It would be interesting to do an experiment whereby someone with no knowledge of Jane Austen’s work was sent into Austen fandom and asked to write up what they thought Austen’s books were like. I suspect that the report would start out “Jane Austen wrote a book called Pride and Prejudice…” If my theoretical fannish explorer were very thorough in their examination of JA fandom, the other five novels might get a footnote. Austen fandom tends to skew heavily toward Pride and Prejudice. This is hardly the place to try to figure out why, though for some reason that book does seem more replete with possibilities than the others.
Nevertheless, Austen did write five other novels along with other works, and sometimes her fans do take note. Karen Beckwith’s series Her Whole Heart Devoted is a story based on Sense and Sensibility, and centered on Marianne and Colonel Brandon. Due to time constraints, in this review I’m going to stick to the first two stories in the series, “A Delaford Vignette” and “A Barton Vignette”. I have hopes of reviewing the rest of the series at a later date.
Why you should read this: Attention to canon details. Attention to historical details. Good, solid writing with few technical errors. A well crafted story. A well crafted piece of fanfiction which explores and adds new depths to canon without betraying or ignoring the source material.
Why you may not like it: The writing can be a bit overwrought at times, and it can become clunky, spelling out emotional development that would be more effectively hinted at or shown.
Regency, Canon, Interstitial/Sequel, PG
A Delaford Vignette | A Barton Vignette Part One and Part Two
Review contains some spoilers.
The Marianne/Colonel Brandon pairing at the end of Sense and Sensibility is not without its problems. Throughout the book, they share very few scenes together, and they’re tossed together at the end almost as an afterthought. Marianne is shown as something of a reward to Colonel Brandon for his suffering and good character. It’s outright stated that Marianne doesn’t love him when she marries him, and that her friends and relations nudge her into the match. Her Whole Heart Devoted doesn’t ignore these problems, but rather tackles them, showing the lively friendship that precedes the marriage, and showing Marianne as more than Brandon’s reward. The author even addresses the issue head on at one point.
It was no small privilege to be the cause of another’s happiness, and while that was not sufficient reason in and of itself to marry him–for she did not believe in a total subjugation of one’s own well-being to another’s–yet there was deep and genuine pleasure in it, and she looked forward to many occasions of seeing that same glad expression. “And you have made me happy as well.” He wondered at this, but she was sincere. All his tender care had helped to heal her, and without healing she could never have been happy again. It was to his steady, undemanding concern that she owed the restoration of her capacity to trust.
Marianne is allowed to keep a good deal of her original personality, albeit tempered by her experiences in the book. It also explores Brandon’s romantic sensibilities which rival Marianne’s, making them seem rather more suited to each other than I’d thought of them before reading the series. In addition, the match is allowed to take place on its own, and without much interference from family beyond a collusion to leave the two of them together as much as possible.
While the series centers on Marianne and Brandon, the other characters are not neglected. Eleanor is much as she always was, a steady and helpful presence. I think I might have preferred a more serious and quiet, less teasing Edward, but the Edward the author writes here nevertheless works well for me, and Beckwith does at least give him some attention.
In “A Delaford Vignette”, a mostly-recovered Marianne Dashwood walks and talks with Colonel Brandon. If that sounds like not much happens…well, that’s true, to a point, but the story lays the groundwork for the series, showing Marianne’s burgeoning feelings for Brandon and Brandon’s continuing love for Marianne. It opens up some of the plots that will be explored in later stories. It gives details about Brandon’s family and shows him as a responsible estate owner and a man of some importance in the neighborhood.
In “A Barton Vignette”, things start happening. Once more, Marianne and Brandon go for a walk. We’re privy to the Colonel’s hopes which are almost dashed when Marianne asks him to relate to her what happened when he and Willoughby met by appointment. The story eventually leads Marianne to realize Brandon’s love for her, and the romance proceeds from there. I will say that Marianne’s thought process after learning that Brandon loves her leaves me scratching my head a bit, but I’m not sure if I would call that a problem with the story, a problem with my own reading comprehension, or just a continuation of Marianne sometimes silly notions in the book.
The second half of the second story is largely reflective. If you prefer your stories to move quickly, this probably isn’t the series for you, in fact. At times the story can seem to be a bit bogged down in the characters’ internal monologues, but the emotions ring true and there were a few good goosebumps-inducing scenes.
One last thing I’ll mention is what the source material actually is. There’s some blending of movie canon (specifically the 1995 Emma Thompson movie) into the story–for example, with Brandon’s first name, and with references to Brandon rescuing Marianne from a rainstorm rather than the less dramatic book version–but in general book canon reigns supreme. If you’re one who can’t stand when authors ignore the book in favor of the movie, I think you’ll be satisfied.
In general, I’m not one hundred percent sold on Marianne/Brandon, but for the space of this series, Beckwith makes me believe and root for the pairing, and really, that’s all I ask for in a romance. “A Delaford Vignette” and “A Barton Vignette” lay the groundwork for the rest of the series, are solidly written, with good characterization and emotional development.
