Ep. 82 - JANE AUSTEN ADAPTED (Part 3) - Making Historical Sense and Cultural Sensibility
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Hallmark Channel 2024), Dido Elizabeth Belle (David Martin 1770s) is on the wall in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, 1869 William Home Lizars engraving of Jane Austen (colorized)
They wanted to use AI to make family portraits because you go into any of these homes, they’re going to be these huge family portraits. I was like why don’t we use actual people who were [there] during that timeframe….So slow the movie down, take a look at the walls. You will get an education, and you'll see why Black people actually have a spot in this world, even from the whole story.
Vanessa Riley, Novelist - Historical/Cultural Consulting Producer for SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Hallmark Channel 2024)
In episode 82, The Boston Sisters discuss the Hallmark Channel’s adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility featuring a multiracial cast. Vanessa Riley, the historical and cultural consulting producer, shares her journey into Austen's works and her role in ensuring historical accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Riley also discusses her novels Queen of Exiles and Island Queen, which explore the lives of Marie-Louise Christophe, Haiti's only queen, and Dorothy “Dolly” Kirwan Thomas, a formerly enslaved woman who became a wealthy entrepreneur. Riley emphasizes the importance of representing diverse historical figures and the potential adaptation of her novels into films.
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Find books by Jane Austen including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice; Vanessa Riley’s Queen of Exiles and Island Queens; and other related titles for this series.
GUEST
VANESSA RILEY
Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of over twenty-five novels. Her stories spotlight hidden narratives of Black women and women of color, emphasizing power, sisterhoods, and family sagas across historical fiction, romance, and mystery genres.
With a doctorate from Stanford University and other engineering degrees from Penn State, Vanessa brings a research-oriented approach to her inclusive storytelling about Caribbean, Georgian, and Regency eras.
Painting by an unknown artist, circa 1811, is speculated to be Haiti’s King Henri/Henry Cristophe (1767-1820), Queen Marie-Louise Cristophe (1778-1851), and their eldest daughter Françoise-Améthyste (1798-1831) or Anne-Athénaïre Christophe (1800-1839)
Three of Vanessa Riley’s novels are based on true stories about extraordinary women: they include Island Queen, Queen of Exiles (see description for Ep. 82), and Sister Mother Warrior a story about the Haitian Revolution, based on the true-life story of the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Victoria “Gran” Toya Montou, a West African-born warrior who helped lead the rebellion that drove out the French and freed the enslaved people of Haiti.
Vanessa’s next novel, Fire Sword and Sea, based on the legendary 17th century female pirate of the Caribbean, Jacquotte Delahaye, is scheduled for release in January 2026.
Connect with Vanessa Riley: Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
The Hallmark Channel’s SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (2024)
Directed by Roger M. Bobb | Screenplay by Tim Huddleston
Cast: Deborah Ayorinde (Elinor), Bethonie Antonia (Marianne), Susan Lawson Reynolds (Mary Dashwood), Julian Firth (Henry Dashwood), Beth Angus (Meg), Dan Jeannotte (Edward), Akil Largie (Colonel Brandon), Victor Hugo (Willoughby), Martina Laird (Mrs. Jennings), Edward Bennett (Sir John Middleton), Daniel Boyd (John Dashwood), Carlyss Peer (Fanny), Dimitri Gripari (Robert), Victoria Ekanoye (Lucy Steele), Karlina Grace-Paseda (Mrs. Ferrars)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
2025 marks the 250th anniversary year of English author Jane Austen’s birth (December 16, 1775). Jane Austen is beloved for her novels that capture English country life, societal norms, and romances that hinge on the quest for a financially advantageous marriage.
Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first published novel, released anonymously in 1811. The author’s credit reads “by a lady.”
Sense and Sensibility tells the story of the Dashwood sisters – the steady and prudent Elinor – and the romantic and impulsive Marianne. The sisters, along with their mother Mary and younger sister Meg, are left destitute after the death of their father. Their half-brother (from a previous marriage) and his wife assume ownership of their father’s grand house and its contents because of a law that limits the transfer of property to a male heir. Mary Dashwood and her daughters are forced to find a modest affordable home, and one is generously provided by a cousin. This new situation brings Elinor and Marianne romantic possibilities, but also disappointments that change their perceptions about love and the need for security.
Visit the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) for more information about Jane Austen and the history of Sense and Sensibility https://jasna.org/austen/works/sense-sensibility/
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