5 on Five: Books with an Austen Connection

(This image is from an article in The Atlantic called “Jane Austen is Everything”)

Hello and welcome to this week’s bonus article! I post weekly on Fridays, but today is July 5th which means I wanted to participate in the awesome Bookstacker party that is 5 on Five. Created by Kelly Mayfield and hosted this month by Deborah Linn McNemee, this is a link sharing event where we all write on a shared theme. And, this month’s theme is one of my favorite types of stories - modern books connected to classic stories.

I’ve had two opportunities in my career as a college professor turned high school teacher, and theater actor turned director to be commissioned by theaters to write plays that would be staged. In both cases, I decided to write a theatrical version of a Jane Austen novel. The first one was a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and the second was a play I called Crooked Road which was a modernized retelling of Persuasion. Looking back, I see that I was really turning to my favorite author for an incredible advantage in terms of characters, plot, and themes that she had created and I could benefit from.

When I first saw Jane Austen’s writing desk behind glass on a trip to the British Library, I burst into tears and had to walk away until I could get my breath. I’m a fan. And, I am definitely not the only writer to look to her foundational work in her ingenious novels to create new stories.

As a reader, I love picking up modern variations on her remarkable themes. I would say that I have had a wide variety of experiences with these stories. Some have been tough because they take a troupe of hers like enemies-to-lovers and run with it without any of the wit or depth of her writing style. Or they are set in the Regency time period without any of the actual manners, limitations, or cultural norms of that time which is always pretty jarring. Other times, there might be random spicy scenes of open door intimacy between characters which actually just takes me out of the slow burn leading to character development and deep relationships in Austen. Some might be so focused on the historical time period that they become dry in a way that Austen avoids by focusing on human relationships that feel universal and timeless.

I always try to stay with good vibes in this community, so I don’t want to call out these stories by name, but I do want to tip my hat to the stories that I think are more successful. Two of these are modern retellings, two are a duology soon to be series based in the world of Austen, and the last is a non-fiction book which gave me a greater understanding of this author and why she is so uniquely talented and important.

This is a book that I read four years ago now, so I confess that I don’t remember it as well as I wish, but I did give it 4 stars at the time and thought it did a lovely job of retelling my favorite Austen novel. It is described as, “A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love.” This was a debut novel from Uzma Jalaluddin who is a Canadian writer and teacher who writes beautifully about her Muslim community and faith traditions in this story. And, what I really appreciated is that the cultural setting of this modern adaptation really lends itself to the cultural norms, ideals, and expectations of Austen’s Regency England. I love when a story is able to show that classics are classics because they are timeless enough to have lasted and written well enough to speak to all people within different backgrounds and life experiences. The story of family pressures, tension between economic classes, and overcoming misunderstanding and prejudice are universal, and this author did an excellent job of keeping these themes central to the story while expanding the setting in meaningful ways. She has another book called Much Ado Nada which is a modern adaptation of Persuasion and is on my TBR.

From one Canadian author’s debut novel to another, this book was my recent pick from Book of the Month which my dear friend, Katie, gave me a subscription to. I chose it because it was described as a modern retelling of Emma, has a great summery cover, and the author moved to Scotland to open a bookstore. That was all enough to recommend it! And, I’ll say that I did really enjoy it overall. Emma can be an easy character to dislike. Even Austen thought no one except herself would like Emma, and this author did a nice job of filling her story with enough charm and fun to keep the reader from throwing the book in frustration at Annie’s (based on Emma) immaturity. Mr. Knightly is my second favorite Austen hero, and his counterpart in this story was very winning by being a good friend turned love interest. I will say that what kept it at 3.75 stars for me instead of 4 or more, is the spice. I’m just not a big spicy reader in general, but especially when it comes to a story about not knowing your heart until the end of the story after going through lots of tension filled moments with someone. But, I loved the community of friends and difficult family relationships that felt authentically Austenesqe.

These two novels are the first in a series which is still being written, and I had the best time with both of them and can’t wait for more to come out soon! I found out about these books here on Substack, and I’m truly grateful. The author is a Californian like me, and she sets her world in Regency England, but the humor, silliness, fantastical elements, and mystery all combines to make something that feels like a world all its own. These books avoid a lot of the pitfalls of Austen retellings by not choosing a particular story to retell but rather a new story with many recognizable Easter egg references to all of Austen’s works. The first book especially played with character relationships and plot points picked from all the different novels that made it so fun to read for an Austen nerd like me. The second novel is a great follow up that builds on the first while also expanding the world. These are murder mysteries in the time of Austen, which I have read before, but what these books do to avoid the pitfalls of those other stories, is that they poke fun at Regency manners and expectations instead of just ignoring them. I love Agatha Christie and fantasy and these stories have all the cozy mystery feelings with the silliness of random werewolves combined with the genuine relationships that Austen wrote so beautifully.

The only male author and only non-fiction on this list is this book that I thoroughly enjoyed because it was written by a man who learned to love Austen over time and through experience. As an academic myself who has been to lots of conferences and is a proud member of JASNA (The Jane Austen Society of North America), I love to geek out on some analysis of what makes authors particularly great or meaningful. And, this book does that in a really personal way rather than through academic language. He is someone who always believed that some authors were worth serious study as a scholar, and others simply weren’t worth the effort. During his studies, he was required to read Austen, and though incredibly skeptical and judgmental at first, found that she was actually much more profound and important than he had realized. He discusses each novel in terms of what they taught him about life and love with specific examples and personal anecdotes given with humble, self-deprecating humor and insight. I highly recommend this work for anyone who ever has felt like they needed to defend their love of Austen and prove that she is much more than meets the eye.

Thank you for reading and please give me any other recommendations that are connected to Austen that you recommend! And, please go check out all the links to the other wonderful lists on Deborah Linn McNemee‘s Substack for this month’s 5 on Five.