21 Books like Pride and Prejudice & More Jane Austen Retellings

Longbourn by Jo Baker

I’m a sucker for a Jane Austen adaptation so I was eager to read this story about the servants at Longbourn, home to the Bennett sisters.

It was a love story that definitely focused on the people behind the scenes, without many appearances by the famed characters of Pride and Prejudice.

I liked that we got a brief look into Elizabeth’s life as Mrs. Darcy, but I really did enjoy the servants’ stories.  I’d recommend this one for fans of Downton Abbey for sure.

Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Sharon Lathan

This story picks up where Pride and Prejudice left off and continues the love story of Elizabeth Bennett and her beloved Mr. Darcy.

We get to see their wedding, their wedding night and honeymoon, and even the birth of their first child. I loved seeing Mrs. Darcy acclimate to life as the mistress of Pemberley.

My Lady’s Choosing: an Interactive Romance Novel by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris

What is so great about this book is that it can go anywhere you want it to. Choose your adventure…and choose your own man. It’s exactly like those books we all loved as children, except with VERY adult content.😉

You can pick as many or as few stories that you want. Personally, I found my happy ending with a gruff aristocrat who was clearly modeled after Mr. Darcy!

The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada

I’m a sucker for a good pride and prejudice retelling. This particular one revolves around NBA basketball stars and their wives and girlfriends. In the beginning, it was fun to figure out which character matched up to Austen’s classic, but then the plot and characters definitely departed from the well-known text of the original.

It was a fun, and often over-the-top retelling, but don’t expect it to be accurate!

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

I’m always down for a classic retelling of Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorite books of all time. I was particularly interested in this take because it features modern, black teenagers.

At this point in our country’s awakening, it’s important to read from diverse perspectives. I’ve never tackled a retelling from a non-white author before, but I’m so glad I did.

I absolutely adored this version. Yes, I obviously knew what would happen, but this is about the journey, people!!!

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

This modern take on Pride and Prejudice had me giggling multiple times. The Bennett sisters get modern updates in all the best ways.

And in this one, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have hate sex as part of the courting ritual which just cracked me up. Mrs. Bennett’s hysterics remain true to form and will be sure to delight.

Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

This book was my choice for a classic adaptation and I loved it.  Food and romance are at the center of this book and I thought that it was done so well. 

It has all the classic conflict of pride and prejudice with a fresh new spin that made the book so relatable and easy to read.

Recipe for Persuasion (The Rates #2) by Sonali Dev

November’s Reading Challenge was to read a book with a blue cover and since I loved the first book in the series so much, I could not wait to read this one.

I loved this fresh take on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The story is a classic and this adaptation was so much fun to read.

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev

I have read all the books in this series and I am looking forward to the fourth that is coming out in May.

Yash Raje has always known what he wants and that hard work will get him there. But, when Yash is shot while on the campaign trail, he life comes crashing in on itself.

Now, having panic attacks, Yash and his family need to turn to someone they can trust to help without leaking his personal fears to the media. India is his sisters best friend and the perfect person to turn to. Can Yash forget the perfect night they had ten years ago and learn to trust himself? This romance has some depth!

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

Usually, I find Emma to be the most annoying of Austen’s characters, and my least favorite to read about. But this modern Emma retelling had me changing my mind.

For once, Emma is depicted as naive, sheltered, and young – trying to do better but not knowing the best way to grow into her adulthood. It was a refreshing take on the story, which was so fun to see adapted to modern-day Upper East Side Manhattan.

Why We Liked it: Nadine, George, Emma, and the rest of the crew came to life in a way that felt fresh – a true accomplishment given how well-known the story is.

The Emma Project by Sonali Dev

I love that Emma gets a different twist with this adaptation. Vansh Raje takes on the role of Emma in this fresh new perspective.

If you have read Dev’s other books, these characters will be familiar to you by now. I liked this book and I love the way Dev changes the story while still being true to the heart of them. I do not love Naina and this story involves her a lot.

While we get to see things from her perspective, which makes her more likable, Dev did too good of a job making me dislike her in the last book.

Emma by Alexander McCall Smith

In this modern retelling of Emma, our flighty heroine is preparing to launch her interior design firm. All the characters we know and love are brought into the 21st century in a delightful way.

If you love Emma, you must pick up this version!

Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron

This Bollywood Jane Austen retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma is a sweet and easy-to-read book that brings Emma to life in a whole new way.

Kamila Hussain lives with her dad and is trying to keep him healthy after a few health scares. She works with him at an accounting firm and spends her free time volunteering with animals and matchmaking.

When her secret nemesis comes back to town, her world is turned upside down.

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn

As part of a group of workers from the future, Liam and Rachel are sent back in time to diagnose Jane’s illness, and help her complete her next book.

I love the grittier side of this novel. It doesn’t romanticize the time period, very similar to the way Diana Gabaldon shows the harsh realities of life in the Highlands or onboard a ship at sea.

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

This cute little love story sticks an actress and her harshest critic together at the same estate. The estate in question is is owned by Griff’s family, where a theatre is hosting an Austen-Choose-Your-Own Adventure style play starring actress Freddy.

As they begin to fall in love, they uncover family secrets that affect them both. It’s cute and sappy, and it was a breath of fresh air for me during a stressful week.

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

This book (and the movie it inspired) is just plain fun! 5 women and one man get together for 6 months to discuss Jane Austen’s works.

In the process, they find friendships, heartbreak, and love. If you are a fan of books about Jane Austen, you must read this!

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Jane Hayes is an utter romantic who is unlucky in love. She compares every man she’s interested in to Mr. Darcy and they all come up wanting.

When a relative sends her to Austenland, an estate in the countryside made for Janeites, she gets to experience the Regency era for her own. Will she be able to find love or will she find out that she’s more of a modern woman at heart?

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly 

Katherine, a professor, loves Jane Austen and smutty Regency romance novels. She decides she deserves a much-needed break and heads off to a Jane Austen conference in the gorgeous English countryside for a break… there she finds a delicious Darcy look alike. Will she find love on vacation?

This was not the best Austen adaptation I have read, but it was fluffy and fun. I don’t really remember much but it left me feeling warm and gooey, so there ya go.