Review by Barbara
Larochelle, August 17, 1997
I happened to see Elinor & Marianne by Emma Tennant at the
library and thought "what the heck" and picked it up. I must say
that I liked it better than her other Austen sequels (which is still
not
saying much). She did manage to preserve some of the way in which
the various characters speak, particularly Mrs. Jennings.
The book is written in letters between mainly Elinor and Marianne,
but
also their mother, Edward, Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Palmer, Col. Brandon,
various
busybodies, Lucy Ferrars, and Willoughby. The original S&S
was written in letters and under this title if I'm not mistaken.
There were two things about the book I particularly dislike. The
first
is the idea of this utopian commune that Marianne and others want to
set
up, supposedly based on ideas of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The
whole
description of what they are trying to set up sounds exactly like a
bunch
of 19th c hippies. They intend to move to the New World and indulge in
their free love type of lifestyle. They have adopted unusual eating
habits,
and allow animals to wander around Willoughby's property at Combe
Magna at will. Willoughby has graciously extended his free love
philosophy
to include young Margaret Dashwood.
The other problem is how Marianne goes on and on about how ancient
the
Colonel is and how she never loved him etc. etc. --it is too
cruel.
She may not have been in love with him when they married, but I don't
believe
she ever would have married someone about whom she cared so little. The
scenario is very unbelievable.
Review by karen from
oz, 5 August 1999
Is this the right place to gripe about Emma Tennant ? Isn't she the
positively MOST awful sequel writer? I think she must absolutely hate
JA
- she does such awful things to her characters. And I don't believe
she's
even read JA - only synopses of the books - she makes such ghastly
blunders.
In S&S the book concludes with E&E happily settled
near
Marianne and the Col, but Elinor and Marianne opens with the
newly-married
Ferrars not yet ensconced in the parsonage. The personalities of her
characters
bear no relationship to the original - except that their previous
failings
and faults are magnified. JA's characters grow and mature through the
novels,
Emma Tennant's display a childishness that would make a 14 year old
schoolgirl
blush. If anyone out there has not read her books, my advice is - don't
bother !
Review by Linda
Waldemar,
10 January 2001
I was quite surprised that I really enjoyed this book. Having
read, and hated, Pemberley and knowing that Emma Tennant's sequels are
almost universally panned, I started this one expecting the
worse.
Instead, I found myself chuckling regularly and laughing out load
occasionally.
I also did no find that she made substantial changes to JA's
characters.
Instead, she took their characteristics to extremes and made
charicatures
of them. While I do not at all agree with them, I found some of these
to
coincide with many of the opinions that I have seen expressed here at
Pemberley;
Colonel Brandon is old and rheumatic and overly concerned with warm
clothing;
Edward Ferrars is spineless.
The story is told through letters between Elinor and Marianne and
many
of the other characters; Mrs Dashwood, John Dashwood, Lucy Steele
Ferrars,
Mrs. Percy Roberts (widow of the late Rector of Delafield), Mrs.
Jennings
and her daughter, Mrs. Palmer, with one or two thrown in from Col.
Brandon,
Edward Ferrars and John Willoughby.
I think that if you should approach this book as one written with
tongue
firmly in cheek, and not to be taken seriously, you , too, might enjoy
it.
Written by Deborah d'Bajor
(9/15/2003 2:29 p.m.)
For the peace of mind of all my fellow Permberley citizens I would
hereby
like to give you my review of the "Novel" "Elinor & Marianne" by
the so-called
author, Ms
E Tennant.
I have been wondering from whence come the "plot" ideas?? Also, did
this
woman
read S&S? From the book, it would appear not! For instance M is
only
17, but
alrady married to CB and pregnant while E has not even arrived at the
parsonage
and Margaret sems to have aged about 3 or 4 years! This to say nothing
of the characteristation!
SPOILERS follow.
The "novel" was written in letter format (sorry,
I can never remember how to spell the proper word). To give you a brief
idea of what happens
and to save you the fatigue of reading it youself: Robert F loses all
his money and his Mother's and she subsequently
goes round the twist. Mrs J says some unkind things about the Dashwood
girls and thinks Lucy is beter -
is this really the Mrs J in the novel?? I think not! RF goes to Africa
to try and make some money and is subsequently eaten
by a group of natives. I kid you not - one could not make this sort of
thing up!
Mr W sets up some sort of hippy commune at
Combe, appears to brainwash Marriane who goes there and eats vegetables
and sings along with the red headed
guitar player, by all accounts. They are planning to go to the New
World and live in an open sort of farming
society, as far as I can make out. Margaret meets Willoughby again and
is so ennamoured that she decideds to go too.
I had better stop before you kill yourselves
with laughter at how ludicrous the whole thing is!Please offer to shoot
me before I pick up one
of this woman's books again! Thanks
Written by Deborah d'Bajor