Joanna Trollope will be the first in a series of leading authors to unveil the hidden back story to their latest book, with the launch of a new monthly literary salon curated by Radisson Blu Edwardian.Held at the group’s Bloomsbury Street hotel in London, a literary hangout throughout its history, the evening event on 4thDecember will see Joanna unpick the literary DNA of her new novel, a reworking of Sense and Sensibility. 
Joanna Trollope's reimagining of Jane Austen's novel (1811) is part of The Austen Project, which pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works: Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Taking these well-loved stories as their base, each author will write their own unique take on Jane Austen’s novels. The Austen Project will continue with Val McDermid’s reworking of Northanger Abbey in Spring 2014 and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Pride & Prejudice in Autumn 2014. The event curated by the Radisson Blu Edwardian will be hosted by writer and journalist Sam Leith, the Hidden Prologues salon will welcome up to 30 guests to hear authors read from their own work and from another book that inspired them, before joining a discussion about the issues that emerge.
Radisson Blu Edwardian, Bloomsbury Street Hotel
Sam Leith said: “Hidden Prologues will, I hope, do something different to most literary events. By talking about the way writers engage with the past, we’ll be bringing readers closer to the core of how they work.“I’m thrilled to have Joanna as our first guest: to see how a contemporary writer of her standing reimagines Jane Austen’s classic has so much to tell us about Austen, Trollope and the way writing lives in its own time and after.”Hasnain Alloo, general manager of Radisson Blu Edwardian, Bloomsbury Street, said: “The building has a proud heritage serving as a literary meeting place and Hidden Prologues is the latest incarnation of that reputation.“We are working with authors from across the spectrum to curate a new date on the literary social calendar.”
If you are interested in the event, tickets are available by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 3047 2037.Read a chapter from the book
Podcast: Debating the Austen Project
