Foreword

I will probably bore you to death with book talk but I have to share this little incident with you! :o) In perusing my Mom's library I found a copy of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. As it had been several years since I read it I thought I would re-read it...... Now this book is a 1995 printing and the paperback cover makes it look like a ridiculous schoolgirl romance not a literary classic. If I had not known what was inside that paperback cover I would not have picked it up to read!  Anyhow, for some unknown reason I decided to read the Foreword. I have yet to learn why Forewords are in books but they often are and this one had a doozy!  It is written by Elizabeth Engstrom whom, from a quick search on wikipedia, I learned is an author and a teacher at many writing seminars. The impression I got was that she is a rather well known celebrated author. Anyhow, the Foreward was pretty normal until I got about 1/2 way through and then she said this: 
    "Elinor, the eldest sister, is engaged to be married to conservative Edward Farrars, a man of impeccable breeding and reputation.  Marianne, the younger sister, is smitten with Holloway, a man of dubious lineage and questionable activities, but with a theatrical flair that steals her heart." 

   I about fell off my chair! What had they done to Jane Austens classic?!?!?! So, I read the book and found that it was unaltered. Evidently Ms. Ensgstrom didn't actually read the book, she just wrote a general Foreword based on all the other stuff that is our there. I mean, Elinor was not engaged to Edward for most of the book and, worse yet, Marianne is not "smitten" with a man named Holloway!!! His name was Whilloughby for pitys sake!!!!  You would think that an editor or SOMEBODY would have caught that! Anyhow, so the lesson to be learned from this is to read the book before you sign your name to a Foreword for it!  ;o)