Sanditon

Sanditon.  Originally written by Jane Austen, the novel itself was left unfinished and there have been numerous "continuations" of the novel.  This version is "continued" by Kate Riordan and is based on a series by Andrew Davies which as I understand, had three seasons, so along with spoilers for the book itself, I believe there are spoilers for the first season.

Characters: Charlotte Heywood, The Parkers, the Denhams.

Premise: A young woman is invited to the seaside as a resort is being built and gets tangled up in intrigue and a romance plot.

I'm gonna confess, that as much as I love Jane Austen novels, she's always got a ton going on with lots of characters and I can't always keep them straight, so if this is a little disjointed, that's why.  Firstly, we're introduced to Charlotte Heywood, our heroine who looks at visiting Sanditon as a great adventure, and unexpectedly falls in love with a man named Sidney Parker, who is at Sanditon to help his brother Tom build a resort---Sanditon----hoping that it'll be the next big thing.  Sidney's recently acquired a charge---Georgianna----who is unhappy that Sidney is her guardian.  In her defense though, Sidney does seem like a major jerk for the bulk of the story, though it turns out that he's just trying to protect her from those who would try to take advantage of her and he closed himself off after getting his heart broken by a former sweetheart, Eliza Campion.

(Side note:I thought the inclusion of an African-American character was interesting for one of Austen's novels as I understand that this was the first time that she had done so and it was interesting to see that portrayed here.)    

Secondly, there are two subplots with the story: Georgianna's romance with a man named Otis and one involving Tom's financial backer, Mrs. Denham and her relatives, Clara Brereton and Esther and Edward Denham.  Charlotte ends up embroiled with Georgianna's escapades as she finds herself sympathizing with her and helps her escape her chaperones to meet up with her boyfriend, Otis.  However, Otis is a gambler who's in debt and inadvertently ends up selling Georgianna to settle his debt. (Read the book, it explains it a whole lot better than I ever could).

Now for the Denham family.  Lord have mercy, I was confused.  Edward and Esther are introduced as siblings (being Lady Denham's niece and nephew, as I understood the relationship), but they acted more like lovers, which, to quote Libby Chessler from Sabrina, The Teenage Witch: "Ew." Turns out that they were only siblings by marriage, meaning that one of them was an in-law. Lord Almighty, Riordan, make that clearer next time, that was....I don't even know.  Anyways, both of them are detestable and scheming, same as their distant cousin Clara Brereton.  All three of them want Lady Denham's money and honestly, I would've loved it if the three of them had been been killed off.  But alas, that's not what happens in an Austen novel, though Clara and Edward are disinherited while Esther does some growing up, impressed Lady Denham by speaking frankly, and ended up as sole heir.

Back to Charlotte.  She and Sidney fall in love, but this isn't meant to be as he decides to marry Eliza so that he can help Tom who is in massive debt from his venture of building Sanditon and the book ends with Charlotte going home.  Honestly, I kinda liked this ending.  Granted, I know that this is probably not how the t.v. series ended and so it feels unfinished, but I look at it as a reminder that sometimes, things don't turn out the way we expect and in life, there will be disappointments.  It was an enjoyable read and I'd give it a 6.