I recently took a course on Jane Austen in which we read all six of her major works. I have also been to a terrific exhibit on Austen at New York City’s Morgan Library and saw a very creative Pride and Prejudice, courtesy of the Guildford Shakespeare Company. So, it has been great fun to be immersed in Austen in her anniversary year.
I had earlier read Pride and Premeditation (see below) and decided that it would be enjoyable to read another of Price’s novels. As can easily be deduced from the title, this one is a take on Sense and Sensibility. Anyone who has read that novel will enjoy seeing how the characters from it appear in this young adult mystery. The personalities seem to stay intact but the characters are used in the service of the story. So, for example, Wickham comes on the scene but not in the same way as in the novel. Still, readers will expect that he is up to no good, in accord with S and S.
The concept of the story is that Marianne and Elinor’s father did not die a natural death. His greedy daughter in law and his son do inherit the estate but the estate is a bit different. Mr. Dashwood was the principal in a detective agency and left his business as well as his real estate behind. Marianne was involved with this business as well and Elinor has been made a budding chemist (the better to detect poison?). Will the sisters conclude that Mr. Dashwood was indeed murdered and, if so, by whom?
I found this book to be light and entertaining. I plan to go on to read the cleverly named Manslaughter Park.
Again, this is not an adult book but I think can be enjoyed by readers of many ages, especially if the reader would like a bit of fun with Austen.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Price’s second “Jane Austen Murder Mystery” is just as clever as the first (Pride and Premeditation), this time giving a murderous spin to Sense and Sensibility. This novel begins much the same as Jane Austen’s classic, with the death of the Dashwood patriarch and their brother’s inheriting everything. However, in this tale Elinor and Marianne discover that their father’s death was a poisoning. Marianne, an apprentice detective following in her father’s footsteps, and Elinor, an aspiring chemist, are the perfect duo to take on the case. Over the course of the investigation characters from the original novel appear, easily recognizable despite changes in circumstance for many of them, because Price expertly crafts their personalities to match the source material. The mystery is just complex enough to keep readers guessing without becoming frustrating, it revolves around opium, so the book may be better suited to more mature readers. A suspension of disbelief may be necessary due to the historical inaccuracies (explained in an author’s note) regarding the Dashwood sisters’ unladylike, but empowering, behavior. All characters are white. VERDICT A delightful reimagining of a classic that will be enjoyed by Jane Austen fans and mystery readers alike.-Mariah Smitalaα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Other books by this author:
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 