Now that Elinor and Marianne are married, sixteen-year-old Margaret Dashwood is next, according to the teasing Sir John Middleton and his mother-in-law Mrs. Jennings. A young woman of no fortune and little to recommend her, however, Margaret's romantic notions are limited. On holiday to Bath with her mother, Margaret befriends Miss Barbara Spooner, the future wife of the eminent Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce. Unlike Margaret's silly friends the Carey sisters, Barbara cares about things of substance, such as religion, the education of the poor, and the abolition of slavery. On the way home, Margaret and her family visit Whitwell, the beautiful estate of Colonel Brandon's relations, the Talleyrands. They are a most agreeable family, except for the bothersome son, Benjamin, who teases her mercilessly. Unexpected events take Margaret away from Devonshire, leading her into the center of fashionable London society, to her childhood home of Norland Park and to the seaside town of Brighton. Finally, into the wild beauty and terrible poverty of Cheddar Gorge, where Margaret gains a wider view of the world. Based on Sense and Sensibility , this historical fiction by award-winning author Carol Pratt Bradley, is written in Austen's style with wit and humor, exploring the question: Whatever became of the little sister, Margaret Dashwood? Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is famously about two sisters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Very few words in Austen's book share information about the third and youngest sister, Margaret. The Making of Margaret Dashwood seeks to fix this problem by focusing entirely on her. Margaret Dashwood only wants more choices for what to do with her life, but what is even available to her? She doesn't see a lot of prospects for marrying, as the only young man to come her way recently is annoying and very different from her. The book picks up shortly after the time Sense and Sensibility left off, though it's entirely possible to enjoy this book without ever having read Austen. Elinor, Marianne, and other favorites make appearances here, and we get to see how their lives ended up, even as we focus on teenaged Margaret and the adventurous young man she's just met. The book is more than a simple romance, though, including historical figures like William Wilberforce that allow a window into slavery, politics, and human rights in early 19th-century England. Carol Pratt Bradley weaves old and new characters together seamlessly and writes in Austen's style without seeming pretentious. Historical Novel Society