Diana Reid Isn't Precious About Jane Austen, and That's the Point

Diana Reid has written the screenplay for the new Sense and Sensibility, and she isn't pretending the book arrived at her desk untouchable. Her word for the approach is "respectful but not reverent" — meaning the source earned her care, not her obedience. She went in prepared to change things, and did. It's the sort of candor that plays well with a readership that has kept its own worn copy of Austen on the shelf for years and knows the difference between an adaptation and a copy.

With reporting from Town & Country.