Rating: 
Summary: Empty Austenism
Review: . . .uninspired and unsatisying. The writing style is Austinesque, but the insipid plot and shallow character development are definetly not. Margaret's motives and emotions are obscure, and the author's assertion that her "heroine" has wit and intelligence is never illustrated by word or deed. Quite the contrary . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Austen Lives On - The Perfect Summer Read
Review: Fanciers of Jane Austen, plus a bevy of fans of the several movies
of her works who have recently joined them, are ever on the hunt for
fiction in her delicious manner. They shouId revel in a new novel just out
from DONALD I. FINE/PENGUIN, USA,
THE THIRD SISTER, A Continuation of Jane Austen's SENSE AND
SENSIBILITY, by Julia Barrett, is a deft recreation of the great lady's
distinct style. With never a false sentiment, scene, or action, it picks
up a character with whom Austen dealt little in that first novel, the
youngest of the Dashwood sisters. Barrett elects to explore her
development after her elder sisters' marriages and their departures from
Devonshire and its confined country society.
Margaret Dashwood is just seventeen when we rejoin her at the
beginning of THE THIRD SISTER. She is without fortune or prospects, and
entirely at the disposal of her good-willed, if tasteless relatives, Sir John and Lady Middleton, their
spoiled children, and Mrs. Jennings, their grandmother. There seems no
hope of escape until not one, but two men appear in her life, as if out of
the blue. Yet what appears a promising turn of events instead becomes a
set of dangerous risks. It is not only her youth that causes uncertainty:
it is also her recollection of the troubles and misfortunes of her two
older sisters.
Yet, in Barrett's competent hands and in language as
economical as it is elegant, she permits us to contemplate the emergence
of a charming, thinking Austenian heroine, even while managing to tackle
several of Austen's unresolved themes with her own turn of wit. Julia
Barrett's THE THIRD SISTER is a definite winner.
by Steven Fullerton
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Many
Review: For anyone who loves Jane Austen's works you should give this a try- just remember it's not actually Jane Austen when you begin it. I found it entertaining and it is fun to imagine Margaret as growing up into adulthood. Not quite the tension filled tale of Jane Austen but well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read, even for a pure Austen fan.
Review: Having read MANY disgusting attempts at Austen sequels, I wasdelighted to get my hands on another Austen sequel by Julia Barrett.Of course, the dialog isn't as witty, nor the style as lively as Austen's, but this is a truly satisfying sequel to "Sense & Sensibility." As with "Presumption" (Barrett's sequel to "Pride & Prejudice"), the author wisely stays away from Austen's established characters (there is not too much of Elinor and Marianne), and instead focuses on a character which was scarcely drawn in the original: Margaret, the youngest Dashwood. Fans of the movie version of "Sense & Sensibility" got to see much more of Margaret than Austen ever wrote -- so, if the movie jarred some interest in Margaret, "The Third Sister" will be a sheer delight. Julia Barrett also kept several of the more extreme characters (good and bad) to make this a lively read -- read the book to find out which ones made the cut!
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow little offshoot
Review: I found that this story was quite disappointing: the plot itself appears to be a contrived cut-n-paste from several different Austen works, the writing style is laboured and rather pretentious, and the characters are inconsequential. Not once in this entire book did I feel more than a curious indifference towards the characters. If your aim is to read a tidy little love story set in the S&S universe, then this might suit your purposes. Barrett does seem know her stuff quite well and that is reflected in her meticulous writing. The story is harmless enough (even though her style does grate on the nerves at times). If you are anything like me, though, and enjoy reading stories that have more depth to it than "Perfect Woman meets Two Hunks. Which one will she Choose? Eeny Meeny Miney Moe..." then you might find your time and money better spent elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite worthy
Review: I'm only about half way through this novel, and I am not quite certain if I really wish to continue it. The Third Sister boasts a writing style that is similar to Austen's in its verbosity but not in its wittiness and clearity. Perhaps more damaging to my regard for this story is that I have noticed several inconsistancies with the original story line. For example, in the original work, Edward was disinherited because of his engagement to Lucy Steele, not his attatchment to Elinor Dashwood, whom the Farrars' would still likely find an objectional match for Edward, but who is infinately superior to Miss Steele both in breeding, birth, and sense. I also find it highly unlikely that Mrs. John Dashwood would be likely to form any sort of friendship with Mrs. Robert Farrars, the former Miss Steele. It is also stated in S&S that the eldest Mrs. Farrars' settlement on her younger son is irreversable, but I find her in this "sequel" seeking a new heir. Margaret in love with Wiloughby? I find that difficult to believe. She was only eleven or twelve when he was was paying so much attention to her sister Marianne. If the author was not seeking to immitate Austen's style and continue her story, I would sooner excuse any shortcomings. In itself, the story is not altogether without entertainment value. I would not be nearly so harsh if it was an independant work. As it is, I feel this book is damaging characters already well know and loved by myself and others and insulting to one of the best-loved novelists of the English language. In short, if you are looking to read a sequel to Sense and Sensibility that is true to the original masterpiece both in style and detail, you will be sadly dissappointed by this work. If not, you may well enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Just awful
Review: If you're looking for a good Austen continuation, read Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken or Sandition by Another Lady. This one is one of the most poorly-written books I've ever read. Ms. Barrett is so caught up in using Austen-ish language and in staying true to the Austen "formula" that she forgets to include a comprehensible plot. We follow Margaret Dashwood as she meets two young men, we are expected to surmise that she has fallen in love with one (for no articulated reason except that this is the way all of Austen's stories proceed), whom she apparently dismisses in a scene that was so poorly described in the book that I couln't remember it happening at all, then she inexplicably accepts the proposal of the other without any thought, only to find that he is some vague sort of villian. Then, and worst of all, Ms. Barrett takes a time out to reassure the reader that, despite the fact that the book is nearly over, Margaret will find her way to the correct gentleman. This isn't a poor imitation of Jane Austen, this is a poor book, period. Don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Changes from Jane Austen's original are regrettable.
Review: My huge problem with this sequel is that it changes the terms of the original Sense & Sensibility. Austen ends her book with the ironic development that Mrs. Ferrers cuts off her son, Edward, from his inheritance because he is engaged to marry Lucy Steele. She makes this irrevocable. Then her younger son, Robert, DOES marry Lucy Steele and is due to inherit all her money. The irony depends on the fact that Mrs. Ferrers cannot change her will again. In Julia Barret's book, this is ignored. Mrs. Ferrers' money is still up for grabs! I just can't accept this gross revision of the original. Moreover, the naive Margaret, who is always blurting out the wrong thing, has in three years become poised, witty and a keen observer who finds fault with all and sundry. Believable? I think not. Julia Barrett also has a tendency to think she is writing Regency English when she stands a sentence on its head. She is not.
Rating:
Summary: Changes from Jane Austen's original are regrettable.
Review: My huge problem with this sequel is that it changes the terms of the original Sense & Sensibility. Austen ends her book with the ironic development that Mrs. Ferrers cuts off her son, Edward, from his inheritance because he is engaged to marry Lucy Steele. She makes this irrevocable. Then her younger son, Robert, DOES marry Lucy Steele and is due to inherit all her money. The irony depends on the fact that Mrs. Ferrers cannot change her will again. In Julia Barret's book, this is ignored. Mrs. Ferrers' money is still up for grabs! I just can't accept this gross revision of the original. Moreover, the naive Margaret, who is always blurting out the wrong thing, has in three years become poised, witty and a keen observer who finds fault with all and sundry. Believable? I think not. Julia Barrett also has a tendency to think she is writing Regency English when she stands a sentence on its head. She is not.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable follow up to Sense and Sensibility
Review: Nothing can come close to Austen. Having said that, I found The Third Sister quite enjoyable in its own right. Margaret Dashwood, the youngest Dashwood girl, has to choose between two suitors. Who will she choose, the gentleman or the rake? Will she remember what happened to older sister Marianne? If you're into Austen, give this one a try.
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