Sunday, January 31, 2010

I enjoy all of Jane Austen's books, and Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorites. When I received Pride and Prejudice (Insight Edition) as a review copy from Bethany House, I was worried that the text would actually have been changed or modernized, but the words of Austen remain the same, to my great relief. Instead, this version intersperses editorial observations, movie trivia, historical background, spiritual insights, and other tidbits throughout the text in side boxes.

I would also recommend this for younger readers or any other readers who are not familiar with Austen's time period, since it explains some terms and customs of the era that they might not otherwise understand. Any Austen trivia fan will also enjoy it.

Some of the comments were rather too obvious and didn't add too much, others were really quite funny. The added info/commentary was really a good mix of just plain good fun and informational. The conversation questions at the end would make this very suitable for book club use, as well.

I prefer the side box format to the usual footnote or margin format for "amplified" versions. It added the information without taking over the book.

This is my third version of Sense and Sensibility, and I have to say it might be my favorite. This would make a great addition to the book collection of any Austen fan.

posted by Birgit
0 comments at 11:28 PM