S02E01 Sense and Sensibility, Chapters 1 to 5

12/27/20 • 56 min

In this episode, we read the first five chapters of Sense and Sensibility. We give a brief publishing history, and talk about the themes of sense and sensibility, the lack of dialogue in the first chapter, how much money the Dashwoods have, the emphasis on caring about the arts, how very young the girls are, and the lack of presentation of Edward.

We discuss the characters of John and Fanny Dashwood, then Ellen talks about wills and marriage settlements, and Harriet gives an overview of the popular culture adaptations, modernisations, continuations and variations on the book.

Things we mention:

References:

Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life (1997)
Edward Copeland [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility (2006)
Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943) and More Talk of Jane Austen (1950)

Adaptations of the book:

BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1971) – starring Joanna David and Ciaran Madden (4 episodes)
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1981) – starring Irene Richard and Tracey Childs (7 episodes)
Columbia Pictures, Sense and Sensibility (1995) – starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (2008) – starring Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield (3 episodes)

Modernisations of the book:

Sri Surya Films, Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) – starring Tabu and Aishwarya Rai
MGM, Material Girls (2006) – starring Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff
MWM Studios, From Prada to Nada (2011) – starring Camilla Belle and Alexa PenaVega
Silver Peak Productions, Scents and Sensibility (2011) – starring Ashley Williams and Marla Sokoloff
Joanna Trollope, Sense & Sensibility (The Austen Project #1) (2013)
YouTube, Elinor and Marianne Take Barton (2014) – starring Abi Davies and Bonita Trigg

Variations on the book:

Amanda Grange, Colonel Brandon’s Diary (2008)
Ben H. Winters and Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009)

Creative commons music used:

Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
Extract from

Things we mention:

References:

Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life (1997)
Edward Copeland [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility (2006)
Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943) and More Talk of Jane Austen (1950)

Adaptations of the book:

BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1971) – starring Joanna David and Ciaran Madden (4 episodes)
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1981) – starring Irene Richard and Tracey Childs (7 episodes)
Columbia Pictures, Sense and Sensibility (1995) – starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (2008) – starring Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield (3 episodes)

Modernisations of the book:

Sri Surya Films, Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) – starring Tabu and Aishwarya Rai
MGM, Material Girls (2006) – starring Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff
MWM Studios, From Prada to Nada (2011) – starring Camilla Belle and Alexa PenaVega
Silver Peak Productions, Scents and Sensibility (2011) – starring Ashley Williams and Marla Sokoloff
Joanna Trollope, Sense & Sensibility (The Austen Project #1) (2013)
YouTube, Elinor and Marianne Take Barton (2014) – starring Abi Davies and Bonita Trigg

Variations on the book:

Amanda Grange, Colonel Brandon’s Diary (2008)
Ben H. Winters and Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009)

Creative commons music used:

Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
Extract from

Previous Episode

Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 58 to 61

In this episode, we read the final chapters of Pride and Prejudice. We talk about the dialogue in the final proposal scene, and more generally about proposals in Jane Austen; Mr Bennet’s response to the news, and also Mrs Bennet’s; what the final chapter, and James Austen-Leigh’s Memoir, tells us about what happens next to the characters; the passing reference to the “restoration of peace”; and how the closing sentence is far less memorable than the opening sentence.

We discuss the character of Mr Bennet, then Ellen talks about some social changes that happened after the book finished , and Harriet looks at how the adaptations finish – with the surprising discovery that a lot of them give the last word to Mr or Mrs Bennet.

Things we mention:

Books:

J.E. Austen Leigh, Caroline Austen, Henry Austen, Anna Austen Lefroy, A Memoir of Jane Austen (1869)
Charlotte Brontë, Shirley(1849)
George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871)
D.A. Bonavia-Hunt, Pemberley Shades: A Lightly Gothic Tale of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (1949)
Emma Tennant, Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued (1993) and An Unequal Marriage (1994)
P.D. James, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)
Colleen McCulloch, The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet (2008)
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595)

Movies and television:

MGM, Pride and Prejudice (1940) – starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier
BBC, Pride and Prejudice (1980) – starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul
BBC, Pride and Prejudice (1995) – starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth
Bestboy Pictures, Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy (2003) – starring Kam Heskin and Orlando Seale
Pathé Pictures International, Bride and Prejudice (2004) – starring Aishwarya Rai and Martin Henderson
Focus Features, Pride & Prejudice (2005) – starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen
YouTube, Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012) – starring Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh

Creative commons music used:

Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.

Next Episode

S02E02 Sense and Sensibility, Chapters 6 to 11

In this episode, we read Chapters 6 to 11 of Sense and Sensibility. We talk about how Barton Cottage and its location are described in some detail, consider how the bedrooms are shared out, the closeness between the two sisters in spite of their differences, the theme of sense vs sensibility, and the way Willoughby and Marianne criticise Colonel Brandon.

We discuss the character of Mrs Jennings, then Ellen talks about how members of the gentry spent their time, and Harriet talks about how adaptations and modernisations treat these chapters (including a discussion about how the Dashwoods have adapted to having less money). Harriet also gives an overview of the other Jane Austen podcasts that are out there.

Things we mention:

References:

Edward Copeland [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility (2006)
The epigrams of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899)
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Max Weber (1864-1920)
Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin, The Making of Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Emma Thompson, The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen’s Novel to Film (1995)

Adaptations of the book:

BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1971) – starring Joanna David and Ciaran Madden (4 episodes)
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1981) – starring Irene Richard and Tracey Childs (7 episodes)
Columbia Pictures, Sense and Sensibility (1995) – starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet
BBC, Sense and Sensibility (2008) – starring Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield (3 episodes)

Modernisations of the book:

Joanna Trollope, Sense & Sensibility (The Austen Project #1) (2013)
YouTube, Elinor and Marianne Take Barton (2014) – starring Abi Davies and Bonita Trigg

Other Jane Austen podcasts:

Creative commons music used: