SIX classic novels by Jane Austen are set to be re-written for a modern day audience.

It begs one obvious question – what is the point?

I can see the allure for the authors who are taking on the challenge, as it will allow them creative licence to step into Austen’s shoes and re-imagine her world, 200 years on.

But it just looks like another step towards dumbing down 21st-century culture because we are too lazy to address anything that sits slightly outside our comfort zones and familiar day-to-day routine.

If you struggled to get to grips with her original work, why should an updated version set in a modern environment tempt you to revisit the likes of Pride and Prejudice?

The author taking on that title, and those working on Northanger Abbey, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion and Mansfield Park, must stick with the individual novel’s existing plot and characters, but are free to make some changes.

What exactly will those changes include and should her commentary on late 18th and early 19th century Britain be uprooted and plonked ham-fistedly into our world?

I can’t imagine a witty observation of today’s middle and upper classes proving to be a hit, with copies flying off the shelves and making their way into people’s living rooms.

If it’s all going to be tweeting, texting, nightclubbing and internet dating, then I’m afraid it will most likely fall flat and I won’t be rushing to read it.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

My main worry is that tackling classic literature and giving it a new spin in order to make it relate to the present day will create something trashy and throw-away – although that would be quite a fitting reflection of today’s society.

At the very least, I hope the 21st- century wordsmiths use it as an opportunity to critique that society’s attitudes and way of life in an amusing way.

The whole process seems to be a little bit like Hollywood’s obsession with re-making classic, and not-so-classic, films for the silver screen in a desperate bid to generate content and make up for a dwindling pool of originality and imagination.

At least Austen’s presence on the next £10 note is a fitting tribute to her lasting literary legacy.