In this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet works in her family’s bakery on Long Island. Two vacationers come in – Charlie Pierce, who has rented a big house with his sisters for the summer, and his friend Will Darcy, who Lizzy takes an instant dislike to, especially when she later sees his text proclaiming that she’s a mess.
As Charlie falls for her Doctor Who-loving sister Jane, her sister Mary engages in environmental activism, and her mother promotes her latest MLM get-rich-scheme with bedazzled leggings, Lizzy’s head is turned by smooth-talking event promoter Tristan.
We all know how the story goes but this has more than enough to keep ardent and non-P&P fans interested. From surfing and sour cherry muffins to a dive bar, this is a fab tale of family commitments, class differences and misleading first impressions. Bit steamier than Austen though.
Emma Woodhouse lives on East 83rd Street New York, backing on to her childhood friend George Knightley’s property. With very little to distress or vex her, she is delighted when her sister Margo and his brother Ben get engaged.
At college, where she is doing a masters in art history to hopefully score an internship at the Met based on merit and not her family connections, Emma meets Nadine from Ohio who desperately needs her assistance with a makeover and some matchmaking.
This was an adorable modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma and is one of my favourite books of the year.
