Flirting With Pride and Prejudice

August 15, 2005
Edited by best-selling romance author Crusie, this intriguing collection of opinion pieces and creative short works from a variety of contributors (many of whom are popular romance authors) focuses on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", with the general purpose of comparing it to current chick lit titles. Readable and interesting but varying widely in quality, viewpoint, and presentation, the selections reflect some current thinking on the topic and add another much-needed volume to the general literature of the field. Provocative and entertaining rather than scholarly, this makes for fascinating, sometimes hilarious, reading and should find a home in collections focusing on the popular romance genre.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2005
Although Jane Austen is often acknowledged as the godmother of the Regency romance (of course, she was writing contemporary love stories at the time), the contributors to this collection intend to prove that Austen's much-loved novels, and specifically her masterpiece, " Pride and Prejudice," provide the prototype for today's chick-lit fiction. After romance superstar Crusie presents a crisp and witty introduction distilling the essence of Austen's appeal, an eclectic mix of popular romance authors explore a variety of topics, including Austen's social commentary, the role of history in her novels, and the adaptation of her books into film. Beth Kendrick considers how much today's woman has in common with Austen's heroines in her deliciously clever "Does This Petticoat Make Me Look Fat?" Jo Beverley's "Gold Diggers of 1813" is a discussion of why marrying for wealth mattered so much during the Regency era. Teresa Medeiros takes a fun and flirty look at the appeal of one of Austen's most famous heroes in "My Darling Mr. Darcy." Each contribution to this smart and entertaining collection is a pure delight, adding up to an unusually enjoyable work of literary criticism.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)