instant to-read; the austen edition

I’ve read maybe two or three books that can be classified as reimaginings of Austen novels. I’ve watched many more. And guess what?

I’m a nerd who loves Jane Austen retellings!

This comes as a big surprise to absolutely nobody ever.

There are some really well-done webseries based on Austen’s works. Like, would 10/10 recommend to everybody. I mean, could they be more diverse? Sure! But they were faithful and well-acted adaptations, and I stan.

• I can’t say I’ve ever come across a book re-telling of Northanger Abbey – and I can’t say I’ve ever read the source material – but there have been two webseries based on it that I have adored. Northbound was the first that I saw, and the acting was natural and the chemistry was off the charts, and I fell in love. The Cate Morland Chronicles takes the characters in a little bit of a different direction, and it was a lot more diverse in casting, and equally as fun. Henry/Catherine are quickly becoming one of my favourite ships because of these two webseries.
• There are probably a lot of books that can be said to be loosely based on Pride & Prejudice, but at the moment I’m blanking on them. Instead, of course I’m going to talk about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries! It spawned a lot more webseries adaptations than I think anybody expected, it was fun, and I was watching it from my lecture halls and writing meta.
• Persuasion is another story that adapts really well. I have yet to read the novel, but I read For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund and it was AMAZING. I also think Persuasion will adapt into a Bollywood movie really well? I’m waiting for the day that happens.

Re-tellings, of course, can be hit or miss. They’re either really well-done, or they completely just miss the mark. In these cases, well, I’ve been lucky in finding good ones.

What about you? Any Austen re-tellings you adore? Any you think were completely horrible and wish you could erase from your memory?