OK - so that's just the dream scenario and one surely every writer thinks about! In my absolute fantasy, of course, I have Emma Thompson phoning me begging to let her produce the film (she tells me she has already written the screenplay based on my book, which she couldn't wait to buy!) In the next breath she is saying that Greg would make a perfect Colonel Brandon now his temples are greying so deliciously - I hesitate, only because on the other line my husband's mouthing at me that Sony want Richard Armitage. Oh, the dilemma - what to do?!!!
Emma's sister Sophie would make a wonderful Mrs Dashwood or even Mrs Jennings - she's a fabulous character actress. But, maybe in the dream scenario I could get to play Mrs Jennings! And could Emma resist being in a new Austen adaptation especially if we could get Ang Lee on board. I'd definitely want Patrick Doyle or Mario Darianelli for the music and the same fab designers who did the original S&S - the list goes on.
So, if you could put on your dream version of Sense and Sensibility or Willoughby's Return, who would you cast? I think Carey Mulligan would make a good Marianne and perhaps Johnny Lee Miller for Willoughby. What do you think? And who would you cast for the roles of Elinor and Edward, and for my book - Margaret Dashwood and Henry Lawrence?
Please leave a comment below - just for fun, this one!
I've had a couple more reviews I'd like to share:
4.0 out of 5 stars Willoughby's Return, November 5, 2009
By S. Agusto-Cox "Savvy Verse & Wit"
Willoughby's Return: A tale of almost irresistible temptation by Jane Odiwe reunites readers with Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Marianne's sisters Margaret and Elinor from Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen.
"But three years of married life had done little to really change her. Marianne still had an impetuous nature, she still retained a desire for impulse and enterprises undertaken on the spur of the moment." (Page 3)
Truer words were never spoken about Marianne. She is the same impetuous girl from Austen's book, even though she is married to Colonel Brandon and has a son, James. Her husband, however, has obligations to his ward, the daughter of his deceased first love, and her child--a child she had with Marianne's first love, Mr. Willoughby. Drama, drama, drama fills these pages, just as they filled Marianne's life in Ausen's work, but Odiwe adds her own flare to these characters.
Marianne continues to hide things from her husband no matter how innocent the situations may be and her jealousies drive her to make nearly scandalous decisions and snap judgments. However, while this book is titled Willoughby's Return, he is more of a minor character and his storyline with Marianne looms from the sidelines as her younger sister Margaret and her beau Henry Lawrence take center stage.
Margaret is very like Marianne in that she is passionate, romantic, and impetuous. She's opposed to marriage and Marianne's matchmaking until Margaret sets eyes on Henry Lawrence. She falls head-over-heels for him, but Odiwe throws a number obstacles in their way.
Readers may soon notice some similarities between Henry Lawrence and Frank Churchill from Emma by Jane Austen, but the romance unravels differently for Henry and Margaret than it does from Frank and Emma. Readers that enjoy Jane Austen's books and the recent spin-offs will enjoy Willoughby's Return: A tale of almost irresistible temptation - a fast-paced, regency novel with a modern flair.
5.0 out of 5 stars Sense and Sensibility Continues Brilliantly, November 4, 2009
By Lori Hedgpeth "Psychotic State" -
I adore Jane Austen and I have a serious obsession with Austen fan fic. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review this book not only due to my love of all things Jane Austen but also because I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Odiwe's previous effort, opportunity to review this book not only due to my love of all things Jane Austen but also because I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Odiwe's previous effort, Lydia Bennet's Story.
Ms. Odiwe again took a secondary character from an Austen story - this time Margaret Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility - and shared with her readers a continuation of what happened after Austen's novel ended. She also took what could have been an unfinished story - Willoughby's leaving and Marianne marrying Colonel Brandon - and wove it intricately into the tale of a now of-age Margaret finding love.
Willoughby's Return works so well because, as she did with Lydia Bennet's Story, Ms. Odiwe stayed faithful to the characters Jane Austen originally created and by doing so, Willoughby's Return reads virtually as a Sense and Sensibility sequel written by Austen herself. Marianne, while more mature due to Colonel Brandon's love and the events that transpired in Sense and Sensibility, still has a romantic, and even flighty, streak. Colonel Brandon, while deeply enamored of his wife, is still serious about his responsibilities to his wards. Elinor is still mindful of appearances and decorum and Lucy Steele Ferrars and Anne Steele are still very much the busybodies they were. Even Mrs. Jennings still remains ever the fanciful matchmaker.
I could not wish for a more fluid, yet entertaining, story, nor a more satisfying ending. I raced through the book as I was anxious to find out what would happen, while at the same time dreading for the story to end because I was enjoying myself so much. In my opinion, Ms. Odiwe surpassed herself with this effort and I enjoyed it even more so than I did Lydia Bennet's Story.
If you are a fan of Jane Austen, of Regency romps and/or historical fiction, I cannot recommend Willoughby's Return enough. A definite must-read!
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