Ladies of the House by Lauren Edmonson

Sense and Sensibility has always been my favorite Jane Austen book because of the strong female characters (especially Elinor) and the relationships between the sisters (I have two, so sister bonds are something I treasure). I also loved the 1995 movie version with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslett and watched it MANY times over the years! When I saw Ladies of the House was coming out, which is a modern re-telling of Sense and Sensibility, I knew I wanted to check it out.

The book opens with Daisy Richardson, her younger sister, Wallis, and mother, Cricket, at the funeral for Senator Richardson (Daisy’s father). While at the funeral, the scandal of the Senator’s death becomes public knowledge and the downfall of the Richardson family begins. They sell their family home in Georgetown to pay the legal fees and the society to which they used to belong looks at them scornfully.

Daisy tries to keep her family together and continue in her job as Chief of Staff to another Senator. However, the scandal of her father, as well as Wallis falling in love with a political adversary, makes staying afloat nearly impossible. As Daisy struggles to lay low, she realizes she might just need to use the power of her voice to rise above the waves of scandal left by her father.

While this story does not have the staying power of the original, I thought it was an interesting re-telling. Politics are not my favorite topic, but it was interesting to read about political scandal from the perspective of the family. I also loved Daisy and Wallis’s relationship. In a note by the author at the end of the book, she talks about writing a re-telling of Sense and Sensibility. She writes, “the unbreakable bond between them [the sisters]—how the women’s support and love for each other is the real, transformative power.” This story absolutely captured this key theme of the original and brought all these elements into our modern era.

Note: If you are doing the adult Summer Reading BINGO, this could check off “chosen for the cover” (isn’t it beautiful?!) or “recommended by a librarian”!

Check out Ladies of the House by Lauren Edmonson at the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…) or through the eLibrary at https://lclibs.overdrive.com/media/5305500.