You’ll often find Jane Fortune – a member of one of Boston’s most prestigious long-standing moneyed families at home on a Saturday night, curled up with a book. Although her vain father Teddy and pretentious sister Miranda are happiest attending parties and being seen among society’s elite, Jane is perfectly content to stay out of the limelight. She’s of the literary variety and works hard to run the family’s foundation and publish the Euphemia Review, which has launched the career of several authors.
After reading only a few entries of this year’s granting round, Jane’s found “the one”, the winner who seems more promising than most. But writer Jack Reilly is nowhere to be found. While this apparently homeless writer is a surprise, Jane is unsurprised when the family lawyer delivers the news that their fortune is dwindling, forcing the Fortunes to vacate and rent out their historic home. Compounding Jane’s situation further is the news that Max Wellman, the first recipient of the foundation and Jane’s first love is back in Boston. Now a successful bestselling novelist and ladies man, Jane is sure she will wilt in Max’s presence. But perhaps he’s all she needed to see her self-worth as a single, thirty-something woman and regain her luster for life.
Reading this Austen retelling of Persuasion was an experiment for me. I’ve read books inspired by Austen but not anything approaching a sequel, prequel, or retelling. Call me a coward but each of Austen’s novels are on a pedestal of which I thought nothing, continuation or retelling, could measure up. Jane Eyre also belongs on that shelf and my recent read of Jane, April Linder’s brilliant retelling gave me hope that there are some out there which stand up to their origins as both a successful retelling and an entirely new story.
Fortunately (no pun intended) The Family Fortune is successful on some fronts. It is a commentary on manners and there is wit in many of the dialogues. For the most part the secondary characters translate well. Teddy and Miranda are just as superficial and conceited as you could hope for. Jane’s hypochondriac sister Winnie and her husband Charles are spot on. I loved their scenes with Jane which reminded me, just for a moment, of reading Persuasion for the first time. I also liked Jane, the perfect modern interpretation of quiet, helpful, and practical Anne. Her literary bent was fitting and I loved viewing her as both a reader and a promoter of struggling writers. I missed the degree of introspection and description present in Persuasion but still connected with her. Priscilla (Lady Russell) and Guy (Mr. Elliot) were the least generously characterized and are a lot more worldly in the modern sense but I still didn’t mind their very amoral standards.
Unfortunately when it came to Max (Captain Wentworth) I didn’t feel that way. The first half I read with anticipation for his and Jane’s upcoming encounters and the last half with slight let-down when I read the actual exchanges themselves. Maybe Max was underdeveloped but either way I never really understood Jane’s undying love for him. It may have had something to do with his womanizing reputation, but I know it also had something to do with the lack of subtlety in their short, spaced interactions. Instead of having any grand, epic moment of declaration or realization their feelings for one another were expressed little by little – more gradually and earlier than I expected. As a result their romance felt anti-climatic and the book overall felt like it was missing some spark. Perhaps it’s because Persuasion is not only my favorite Austen novel, but if hard-pressed the answer to the all-time favorite book question as well so I’m a hard fan to please. Although there was an urgency to see how it all ended up compared to the original I ultimately wished that I had just read Persuasion instead. The Family Fortune may have not worked for me but I’d still recommend it to fans of Austen retellings and fans of the original as I appear to be one of the few truly disappointed readers out there.
Second Opinions
Chick Lit Review
Emily and her Little Pink Notes Review
Janicu’s Book Blog Review
Steph Su Reads Review
What Kate’s Reading Review
Can I just say that I think the cover is really cute?
I read Persuasion way before but I didn’t really love it as much as you obviously do because I can’t recall all of the details. I’m sorry that you didn’t end up liking this one but I’m glad that you reviewed it, I won’t be in any hurry to read it because of the things that you mentioned.
It is! I want to be that cute girl on the beach. I’m glad this kind of review can be helpful. I always feel bad writing lukewarm or negative reviews.