Pride and Prejudice question

Not sure that anything will fit that bill. Pride and Prejudice is one of those rare gems that weds character, plot and language all in one harmonious marriage.

It's plot is driven in large part by the times in which it was set and the language is still very readily accessible. We're not talking Beowulf or Hamlet here. The language used seemed very understandable to me but then I've seen way too much Masterpiece Theater over the years.

The plot device wherein Lizzie takes an immediate dislike to Darcy but then learns more about him and grows to love him as he becomes a better human being has been used in other books but I've never found one where it was used as effectively.

And while there can be modern day versions of Lydia Bennet & Wickham, Lady de Bourgh and Mr. Collins don't really have modern day equivalents. I shudder to think of it but I suppose that Darcy could be reinvented as a Rock Star...

If you can wait a year or two, there is a project to rewrite all 6 Jane Austen novels in a modern way. For example Alexander McCall Smith is rewriting Emma, due out in 2014. It's called The Jane Austen Project and though they haven't announced who will rewrite Pride & Prejudice yet I am excited to find out.

In the meantime, Longbourn by Jo Baker is a retelling of the story from the servants point of view. A footman and a housemaid follow a parallel love story to Darcy and Lizzy. I haven't read it myself yet but it has been sold all over the world and the film rights have already been snapped up.

As to the original book, the language is old fashioned but it is well worth persevering. Google can always help with any words or passages that need clarification. It was written at a very specific point in history when people were just beginning to follow their hearts in marriage, and the language, customs and manners help to convey that era. So I do hope you come back to the original too, as well as discovering modern versions. :-)

I had read an awful lot about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (on youtube)here in several threads, so I thought I would give it a try. I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, since usually I don't even like movie adaptations, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's really funny and it's definitely a new way of looking at those amazing characters.

How come everyone loves Darcy? I guess I ought to find the appropriate topic for this, I know there are several related. Obviously I don't love him, or I wouldn't ask the question.

You should definitely try Mr Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. It's pride and prejudice in Mr Darcy's pov and it's amazing! it even has a few entries after their wedding and to be honest, I like it more than any other modern/old adaptations.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Pride & Popularity (The Jane Austen Diaries #1)by Jenni James

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud

In my opinion, the story translates best when it's loose so I would recommend Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. I also loved the Boy series by Meg Cabot. Every Boy's Got One was my favorite. More direct adaptations are Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field: A Novel by Melissa Nathan (which I did not like because it didn't seem realistic) and Vanity and Vexation: A Novel of Pride and Prejudice by Kate Fenton. I didn't like that one either.

I loved Lost in Austen and really liked The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Prada and Prejudice is cute but it was too young for me to really love it. A better YA interpretation is Enthusiasm by Polly Schulman. I also loved Scones and Sensibility which is a take on Emma and Anne of Green Gables. P&P is mentioned a lot.

Also, you can always look on www.austen.com for fanfiction. There are some pretty good fanfiction stories on that site. (I even found one once that was all about Mary Bennett, which I found very intriguing).

So, you've had plenty of suggestions for modern day film and tv adaptations of the Pride and Prejudice, but I haven't really seen anyone mention a literary adaptation (i.e., another book). The only one that really comes to mind is "Bridget Jones' Diary." It's a very loose modern adaptation, but the basic plot is there.

Prada and Prejudice is my all-time favorite modern-day Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Anyone who loves Mr. Darcy should give it a try!

KBucha wrote: "Please recommend me a modern version of Pride and Prejudice. It can be either the same book with modern English and not the old English that Jane Austen wrote it.
Also, any P&P related books that ..."

It is in Modern English.

My nieces were watching Clueless and they said that it was supposed to be an update of Jane Austen's Emma, with Alicia Silverstone as Cher, who tries to match make for everyone in her high school except herself. I have not read Emma. I was trying to think of an update of P&P and the closest we could come up with was Bridget Jones Diary. If you are having a hard time reading it because of the language you might try a movie version. There was a movie about Jane Austen called Becoming Jane starring Anne Hathaway. It was not her best work. Another Austen related film was The Jane Austen Book Club. I really enjoyed that one though it isn't really like an Austen novel at all, though the characters do read and discuss her novels and that is the launching pad for a contemporary Rom Com that juxtaposes Austen era romance with what passes for romance nowadays.

I second The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I thought they translated all the feelings pretty well into a modern setting.

Also the movie Bride and Prejudice, which plays with the fact that Indian culture has similarities to English culture then.

What an awesome idea. I'd love to see a movie of this story set in modern times.

I've read Pride and Prejudice a few times and seen it on stage. I've also read a few spin offs of it (like the Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins), but I found that they were never as good as the original. The best modern rendition of it that I've ever seen is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which is found on YouTube. I know it isn't a book, but it is really fun to compare and contrast it to the book.

For Pride and Prejudice related fiction......I enjoyed Austenland and Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale.



Both are about modern day women who take vacations to England to a retreat where people pay for the experience of being fully immersed in the times of their favorite Jane Austen novel.

Epic fail is the story of Pride and prejudice, it's Okay. There are quite a few books starting "pride and..." such as "pride and penalties" have you tried some of them?

Pride and Popularity by Jenni James is one of my favorites. :)

Has anyone read Prada and Prejudice? Comments?