inherit Donwell (remember little Henry?) and Emma's manipulating Frank Churchill for an end I won't reveal. As we used to end the book reviews in fourth grade, 'Read the book and find out.'" (Edith Lank, 20 May 1995) "Quite amusing, though I'm sure JA would be rolling over in her grave to know what Mr. Hill had done to Mr. Knightley (talk about changing a character beyond recognition)." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) JANE FAIRFAX by Naomi Royde-Smith --------------------------------- (MacMillan, London, 1940) "Like Aiken's book it tells Jane's story, starting when she is a child living with the Campbells and ending with her marriage to Frank Churchill. The weird thing about this book, is that characters from all of JA's novels make brief appearances ... In fact there were characters in it from novels by Burney, Edgeworth, Thackeray, etc. So though it's not a great book, it was kind of fun trying to identify who everyone was." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) "KB Rating: 7 of 10. I enjoyed learning more about Jane Fairfax. The story earns high marks, but the Austen wit is missing! The book is not devoid of irony, but the humor is not as clever as Austen readers always hope it will be ... The Bingleys and Darcys are mentioned, but we catch only glimpses of them ... Emma Woodhouse, Mr. George Knightly, and the others act and speak just as they should. It is a satisfying read." (Kathy Born, 3 February 1997) EMMA IN LOVE by Emma Tennant ---------------------------- (Fourth Estate, 1996) "Having just had the painful experience of reading it I though I would just urge anyone remotely interested in it to get a library copy and not waste their own money, because it is a dreadful book. The 'big idea' (that Emma has lesbian tendencies) is not objectionable in itself but is presented in a ghastly 'isn't this daring' sort of way; but more seriously the whole style of writing is so laboured and repetitive, taking a whole page to convey one or two thoughts, that I nearly screamed. The entire content of the book has as much incident as JA would get into 2 chapters, yet at the end the plot (insofar as there is one) is ridiculously compressed." (Stephen Bishop, 13 November 1996) "Language ... banal, and ridiculous plot involving jewel thieves. The lesbian sub-plot, while not intrinsically ridiculous, is not handled well and reads like a cheap thriller. Not even arousing!" (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) ================================= CONTINUATIONS OF "MANSFIELD PARK" MANSFIELD REVISITED by Joan Aiken "Both [JANE FAIRFAX and MANSFIELD REVISITED are] pretty good; one can't fault a writer for not being the equal of Jane Austen. In the Mansfield book she wisely sends Edmund and Fanny off to the West Indies in the very first chapter." (Edith Lank, 2 February 1995) "For me, one of the best continuations; a realistic story, and written in a language which although never approaching JA, does not grate as modernistic. Deftly deals with the Fanny problem by getting her out of the way to the West Indies for most of the book and concentrating on her livelier sister. Not of course a book which measures up to the moral examination of MP, but an enjoyable read over Christmas 1993 for me." (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) MANSFIELD PARK: AN ALTERNATIVE ENDING by Dorothy Allen and Ann Owen -------------------------------------------------------------------- (Kay and Douglas, Coventry, 1989) "They rewrote the last chapters of Austen's novel in such a way as to permit Henry Crawford to marry Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram to marry Mary Crawford. It had the opposite effect on me from what was intended. Reading it persuaded me that indeed this ending was all wrong ... In brief it turned Austen into sentimental romance ... All that said, this little book seemed to me to have merit. It's not drivel. The authors have really studied Austen's text and tried to swing it in their direction in three chapters ... They don't pervert or distort Austen's meaning; they try to alter what happened before or reinterpret it still using what they consider Austen's values. Also--and this is what I liked best--they caught something of Austen's style. It's well written ... by and large they write in an 18th century style like Austen's without getting on stilts." (Ellen Moody, 28 January 1997) MANSFIELD LETTERS by Paula Atchia --------------------------------- (The Book Guild, 1996, ISBN 1 85776 118 9) "It continues the story of Fanny, 13 years after the end of Mansfield Park. Several deaths have occurred and....you'll never guess what happens! It is a pleasant read, if somewhat implausible." (Joy Pibworth, 1 February 1997) MISS ABIGAIL'S PART OR VERSION AND DIVERSION by Judith Terry ------------------------------------------------------------ "Judith Terry tells MANSFIELD PARK from the view of the servants ... but the story wanders far from the original characters, as I remember (I haven't read it recently). She's a good novelist, but this is another novel, not really a sequel." (Edith Lank, 6 December 1994) ====================================== CONTINUATIONS OF "PERSUASION" HIS CUNNING OR HERS by June Menzies ----------------------------------- (University of Alberta, 1993) ISBN #0-88864-821-9 "[This] delightful little book (illustrated by Juliet McMaster) ... ends with, as promised in the title, two endings, take your choice. The final page is a witty excerpt from the 1824 Baronetage, every bit of it worth pondering, even the dates ('married 1 April, 1816') and bits like the Elliot motto 'Semper formosus'. The book tells the story from Mrs. Clay's viewpoint, in letters to her sister, who is, BTW, taking care of the Clay children (I know some of us have worried about their whereabouts so that should be reassuring)." (Edith Lank, 20 January 1997) ======================================== CONTINUATIONS OF "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" ELIZA'S DAUGHTER by Joan Aiken ------------------------------ (St. Martin's Press, 1994) "I very much enjoyed the book, and know character changes were necessary for the plot, but I did not really like Edward Ferarrs' becoming a miser and holy preacher. I forgot about Napoleon whose existence makes the Colonel Brandon/ Marianne plot forgiveable. The sixth figure is credible for Eliza, but not for her mother. Her ending is nice, and fits with Sense and Sensibility. Poor mother." (Peggy Morten, 23 July 1994) "Very strange." (Jan Higbee, 30 September 1996) "I couldn't finish it. It did not resemble Austen at all for me. I cast it aside well before I got to the 50% point ... I think Mad Magazine is closer to Austen than what I was able to finish of Aiken." (Lura Raplee, 27 January 1997) "[I] abandoned it after a couple of pages. It seems to me to have little to do with JA, and certainly not worthy of our darling Lizzie. (Stephen Bishop, 28 January 1997) [COMPILER'S NOTE: Mr. Bishop apparently did not read far enough to discover that the "Eliza" of the title is Eliza Williams of S&S, not Elizabeth Bennet of P&P.] "[It] changed the characters of Elinor and Edward beyond recognition and I really didn't like it." (Leila Dooley, 29 January 1997) "[This book] has almost no relationship to anything by Jane Austen. First, it is written in a completely different style--first person, coarse language. Second, it deals mostly with a completely different level of society, mostly the very poor. Third it is set in settings unfamiliar in JA novels, such as on a ship, in Portugal. Finally, it deals with subject that were taboo in JA novels, such as sex. The protagonist only comes in contact with JA's characters from S&S in superficial ways, and then they are portrayed as dark, distressed, unhappy people. I don't like thinking about Elinor and Edward ending up so unhappy and bitter. Altogether, I wouldn't say that I didn't like it, but I read it from a completely different place in my soul than I read JA." (Kathy Heilmann, 3 February 1997, e-mail to compiler) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------