This book, even with its heavy themes, was delightful and a compulsive read. I think it could be a great summer book read for patrons.

Ladies of the House: A Modern Retelling of Sense and Sensibility by Lauren Edmondson was a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility. Here's the thing, y'all, I haven't read S&S, seen the movie, and am not actually familiar with the original story. With that base knowledge, I think I would have enjoyed this more as I could connect that adaptation with the source material. This context (or lack thereof) influenced my reading experience for sure. The story focuses on a family scandal. Senator Gregory Richardson has died . . . in the presence of his young mistress. Thirtysomething Daisy then returns home to help her mother and to help prepare the family estate to be sold as they are in financial ruin. As the story goes, more secrets are revealed about her father, and Daisy has to figure out how to keep the pieces together which is not an easy feat. I really felt like I was missing something not knowing S&S, and it also was an interesting story about what to do when family secrets bubble to the surface!

This is out of the norm from what I usually read but I still very much enjoyed it. I love retellings of Austen books and that's why I requested this. This was a great spin on one of my favorite classics. I highl.y recommend it!

Ladies of the House by Lauren Edmonson is a modern day retelling of Sense and Sensibility. While some may say we don’t need another modern Austen retelling, I would argue that this is a unique and fresh spin on a well loved classic.

For anyone that is a fan of romance, this is sure to be a hit. With a mix of cancel culture and the current political landscape, as well as family dynamics, romance, and sisterly love, Ladies of the House is an enjoyable escapist read.

Review will be published on 3/8/21

Senator Gregory Richardson, an influential person in the Georgetown community, died an untimely death leaving behind his wife and two daughters, Daisy and Wallis. As the Richardson family tries to pick up the pieces, they end up finding out more than they ever bargained for regarding their father and the secrets he kept. Since he is a senator, you know what this means. Scandal! Life as they know it is over for them. There's paparazzi following their every move, their father now has a bad reputation, and his father's crimes are now spilling over into Daisy's professional life. All of this makes it difficult to mourn their father and how can Daisy separate herself from her father's scandals, but also still remember him for the great father he was despite his shortcomings? Then Atlas, Daisy's best friend, comes to town from the UK. Things are complicated between Daisy and Atlas; yes, they are best friends, but Daisy has been secretly pining over him for years. Then there's Wallis, who wants to move on from this nightmare, but she finds herself in someone's arms who only complicates things even further. Yes, it's possible for things to be even worse! But when it all comes down to it, the women have each other despite what the men in their lives do to disappoint them. Ladies of the House by Lauren Edmondson is a delightful debut that brings Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility to a modern audience.

I really enjoyed Daisy right from the start of Ladies of the House. Her relationship with her mother as well as her sister was very well done. Readers can identify some of Austen's themes subtly poking through and Edmondson shows us that many of the problems in Austen's novels are still applicable to today. Daisy's relationship with Atlas was also complicated as he is a reporter that is writing an expose on her father. There's a lot of emotions surrounding this and it's complicated, especially when he uncovers even more secrets. Nonetheless, Daisy is a modern woman despite her conflicts and I appreciated her situation regarding balancing her family, her career, and her father's scandal.

The other characters in Ladies of the House were also enjoyable, especially Daisy's sister, Wallis. She is more carefree and she just wants to move past this fiasco. Instead of falling under the radar, she finds herself in a relationship with Blake Darley, a politician who she really shouldn't associate with due to her father's scandal. Of course the press has a field day with this.

Fans of Austen will appreciate Edmondson's ability to modernize Sense and Sensibility. It goes to show how timeless many themes and conflicts from Austen's novels truly are. Women today can still relate to family problems, issues with love, the ability to moving on, and ultimately finding out what makes a person happy. Even if you aren't a fan of Austen or seven someone who has read Sense and Sensibility, I think you can still enjoy this debut steeped in family drama, politics, some romance, and strong females relationships.

Do you enjoy Austen retellings? Is Ladies of the House on your TBR list? Have you read Austen's Sense and Sensibility? Let me know in the comments below.

LADIES OF THE HOUSE is such a fun retelling of Sense and Sensibility! It’s important to note that this book can be thoroughly enjoyed without having previously read Austen’s book. It’s a modern retelling, but it’s a novel that stands on its own as far as the story and structure. The book opens with a really gripping scene as the wife and daughters of a Senator are mourning his death at a funeral. Suddenly a salacious news story drops involving the dead Senator, and everyone’s phones start going off in the middle of the memorial service! From there the book takes off as we watch Daisy, Wallis, and Cricket piece together the truth of the Richardson family in a time when society is quick to cancel you for the slightest indiscretion. It’s a quick and fun read!

As a die-hard Jane Austen fan I was drawn to this book but unfortunately was left untouched and disappointed. Described as a modern telling of the incomparable Sense and Sensibility, perhaps my expectations were too high. The relationship of the sisters (Daisy and Wallis) held true, although they definitely appeared immature and childish in many of their responses.
Who doesn't appreciate a (literary) scandal, but the political background and detailed workings of the Capitol was not what I was expecting and do not enjoy.
I was also constantly distracted by the character's names, maybe 'modern' to some but downright kooky to me. I do not know a single person named Cricket or Atlas. There was even a brief mention of a dog with a ridiculous name which I have also forgotten.

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This Sense and Sensibility inspired story of wrecked dreams and new beginnings completely captivated me.

Daisy and Wallis have their lives turned upside down when their father dies. He was a mythical, powerful figure and a pillar of Washington D.C. The secrets he kept and the scandals he buried come to light when he dies, and completely destroy the illusion of a perfect life.

Daisy's career, built on a carefully constructed image, and an unassailable reputation, is suddenly in jeopardy. Wallis's search for love is thwarted, and the family home must be sacrificed.

I highly recommend this for fans of Austen retellings and political dramas.

Thanks to Graydon House for my review copy. All opinions are my own. As soon as I realized this was a retelling of Sense and Sensibility, I knew I had to read it!

This version is set in D.C. and the key characters are involved in politics. It feels very appropriate post-election. ⁣I loved seeing the connections back to Jane Austen’s original work. It’s probably one of my favorite retellings of this particular story.⁣

This was an absolutely delightful reimagining of the Sense and Sensibility concept set in the modern day cutthroat world of DC politics.

I lived and worked in DC for a decade. This was a while ago, but everything about Edmondson's story resonated nevertheless. It's an unusual town, in which optics were the name of the game long before social media took over and made them so for the whole world.

Edmondson did a marvelous job capturing the frenetic feel of the political game while never losing sight of the fact that it is people who are caught up in it - both as perpetrators and unwitting victims. The characters are sympathetic and likeable (even the rakes and scoundrels!) and the pacing was spot-on. The plotting was well-managed and utterly believable - even in its most absurd- and over-the-top-seeming moments. Politics really IS that ugly... The story is very easy to fall into and made for an exceptionally entertaining read.

I'm a Jane Austen fan who enjoys reading (and watching) adaptations of Austen's work. Not everyone does, and that's OK. (I'm more forgiving of adaptations in general than some readers, I find.) So, I figured I'd have a good time reading Lauren Edmondson's debut novel, Ladies of the House, which is a modern day retelling of Sense and Sensibility. I was wrong. I had a great time reading it. It might be my love of Austen influencing me but I absolutely adored this book from start to finish.

Here's the description:
No surprise is a good surprise. At least according to thirty-four-year-old Daisy Richardson. So when it’s revealed in dramatic fashion that her esteemed father had been involved in a public scandal before his untimely death, Daisy’s life becomes complicated—and fast.
For one, the Richardsons must now sell the family home in Georgetown they can no longer afford, and Daisy’s mother is holding on with an iron grip. Her younger sister, Wallis, is ready to move on to bigger and better things but falls fast and hard for the most inconvenient person possible. And then there’s Atlas, Daisy’s best friend. She’s always wished they could be more, but now he’s writing an exposé on the one subject she’s been desperate to avoid: her father.
Daisy’s plan is to maintain a low profile as she works to keep her family intact amid social exile, public shaming, and quickly dwindling savings. But the spotlight always seems to find the Richardsons, and when another twist in the scandal comes to light, Daisy must confront the consequences of her continued silence and summon the courage to stand up and accept the power of her own voice.
Like with any adaptation, Edmondson cut some characters and combined others. Some storylines were removed and adjusted to fit the flow of a modern story. It's been a few years since I've read Sense and Sensibility (and about as long since watching Emma Thompson's excellent movie adaptation), so I could only really recall the broad strokes of Austen's novel anyway. And those were the strokes that Edmonson made sure to make. Her Willoughby was perfection and Beau (aka Colonel Brandon) was wicked smart and an absolute sweetheart, just as he should be. The relationship between the sisters (only two - no youngest sister to be found in this story) and their mother was much better and healthier than I think Austen had ever written - but I loved that. Give me a great sister story and I'm happy - even happier when they get along well with their mother. There was a great scene in this story when Daisy and her mother, Cricket, wander around the National Gallery of Art. She says that she'd forgotten her mother was her ideal museum companion, since her father didn't care and her sister, Wallis, always zoomed through. I can't remember the last time I would have been at an art museum with my mom, certainly not as an adult, but the scene struck me so deeply and I wished the world wasn't locked down so I could go on an art adventure with my mom.

Speaking of the National Gallery of Art, there were a few scenes sprinkled throughout the story that would appeal to those wishing to do a bit of armchair traveling. The majority of the Washington, D.C. the reader gets is very political (which I enjoyed a lot) but there are a few moments where the reader, if they've visited the city like I have, will recognize attractions and be able to exactly picture the setting.

The story, separate of all things Austen, is a gem. It is smart and amazingly feminist. I loved that Daisy was just a year older than me and absolutely killing it on the Hill. (Equally great was that the story wasn't super bogged down in politics.) I also freaking adored that she took no bullshit from Blake (aka Willoughby) at the end of the novel when he was trying to wrangle an apology out of her simply because his white frat boy self thought he deserved one. The epilogue gave me chills and I think I'm going to have to reread it a couple more times because of how powerful I felt it was. (No quotes here because 1. it's the epilogue and therefore the very end of the book and 2. I only have an advanced copy and can't confirm the finished text.) Wallis and Daisy had such a great sisterly relationship and I wished I could be their friend.

You don't have to be a fan of Jane Austen to love Lauren Edmondson's debut novel - though Janeites will enjoy the nods to Sense and Sensibility. Ladies of the House is smart, entertaining, heartwarming, and feminist. I loved reading it and I think a lot of others will too. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Graydon House/Harlequin, via NetGalley, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

It is what it is and nothing more. A retelling of a classic in this case one shouldn’t expect more from the title. It’s quirky and fun nothing I’d pick up again.

Adjectives to describe this book include: delightfully witty, engaging, entertaining, clever, insightful and fast-paced. To break it down, the book is touted as a “Modern Retelling of Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen. Gasp! I never read that entire book, so I can’t tell you whether this one was an accurate re-telling, but I do know that Austen did not dabble into loose morals, so this modern story definitely left the trail provided by Austen in many ways. However, I actually enjoyed this book, which was one of the reasons I did not enjoy Austen’s dry book. This book captured me from page one, with the dilemma of Cricket (the mom), and her two daughters Daisy and Wallis. Senator Gregory Richardson died of a heart attack with another woman and his family left behind has to survive the scandal. Unfortunately, the man who lost his reputation also lost his money and the family has to sell the family home. I felt bad for what each of them had to face in the judgmental society of D.C. The characters were well-developed and the conversations that took place between them was unexpectedly humorous. Daisy was the main character and the one who was determined at all costs to salvage the family’s name. With acerbic social commentary on the life and politics of D.C. this book was like reading an extended gossip column, with some PG rated details. My favorite character was Daisy’s best friend Atlas, a newspaper columnist tasked with writing an exposé of the disgraced senator. He was totally charming and seemed to be there to rescue Daisy from herself. He was also the one who was intelligently insightful into what was actually happening with the family. As the debut novel of this author, this book impressed me with its brilliantly crafted and uniquely relevant to our times social commentary on life among the rich and powerful. The author has done a magnificent job of representing the family drama genre!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

A thoroughly enjoyable retelling of Sense & Sensibility. A modern twist on the timeless stories of love, loss, politics and family. As in Austen's work this novel is about women and there relationships to each other, themselves and the world.

** I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

It’s so hard to do a good retelling. This retelling of Sense and Sensibility was okay but it didn’t grab me. The story is set in the contemporary Washington DC political scene. The sisters are Daisy and Wallis, left with their mother Cricket after their father — a senator leaving behind a few scandals — dies. The setting is clever and the structure is true to Austen’s novel -- especially the relationship between the sisters. But the writing and characters felt a bit thin. And while a retelling is necessarily predictable, this felt like it lacked originality. I think I need to go back to the original... Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to an advance copy.

I admit I was excited to find a new writer but was a little skeptical about the description as I'm not much of a political person. I was so far off with this one.

This book isn't just about politics. It is about redemption, growth, love, and finding yourself in a world that only sees you as one thing.

The characters in this book are complicated especially, Daisy. Having been raised in a home where appearances are more important truth Daisy learns quickly not everything is as it should be.

When Daisy's father dies she learns that her family holds many secrets. That the farther she loved had many secrets ones that went deep and far beyond what Daisy knew of him. When she learns the truth everything Daisy knows s turned upside down. She has to decide which is more important the truth or what people think.

With the help of her family Daisy learns to recent herself and comes to terms with the truth. Along the way she finds strength in Cricket, Wallis, and the man she loves.

What an amazing story of strength, growth, and standing up for the truth. A must-read.

It’s unfortunate that a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility felt the need to forgo, or actually decry, any sense of moral restraint and instead delved deeply into American politics with a liberal agenda being the end all/be all of feminism and liberated women. I’m so sick of American politics that I could puke, and Ladies of the House did not improve my mood one iota.

Turning Mr. Dashwood into a sleazy politician with a propensity for young things in their twenties made me sick. Any chance I had for liking Daisy and Wallis, and there were moments because I like the sister theme, was immediately undermined by the next political undercutting maneuver. I liked Wallis a tick more than Daisy, just a tick. She is the most accurate of the women and has a very Marianne feel. And Atlas? Well, to be fair, he’s just as spineless as Edward Ferrars, but at least Edward had a controlling family keeping him under their thumb unlike Atlas who’s just lily-livered. And heaven forbid that Blake should turn against Wallis to run for his mother’s senate seat under a political banner different from Wallis’ own! Horrors!

I did get the inspired by Sense and Sensibility vibes, which was more than I was expecting, but at the same time, it didn’t impress me. The author would have done much better if she had just steered clear of a Jane Austen retelling and just written her political novel. If she had, I would have never read it and we would have both been happy.

As it stands, I read it. I will never read it again. I would rather re-read Sense and Sensibility for the umpteenth time than this half-baked reboot chock full of political posturing. The only other Austen retelling I hated this much is Unleashing Mr. Darcy, a novel I loathe to the core of my being.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC. I wasn’t required to give a positive review.

"Ladies of the House" is a contemporary retelling of Austen's classic "Sense and Sensibility", and it was this description that interested me in reading the book. While "S&S" isn't my favorite of Austen's books, I was still interested in seeing how Lauren Edmondson adapted the story. In Edmondson's version, the focus is on Washington D.C. politics. Powerful Senator Gregory Richardson dies in his mistress's bed and the scandal comes fast and hard. Not only was he cheating on his wife, he was stealing funds and had been for years. The world turns on him and his family. Narrator Daisy, younger sister Wallis, and mother Cricket must sell their house and try to start life over in the face of internet trolls and public hatred.

Wallis and Cricket remain flat figures until the very end of the book, where they finally show signs of life. Daisy is determined to be the martyr who suffers in silence over loving her best friend, journalist Atlas, and trying to singlehandedly shoulder the blame for her father's crimes (which she didn't know about) and find ways to repay the world. I never really felt the passion I expected in Daisy for her work- she may be good at it thanks to her father's training but I never felt like she really believed in it as a way of changing the world. I found Wallis even more annoying than her Austen counterpart. She's a twenty-something woman who has traveled the world, has an excellent education, and is confident enough to stand up to bullies in restaurants but when she meets Blake he becomes her complete focus. When he betrays her she falls apart with a broken heart that was matched in annoying me only by Daisy's not understanding that Wallis needed to wallow a little and kept trying to 'fix' Wallis. Blake's betrayals that are supposed to be shocking and horrifying weren't. They were more the pranks of an obnoxious rich kid and the coverups by his rich, annoying mother. Not good and not what you want to know about someone you think you love, but hardly the betrayals of the Austen original.

The end of the book pushed the good message of women trying to take control of their lives in the face of social pressure. Female power, standing up for yourself and listening to your family. But I found the book overall didn't keep me interested enough to enjoy the read to get to that message. The relationships were flat, characters one dimensional, and writing style mixed. An attempt at female empowerment that falls flat and drowns in the muck of modern day politics.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

For this Janeite, it's hard to resist an Austen retelling of any sort. They don't always land, but it's a pleasure when they do. Lauren Edmondson's contemporary take on Sense and Sensibility was the latter. When an affair and shady financial dealings are exposed posthumously, mom and sisters are left to grapple with a Senator's corrupt legacy. The Washington D.C. setting felt like a perfect backdrop to explore female relationships and the patriarchy.

Ladies of the House is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, following a family as they fall from grace after the death of their patriarch. Mother and daughters have to grapple with their new lives, and learn to survive independently, despite a deck stacked against them.

The Richardson women are blindsided by the sudden death of Gregory, senator, father, husband, and adulterer. Cricket, his widow, and their daughters, Daisy and Wallis, are thrust even further into the public eye after his death, when Gregory’s misconduct becomes public, and all of their lives are upended. Financial stress forces them to sell the family home, and the public scrutiny endangers Daisy’s job. Both daughters must deal with being disappointed in love, and try to find their way forward.

Daisy has been in love with the same man for fifteen years, her close friend and confidant Atlas, whom she met as a college student while on the campaign trail with her father. They have remained platonic friends all this time, occasionally separated by an ocean, and Daisy knows he only loves her as a sister. Her resilience is tested when Atlas, an independent journalist, is asked to write a piece about her father. Daisy is the chief of staff for a prominent young senator, and while Atlas can try to protect her, the rest of the press has no such scruples, jeopardizing not only Daisy’s good name, but her livelihood.

Wallis is so young- twenty-five, freshly home from teaching abroad and starting her first job. She also falls in love for the first time, with someone entirely unsuitable and far too charming. Blake, her beau, is on the other side of the political aisle, but Wallis knows he isn’t like the rest of his family. To further complicate matters, Blake’s mother, a senator, openly disdains the Richardsons and disapproves of his relationship with Wallis. Despite the roadblocks in their way, the Richardson women must find peace with the past in order to move forward, together.

The characters in this book really are remarkable, and the author shows a deep understanding both of the original text and of how the story translates to the present. Even characters who barely appear really have a chance to shine, which says a lot about the storytelling. Cricket, in particular, is a real stand-out. In the original novel, the mother really doesn’t get a meaty part, but in this story Cricket and her daughters have a fascinating dynamic, one that makes her nearly as interesting as they are. The book shows us how, while the Richardson women aren’t complicit in Gregory’s crimes, they protected him at the expense of their relationships with each other. Each of them had a unique view into him, and having to reckon with the incompleteness of that picture is daunting. The echo of that trauma really permeates the narrative.

The book also does a good job of conveying the pressure of life in the public eye, and the pressure on people associated with public figures. Even in a comparably free world for women, their futures and their reputations still lean heavily on the actions of the men in their lives, because of public perception. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of powerful people in the book, some were corrupt, others were kind but cynical, as one must be sometimes.

Overall, this is a lovely read, and only a few things jumped out at me as obvious missteps. Firstly, Cricket and Daisy are always going off to meetings with lawyers which never seem to resolve anything. By the end of the story, the women have come to terms with their loss, and also with the loss of their illusions, but the legal matters of Gregory’s death remain. Secondly, there is a certain instability to Daisy’s job situation that messes up the pacing of the book. While needing to earn a living is a compelling problem, especially when one comes from wealth and privilege, due to the scandal and other developments, Daisy is constantly in danger of losing her job, which makes it difficult to maintain tension and is just exhausting. Lastly, though Cricket is a great character, she really doesn’t have a lot to do. I was disappointed that, despite her expanded role in the story, she had very little in the way of her own narrative.

Ladies of the House is a lovely book, and a worthy retooling of the classic Austen story.