My obvious affinity for the fantasy genre aside, I have an equally deep (if less obvious) weakness for all things Jane Austen. Her original novels first and foremost, of course. I’ve read them all, even Lady Susan. Pride & Prejudice will always hold a warm spot in my heart as my gateway drug to Austen and the story I like reading most overall, though sometimes I think I like Fanny from Mansfield Park more than Elizabeth. Sometimes. And the font I used for the heading above is called Jane Austen and based off of her handwriting. So, you know, I’ve got Austen-obsessed street cred. 😉
But there’s also the wide and varying world of Austen subculture – ‘sequels’ to her stories, modern-day interpretations, versions where her stories are told from the man’s point of view, etc. None of them are quite the caliber of her original works, but they are always a fun read and occasionally surprisingly affecting. Some also verge on the ridiculous: there’s a sequel where Mr. Collins has a rather gruesome death by bees, one from Darcy’s view where he gets embroiled in a murder mystery in those months he’s estranged from Elizabeth, lots of men riding to the rescue on horses (in both modern and historical settings), and some of the interpretations feature rather, ahem, inventive sex scenes. Something for everyone, really. 🙂 So if you’ve run out of the original Austen but still want a new taste of her characters or plots, here are some possibilities:
Books
- An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #1) – P&P from Darcy’s point of view.
- Mr. Knightley’s Diary – Emma from Knightley’s POV.
- None But You (Frederick Wentworth, Captain, #1) – Persuasion from Wentworth’s POV.
- Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride – sequel
- Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife – sequel
- Mr. Darcy’s Daughters (Darcy #1) – sequel series about Darcy’s daughters and eventually extended family
- Mansfield Park Revisited – sequel
- Austenland – modern-day
- Undressing Mr. Darcy – modern-day and raunchy
- The Jane Austen Marriage Manual – modern and with a bit more depth, despite the premise.
- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies – exactly as it sounds.
- Jane Bites Back – Jane Austen is a vampire.
Movies
- Becoming Jane – Hollywood gives Jane a romance of her own.
- Miss Austen Regrets – based on letters between Jane and her sister Cassandra.
- The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (web series) – Elizabeth Bennett as video blogger. SO GOOD.
- Lost in Austen – time travel/alternate world
- The Jane Austen Book Club – all the book club members being clueless about love like many of Austen’s characters. While reading Austen.
- Austenland – based on the book above.
There are many, many more, these are just the ones I’ve experienced personally. And some are better than others. And I left off the obvious ones like Clueless and Bridget Jones’ Diary. There are still quite a few a LOT on my to-read list, too. But if you’ve had a hankering for Austen-esque entertainment, this should give you some options. 🙂
Are you a Jane Austen addict? Anything you’ve read or seen to add to the list?
