Ashtyn Britt
abritt@lc.edu

 

 

• The Story of Lizzy and Darcy by Grace Watson

 

A gay twist on this classic Jane Austen tale was brilliant, romantic and wonderful for modernizing this amazing love story. This adaptation follows Lizzy Bennett, a recent graduate doing her best to enter into the world of publishing as an editor. Through the chance encounter of her sister Jane Bennett falling in love with the handsome Charlie Bingley, Lizzy ends up meeting publisher Darcy Williams. The two do not see eye to eye at first, to say the least. However, as the two continue to cross paths, they’re forced to tolerate one another and eventually more complicated feelings begin to develop. This book is currently available for purchase at www.Amazon.com for $13.

 

 

• Illustrated Classics: Pride and Prejudice

 

As an old animé and manga nerd, the classic Japanese artwork paired with the original Jane Austen story ended up being the perfect combination to make for an exciting trip into the character’s world for me. An admittedly rather thick book becomes significantly easier to breeze through when paired with the creative and surprisingly bright illustrations. While I wish I could provide a more solid source to purchase a copy for yourself, this particular edition is rare to come by. I myself found it in a half-priced book store, and it was more than worth every penny.

 

 

• Pride and Prejudice (2005)

 

The on-screen chemistry between Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as Lizzy Bennett and Will Darcy was beyond palpable, and truly made this the best movie interpretation of Pride and Prejudice currently in existence. The setting and actors suck everyone in, leaving them sitting on the edge of their seats as they wonder if Will and Lizzy will end up together. Even the actors portraying the minor characters did excellently in their performances. To this day, this is the version of Pride and Prejudice that I move to watch whenever I get in the mood to indulge my love of literary classics without wanting to reread the story. Pride and Prejudice is currently available on STARZ.

 

 

• The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (April 2012-March 2013)

 

This is a particularly creative retelling of the classic story, being told in the format of an online web series, which is still currently available for free on YouTube. The show is hosted by a modern Lizzie Bennet during the events of the original story as told in the modern age, taking place over the span of nearly an entire year. Much like the web series Carmilla, the show is a “bottle show” meaning the entire time the characters are only on one set to play out their story. I really enjoyed seeing Lizzie’s slow process of falling-in-love in real-time on the internet, being a rather original modern twist on the story. I enjoyed every episode and would recommend it for any Pride and Prejudice fan.

 

 

• Pride and Prejudicial by Danica Dawn

 

As someone with a fascination with the legal world, this particular retelling especially resonated with me. This retelling features Liza Bennett as a single woman who recently graduated with a law degree, who crosses paths with the arrogant attorney Will Darcy. As Liza works to preserve her family’s failing law firm, Will steps in to help and eventually, the two are forced to work together in order to see eye-to-eye. I always found Will and Lizzy from the original Pride and Prejudice to be articulate and bellicose, so to see those traits in the modern legal field was titillating, to say the least. This book is currently available for purchase at www.Amazon.com for 10 dollars.