Austenprose’s Best Austenesque & Historical Novels of 2021

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Happy New Year’s Eve dear readers!

2021 proved to be a fabulous year in the historical book arena. From creative Austenesque variations, to Regency romances upending tropes, to reimagined gender-switched classics, to compelling historical fiction and mystery, we have been duly entertained and enchanted. A big thank you goes out to all of the authors and their publishers for keeping us supplied with so many stories to binge during these challenging times. Continue reading “Austenprose’s Best Austenesque & Historical Novels of 2021”

A Hopeful Holiday: A Pride and Prejudice Novella, by Heather Moll — A Review 

From the desk of Sophia Rose: 

What if Lady Catherine never makes her infamous visit at Longbourn? What if Mr. Darcy never returns to the neighborhood? Can Jane Austen’s most iconic pair still discover a way to ‘only remember the past’ with pleasure together? It might take a bit of yuletide mischief and interference orchestrated by a talented writer, Heather Moll, whose tales I have enjoyed in the past.

A Hopeful Holiday opens with Elizabeth Bennet looking forward to the Continue reading “A Hopeful Holiday: A Pride and Prejudice Novella, by Heather Moll — A Review “

Faults of Understanding: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Jennifer Altman — A Review

From the desk of Katie Jackson:

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet impertinently tells Mr. Darcy that his “defect is a propensity to hate everybody” to which he replies that hers “is willfully to misunderstand them.” Austen enthusiasts everywhere delight in this flirtatious battle of wits over the topic of natural defects. With a title inspired by Mr. Darcy— “I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding”—Jennifer Altman’s second Pride and Prejudice-inspired novel, Faults of Understanding, follows Elizabeth and Darcy as they become better acquainted with each other through unforeseen trials. Continue reading “Faults of Understanding: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Jennifer Altman — A Review”

A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of As a Proper Lady Would: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Bronwen Chisholm

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Happy Friday, dear readers. Fall is in the air and it is a great time to curl up with a cup of tea and a new book.

Please help me welcome Austenesque author Bronwen Chisholm to Austenprose today. She has a new Pride and Prejudice inspired novel that was just released this week. As a Proper Lady Would is the first book in the Defying Propriety Series.

Chisholm specializes in variations. Since 2014 he has has written seven novels and novellas, such as The Ball at Meryton (2015), Missing Jane (2020), and Georgiana Darcy, Matchmaker (2016). Continue reading “A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of As a Proper Lady Would: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Bronwen Chisholm”

Dangerous Magic: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (Mr. Darcy’s Magic Book 1), by Monica Fairview — A Review

From the desk of Katie Jackson:

The world of Austenesque stories has expanded exponentially in recent years, and now enthusiasts of Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF) can treat themselves to fantasy versions of their beloved novels. There’s even a delightful new Facebook group dedicated to the subgenre: Fantasy Reads for Austen Fans. Bestselling author Monica Fairview is the latest creator in this whimsical realm with her imaginative Pride and Prejudice variation, Dangerous Magic. Continue reading “Dangerous Magic: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (Mr. Darcy’s Magic Book 1), by Monica Fairview — A Review”

A Life Worth Choosing: A Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Anngela Schroeder – A Review

A Life Worth Choosing by Anngela Schroeder 2021

From the desk of Sophia Rose:

In a heart-tugging mash-up of It’s A Wonderful Life and Pride and Prejudice, author Anngela Schroeder gives Austen’s most beloved hero the opportunity to witness a world in which he had never been born. A Pride & Prejudice world without Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy? Gasp! Exploring such a possibility had me clearing some time and settling into my cozy reading chair.

After delivering his marriage proposal and having Miss Elizabeth Bennet not simply reject it, but vociferously state that Mr. Wickham would have made a better Master of Pemberley than he, Fitzwilliam Continue reading “A Life Worth Choosing: A Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Anngela Schroeder – A Review”

A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of From Highbury with Love, by Corrie Garrett

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

The seasons are changing here. I hope to get into the garden this weekend. How about you?

Today we are delighted to preview a forthcoming novel by Corrie Garrett, From Highbury with Love. Technically it is crossover fiction, combining the characters from two of Jane Austen’s novels: Emma and Pride and Prejudice.

Talking about crossovers, this is an emerging subgenre in Austenesque fiction that is trending. While Sybil G. Brinton’s 1913 Old Friends and New Fancies was the first to incorporate this technique of blending Continue reading “A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of From Highbury with Love, by Corrie Garrett”

A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of Fearful Symmetry: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Gailie Ruth Caress

Fearful Symmetry by Gailie Ruth Caress 2021

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:

It feels like Spring in my neck of the woods and I could not be happier. Today I am sharing something else as restorative as the change of seasons to gladden a Janeite’s heart—a new Austenesque novel to add to your growing TBR pile. Fearful Symmetry has just been released this week by Quills & Quartos Publishing. It is a Pride and Prejudice variation worthy of your consideration by debut novelist Gailie Ruth Caress.

In the ever-growing field of Pride and Prejudice what-ifs, this novel is a bit different. To feed your addiction, the novel contains many of the characters from Jane Austen’s original, including our dear Continue reading “A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of Fearful Symmetry: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Gailie Ruth Caress”

Mr. Darcy’s Persuasion: An Austen-inspired Tale of Pride, Prejudice and Persuasion, by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright — A Review

From the desk of Katie Jackson:

In Jane Austen’s final complete novel, Persuasion—published six months after her untimely death—the heroine, Anne Elliot, is influenced by her prideful father, a baronet, to break off an engagement with Captain Frederick Wentworth, who was considered a poor match due to his low social status and lack of wealth. Similarly, in Austen’s earlier novel, Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is the prideful man causing heartbreak over his disapproval of an undistinguished family. The consequences of such prejudiced persuasion collide spectacularly in Mr. Darcy’s Persuasion by prolific writing duo Cass Grafton and Ada Bright. Continue reading “Mr. Darcy’s Persuasion: An Austen-inspired Tale of Pride, Prejudice and Persuasion, by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright — A Review”

Fallen, by Jessie Lewis — A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

A lady’s reputation was everything during the Regency era, as we are so sanctimoniously reminded of by Mary Bennet in Pride and Prejudice after her sister Lydia’s scandalous elopement.

…loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable—that one false step involves her in endless ruin—that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful—and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.” (Chapter 47)

Continue reading “Fallen, by Jessie Lewis — A Review”

A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of A Life Worth Choosing: A Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Anngela Schroeder

A Life Worth Choosing by Anngela Schroeder 2021

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Do you have your reading lined up yet for the weekend? I am working my way through Jane Austen & Adlestrop, by Victoria Huxley. It is a detailed history of the Leigh family of Adlestrop, a village in Gloucestershire, and Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, the ancestral seat of Jane’s mother Cassandra Austen nee Leigh. I highly recommend it for those interested in Austen’s many family connections and how they influenced her writing.

Today I am delighted to feature a new Austenesque novel written by the exceptionally talented Anngela Continue reading “A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of A Life Worth Choosing: A Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Variation, by Anngela Schroeder”

A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of Forget Me Not, Elizabeth: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Jennifer Joy

Forget Me Not, Elizabeth by Jennifer Joy 2021

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

I am happy to feature bestselling author Jennifer Joy on Austenprose today to share her next Pride and Prejudice-inspired novel, Forget Me Not, Elizabeth.

Now, can you guess from the title what this novel might be about? If you thought memory loss, then, you are absolutely correct. It’s While You Were Sleeping meets Pride & Prejudice in a second chance romance!

Second chance romances are one of my favorite tropes—Jane Austen’s Persuasion topping the list. Other Continue reading “A Preview & Exclusive Excerpt of Forget Me Not, Elizabeth: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, by Jennifer Joy”

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