More Jane Austen!

Jane Austen wrote only a few books. That is a crying shame. Various attempts at updating Austen have been good and bad. I was so delighted when Sheriboo told me about The Family Fortune. It's an update of my favorite Austen book, Persuasion.

The Family Fortune follows the story's skeleton but it's enough of a different story to keep you turning the pages. The characters are well developed. It's very hard to put down, as Sheriboo warned.

The book also has the right amount of description and detail. I absolutely loathe the trend in some fiction to over describe, e.g., "she slipped her red-manicured feet into her fuchsia, Fendi slip-ons which exactly matched her silk shift." Or this one from the book I'm trying to read for book club

"Isobel felt herself rising through dark water. It was a slow ascent from slate depths, light teasing in a far shimmer above. Air bubbles trapped on the underside of the boat gleamed like wriggling snails."