My eyes, they roll

I have serious doubts about this, you guys: BBC News recently posted a round-up article about the upcoming series of six contemporary re-workings of Jane Austen's books. The HarperCollins project kicks off this month with Joanna Trollope's version of Sense and Sensibility, due out on October 29th. Future authors include Alexander McCall Smith (Emma), Val McDermid (Northanger Abbey), and Curtis Sittenfeld (Pride and Prejudice). The authors handling Mansfield Park and Persuasion haven't been announced yet.

In the article, Trollope is quoted as saying that Emma is a heroine who will "benefit" from being "handled by a man". Way to enrage your target audience, lady!