Did you ever feel like you have heard a story before – often? It seems as though there has been a number of “reboots” happening in the storytelling world.
10 Things I hate About You is based on The Taming of the Shrew;
A Thousand Acres is King Lear;
The Lion King is Hamlet;
The Madwoman Upstairs is Jane Eyre;
The Lost Child is Wuthering Heights;
On Beauty is Howards End;
Bridget Jones’ Diary is Pride and Prejudice;
Clueless is Emma.
Adding to this list is a retelling of one of one of my favorites – Persuasion. By the Book, by Julia Sonneborn, as with many retellings, notes the book as a favorite of the protagonist’s (Anne with an E – a nod to another beloved book). Though many names are similar, Lady Russell became Dr Ellen Russell, others are new to the telling. As the original – Anne’s father cut her off when she didn’t go to law school, her sister Lauren’s attacks Adam as someone who would never be successful, and Dr Russell pushes that Anne follow her mentor’s footsteps to Yale’s MFA program. All these combined to put pressure on an impressionable young college woman that was not sure how to do anything other than fight for her books, her constant comfort.
With modern twists and turns that are inevitable in a Victorian love story, even if told in the 21st century, there is always comfort in knowing that all will end well. Especially in the crazy COVID world we live in.
Well written, a fun read that kept my interest.
The Source 4 Books 