6 Jane Austen-inspired Holiday Stories

Tis the season to ring in the holiday spirit, and what better way to do so with than with a Jane Austen-inspired Christmas story? Here is a selection of novels and short stories from the past year that you might consider cozying up to with hot tea and festive holiday cookies on a cold evening after a long, hard day of shopping!

Christmas at Pemberley, By Regina Jeffers

The Darcy’s and the Bennet’s cordially invite you to a Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Holiday Sequel.

Darcy has invited the Bennets and the Bingleys to spend the Christmastide’s festive days at Pemberley. But as he and Elizabeth journey to their estate to join the gathered families, a blizzard blankets the English countryside. The Darcys find themselves stranded at a small inn while Pemberley is inundated with refugees seeking shelter from the storm.

Without her brother’s strong presence, Georgiana Darcy tries desperately to manage the chaos surrounding the arrival of six invited guests and eleven unscheduled visitors. But bitter feuds, old jealousies and intimate secrets quickly rise to the surface. Has Lady Catherine returned to Pemberley for forgiveness or revenge? Will the manipulative Caroline Bingley find a soul mate? Shall Kitty Bennet and Georgiana know happiness?

Written in Regency style and including Austen’s romantic entanglements and sardonic humor, Christmas at Pemberley places Jane Austen’s most beloved characters in an exciting yuletide story that speaks to the love, the family spirit and the generosity that remain as the heart of Christmas. Read our review.

Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy: Pride and Prejudice meets A Christmas Carol, by Barbara Tiller Cole

A Jane Austen/Charles Dickens crossover story, Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy takes the best of both classics and spins them into a delightful Holiday treat!

F. E. Darcy has fallen into pitiful self-loathing and sorrowful angst-ridden despair; all of this due to his belief that he has lost forever the chance to marry the only woman he has ever loved—Elizabeth Bennet. Seeing her son in such a state, the Ghost of Anne Darcy reaches out to him; informing him that three ghosts would visit him and give him hope. Will these Spirits provide him with the courage to try again to win the esteem of his one true soul mate?

Barbara Tiller Cole, an Atlanta native and the writer of the popular book White Lies and Other Half Truths, presents this family-friendly classic—a delightful combination of the best of her two favorite authors, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Barbara credits her parents with fostering a love for both of these authors. Each Christmas, Barbara’s father would sit and read Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol to the family. Her mother consistently challenged her to improve her mind by extensive reading, Jane Austen’s style. This book is dedicated to the memory of Cliff and Jeanne and the season they loved the best. Read a review.

Christmas with Miss Austen (Holiday Extravaganza), by Laura Briggs

Julia Allen is a waitress by day, painter by night, and…a famous 1800s authoress on weekends?

Moonlighting as Jane Austen for a historical open house is a strange hobby for a contemporary artist, but Julia loves the role–until she falls asleep and gets locked inside after all the visitors are gone! Rushing home from the dark, historical mansion, she collides with a stranger in the snowy park, and discovers later her shortcut cost her the rare copy of Austen’s Northanger Abbey borrowed from a friend’s treasured collection.

Book historian Eliot Weston thinks he imagined the Regency-era figure, but the book he finds in her wake proves otherwise. The first edition of Jane Austen’s novel is authentic and incredibly rare, but he fails to find any trace of its owner. Reminders of the unusual encounter keep popping up, however, like the pretty modern artist eager to buy an identical volume. Coincidence? Or Divine intervention making it clear this is anything but an ordinary Christmas for these two hearts? Read a review.

Pemberley Celebrations – The First Year, by Kara Louise

Join Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy in this compilation of short stories as they celebrate the holidays and special events in the first year of their marriage. Beginning with Christmas, the decorations are being put up, but it has not been a joyous holiday at Pemberley for many years. Can Elizabeth bring back the Christmas Spirit? There are three other Christmas stories, as well as stories about a New Year’s Eve Ball, a Valentine’s Day Mystery, an Easter Visit, and several others that will entertain you throughout the year. Read a review.

A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen, by Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan and Carolyn Eberhart

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Wish You a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors.

“Christmas Present,” by Amanda Grange

“A Darcy Christmas,” by Sharon Lathan

“Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Carol,” by Carolyn Eberhart

Read our review.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas, by Lauren Willig

Despite her dear friend Jane Austen’s warning against teaching, Arabella Dempsey accepts a position at a girls’ school in Bath, just before Christmas. She hardly imagines coming face-to-face with French aristocrats and international spies.

Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh-often mistaken for the elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation-has blundered into danger before. When Turnip and Arabella find their Christmas pudding yielding a cryptic message, they are launched on a Yuletide adventure. Will they find poinsettias-or peril?

2011 RITA Winner for Regency Historical Romance. Read our review.

Wishing a very merry holiday season to all my readers and Janeite friends.

© 2011 Laurel Ann Nattress, Austenprose