Once again the question comes up: what famous people from history would you invite to lunch?
This article suggests both Jane Austen (but the author really should read Northanger Abbey first; might be rude otherwise), Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin, coincidentally three of the Editrix’s choices. She would flirt outrageously with Mr. Hamilton while keeping an ear open for the conversation between Miss Austen and Mr. Franklin, which no doubt would be absolutely hilarious.
Westchester.com reviews Paula Marantz Cohen’s new book, Jane Austen in Scarsdale, a modern retelling of Persuasion. Unsurprisingly the perspective is more from a Westchester-resident point of view than a Janeite one, but a few of the Austenish details sneak through.
The trials and tribulations of Anne’s life, coping with her own needs, those of her students and family members provides a counterpoint to the sterotypical Scarsdalians, who are not shown with any softer, more altruistic and less self-serving sides of their characters.
Other examples of Cohen’s fine characterizations are those of Anne’s grandmother, her wastrel father, self-absorbed sister. The impending sale of the ancestral Tudor home is quite realistic, from the language of the listing details to the suggestions of how to make the house more attractive so it will fetch a higher price.
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