Janeites, relax. Your beloved author’s works continue to be in great hands with the talented folks at Udon Entertainment. I couldn’t put this book down, which was really awkward considering that I was reading an advance pdf on my laptop and I had to schlep the whole computer around the house while I read it….
I had my doubts in the opening pages as the heroine spots a gorgeous naked man on her porch. When I discovered this is another homage to Pride and Prejudice I rolled my eyes. What was I in for? It turns out I was in for a fun romance in which a local theater company…
Lady Bridget’s Diary, the newest historical romance by Maya Rodale, is a cross between Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary complete with a dreadful Mr. Darcy, an odious Mr. Collins and a knock-off of Lady Catherine de Burgh. The Bennet sisters are replaced by the upstart American Cavendish family, and…
Although I enjoyed and recommended Udon Entertainment’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (part of their Manga Classics line), a few issues held it back from DIK status. Happily, these issues have been resolved in their second Austen adaptation, Emma. Fun, fast-paced, and visually engaging, Emma is a great adaptation that made me see the original…
Jane Austen’s books are so timeless and classic, it’s easy to forget that many of her characters’ problems and the stories’ plots are based on the social mores of a specific time and place in history. It’s only when reading Diana Peterfreund’s Persuasion-inspired For Darkness Shows the Stars that I came to realize how critical…
There are a lot of graphic novel adaptations out there for Jane Austen novels. This latest venture, done in the visual style of manga, is by far the most successful I’ve read. It captures Austen’s dry humor, making me laugh out loud several times. The hefty page count (triple the length of the Marvel adaptation)…
For those who don’t know, the HarperCollins Austen Project is reimagining the Jane Austen novels under the auspices of “six bestselling contemporary authors”. (As opposed to, like, the thousands who do it on FanFiction or who aren’t bestselling contemporary authors.) First up is Joanna Trollope taking on the Dashwoods in modern Devon and London, and…
Girl detectives have always been a big thing in the reading world. From Nancy Drew to the more recent Flavia de Luce, we can’t seem to get enough of youthful sleuths. This novel channels Veronica Mars a bit, combining that character very gently with Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to deliver a fun, entertaining mystery. Strawberry…
My favorite Jane Austen novel isn’t Pride and Prejudice, but Persuasion. Recently there’s been a trend in writing modern-day retellings of Austen’s works, so when I saw one featuring Persuasion, I had to read it even though I realized that the setting included Mormons in today’s Northern Virginia. I went into the book thinking I…
Like many romance readers, I can’t get enough of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane, and Mr. Bingley. However, unlike many romance readers, I haven’t fallen prey to the seemingly endless supply of Pride and Prejudice sequels. Until P.D. James, one of my favorite modern authors, tried her hand at it, that is. Now 92, her mysteries are…