Willoughby's Return by Jan Odiwe

The eponymous character of Willoughby is the same man who plays the villain in
Jane Austen's famous novel "Sense and Sensibility." In that book, one of the main
characters, the flighty and emotional Marianne Dashwood, falls in love with Willoughby
who carries her home after she twists her ankle during an ill-advised walk. Despite his
love for Marianne, Willoughby marries a wealthier young lady for economic reasons,
breaking Marianne's heart in the process. These actions make him the villain in the
Austen novel, while the strong, silent and slightly boring Colonel Brandon becomes the
hero. However, because Austen (and much later, the movie adapters of her books) have
made the character of Willoughby such an appealing heartbreaker, legions offans have
carried a torch for him, which is further aided by the casting of very handsome men in his
role.

Here, much as I expected any author to do, Jane Odiwe tries to redeem the character of
John Willoughby. Since so many fans can't bear to hate him, Odiwe has done her best to
make him un-hateable. He is still the gorgeous man he was, with tossled hair and velvet
jackets. She trots him into the storyline several times, and each time, he comes to a
breathless Marianne bearing words of apology and love. Odiwe also caters to Austen fans
original impressions by allowing Brandon to remain awkward, and taciturn to a fault. As
a result, even Marianne, whom he has married and with whom he now has a child, begins
to doubt his love for her, alljbe while trying to fight off the advances of Willoughby.

In the end, it is all happily resolved, as Marianne chooses her husband over her old flame,
and Brandon realizes that he should have been more open and attentive to his wife. There
is a side plot, with Marianne's younger sister, Margaret, being of similar character, very
nearly getting her heart broken as well. But that plot also resolves itself happily, however
implausibly. For true Austen fans, however, Margarets ending up like Marianne will
seem a bit far-fetched. Her character, as seen in Austen, is romantic, but during the
course of events in "Sense and Sensibility" she's only a child. Her studious side is also
evident then, and at least I imagine that she would have turned out more like Mary
Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice" than her silly sister Marianne.

That said, however, this was an enjoyable book to read, and I preferred to read its
premise much more eagerly than the other dozen faux Austen novels I have in my living
room. It is nice to have another look at the beloved characters, even ifOdiwe's vision of
their life beyond the original Austen novel differs from my own. The writing is pleasant,
neither too arcane nor too modern, which is sometimes where these post-Austen authors
ere. And reading this book has not deterred me from my plan to read Odiwe's other book,
about what happened to Lydia Bennet after she marries the villain from "Pride and
Prejudice." So in summary, Odiwe has clever ideas, and knows her subject matter well,
yet while she is a good writer, she's certainly not the best currently writing in this post-
Austen novel genre.

Submitted by Gerti