A Quirky Retelling of Sense and Sensibility: Review: Jane of Austin by Hilary Manton Lodge

Jane of Austin

by Hilary Manton Lodge

About The Book

Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.” ―  Jane Austen,   Sense and Sensibility 


Just a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Francisco tea shop. The last thing Jane wants is to leave their beloved shop on Valencia Street, but when Celia insists on a move to Austin, Texas, the sisters pack up their kid sister Margot and Jane’s tea plants, determined to start over yet again. 

But life in Austin isn’t all sweet tea and breakfast tacos. Their unusual living situation is challenging and unspoken words begin to fester between Jane and Celia. When Jane meets and falls for up-and-coming musician Sean Willis, the chasm grows deeper. 

While Sean seems to charm everyone in his path, one person is immune – retired Marine Captain Callum Beckett. Callum never meant to leave the military, but the twin losses of his father and his left leg have returned him to the place he least expected—Texas.  

In this modern spin on the Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility, the Woodward sisters must contend with new ingredients in unfamiliar kitchens, a dash of heartbreak, and the fragile hope that maybe home isn't so far away.

My Thoughts

I love Jane Austen, and Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite novels. These are the reasons I was interested in this book. Yet I had been a bit apprehensive, thinking this may turn out to be a southern romance, which is not my cup of tea. Thankfully, this book had enough quirkiness to keep it from feeling like a southern romance novel–rather, it’s simply a novel set in Austin (though I will say that at times it seemed like southerners were a bit idealized in the book). I think this novel sticks more with the original plot of Sense and Sensibility than some Austen retellings I’ve read. However, there were some things that I just didn’t care for. I wish Celia had played a bigger role in the novel. I love Elinor Dashwood and I wanted to see more of her character in this book. I didn’t have much of an opinion on Teddy because he played such a small roll in this book. I couldn’t stomach Sean Willis. I think he was even worse than Willoughby, and I didn’t think it was possible to find a worse literary character than him. For the most part, I liked Jane. Like Marianne, she’s quite dramatic and at times that got on my nerves, as did Marianne’s dramatics in Sense and Sensibility. The thing I liked the most about this book was the same thing I enjoyed in Jane Austen’s classic; the close relationship Jane and Celia have. I love that no matter what, they’re there for one another and will stick up for each other. And I loved Dash; he was the sweetest dog!

All in all, I thought Jane of Austin was a decent novel. It wasn’t what I was expecting and it isn’t my typical read, but I liked it for the most part.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook Press through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.