Pride & Prejudice Book Club Podcast

When we started this podcast back in 2023, we never dreamed that we would one day get to meet one of our favorite authors, Jessie Lewis. So it was a huge shock when Jessie not only reached out to say she'd enjoyed the episodes we'd done on her books, but that she would be happy to answer questions about them, too! And thus, a new type of episode was born. The author interview has now become a book...

We had the amazing opportunity to sit down and video chat with beloved narrator Benny Fife, the voice behind hundreds of audiobooks, including many fan-favorite Jane Austen variations. Benny shares how he built a full-time narration career from reading aloud to his kids, how he approaches iconic characters like Mr Darcy, and why dragons, space operas, and alien retellings all have a place in his c...

What happens when a Pride and Prejudice variation asks you to root for two genuinely good men vying for Elizabeth's heart?  This week on the Pride and Prejudice Book Club, we’re tackling The Unthinkable Triangle by Joanna Starnes, a high-angst variation that puts Elizabeth Bennet at the center of a true love triangle with Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. And while Sharon delighte...

We’re closing out 2025 by looking back at every book we read and every interview we recorded this year… and, for the first time ever, we’re doing it with all three hosts together! Alicia, Emilie, and Sharon are all here to geek out about favorite moments, standout books, and (of course) enjoy a few side-tangent conversations along the way. If you’re new to the podcast, this episode is a great way...

If you’ve been around the JAFF world for more than five minutes, chances are you’ve already read a forced proximity book that takes place in a cottage during a snowstorm. You've also probably read a book by Abigail Reynolds. But have you read them both together? Alone with Mr. Darcy is one of those books that everyone seems to have read, and has quietly set the standard for snowstorms, forced prox...

Bookclubbers, this one’s a treat! A fun conversation with Harry Frost, the narrator whose voice has become synonymous with Mr. Darcy for countless Jane Austen fan fiction readers and listeners.  Harry shares how The Darcy Monologues launched his narration career, the techniques he uses to differentiate an ever-expanding cast of characters, and some of the nitty-gritty details of the narration busi...

What happens when Darcy wishes he’d never been born…and Elizabeth accidentally gets dragged into the fallout? In this episode, we dive into The Difference of a Darcy by Tiffany Thomas, an engrossing Pride and Prejudice variation that surprised us in all the best ways. What begins as an It’s a Wonderful Life–style premise turns into a rich exploration of partnership, forgiveness, identity, and the...

Strap in, book friends, we’re heading to the stars! Longbourn Crater, to be precise. This week we unpack Pride and Prejudice and Planets, the wildly imaginative sci-fi variation that turns Elizabeth into a spaceship mechanic, Darcy into a tightly wound captain, and Bingley into the galaxy’s most affable (and capable)  diplomat. We explore the rich world-building, the political layers we didn’t exp...

What makes us come back to Pride and Prejudice again and again? That's a very important question, and one that Emilie explores this week with Emilia Stratford, the author of Such Persuasions as These and Some Particular Evil. The result is a delightful deep-dive into all things Darcy, Elizabeth, and the creative world of Pride and Prejudice variations! Together we unpack Darcy’s (slow!) decision-m...

Picture this: two friends on a long car trip across a (seemingly) endless desert, with nothing but some Red Vines and a JAFF Audiobook to keep us going... This week, we listed to More Than a Pretty Face by Francis Reynolds (as narrated by Stevie Zimmerman), and we're here to tell you allll about it! We recap our road-trip audiobook experience, dig into the book's expanded characterization of Jane,...

Recorded in front of a LIVE audience...it's the Pride and Prejudice Book Club Podcast at JAFF Con 2025! Over the weekend we had the amazing opportunity to participate in JAFF Con, an annual get together of writers and readers who love and all adore all things Austenesque! We were invited to record an episode live in front of the conference attendees, and it was electrifying to be able to not only...

Have you ever wondered what the editing process is like for indie authors? Look no further! In this episode, Emilie sits down with longtime editor—and newly published author—Jo Abbott, whose work behind the scenes has helped shape some of the most beloved stories in the JAFF community. From editing for authors like Lory Lilian, Jennifer Altman, and Laura Moretti, to navigating the intricacies of h...

We're continuing our recent trend of forced marriage scenarios with Jenetta James' delightful story, Suddenly Mrs. Darcy (one of Sharon's all-time favorite books!) We get into: Why this trope is such a fan favorite (and why it sometimes makes people deeply uncomfortable) Whether this version of Elizabeth is being true to character (or just stupidly stubborn) The depiction of Georgiana (and what is...

This week we’re joined by a true gem in the JAFF world: J. Dawn King herself (also known as Joy D. King and Christie Capps)! Throughout the episode, Joy reflects on the vibrant JAFF community, the unexpected joys of becoming a writer, and the incredible story of how a doctor’s advice after a stroke led to a whole new life as a beloved author with over 30 books to her name. We also get a tease for...

How do you build a relationship when the past won’t leave you alone? This week on The Pride and Prejudice Book Club, Emilie and Sharon discuss Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins’s Widow by Timothy Underwood, a variation that explores Elizabeth Bennet’s emotional healing after a traumatic early marriage to an awful Mr. Collins. When she becomes a widow and takes over Longbourn, Elizabeth isn’t looking for l...

What if a single rumor about a duel that never happened was enough to upend Elizabeth Bennet’s life and tie her fate to Mr. Darcy? In this episode, we dive into Betrothed to Mr. Darcy by Lin Mei Wei, a variation that begins with a scandal and unfolds into a surprisingly tender (and occasionally bonkers) love story. With a marriage rooted in obligation, Elizabeth’s feelings build slowly but hit har...

What made Lady Catherine into the formidable force we meet in Pride and Prejudice? This week, we're diving into Paige Badgett’s novel The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and guess what? Alicia's baaaaack! After her summer break, she’s rejoining us to unpack this villain origin story and all the surprising tenderness inside it. Together, we explore the dynamics of sisters, the long shadows cast...

This week, we're still recovering emotionally after devouring The Winter of Our Discontent by Grace Gibson (confession: we both read it in a single night!) From the forced marriage premise to the “delicious angst” that had some of us (*cough* Sharon) crying at 1 a.m., this episode dives deep into what worked, what had us giggling, and what made us certain that we needed at least 200 more pages of...

What do you get when you cross Pride and Prejudice with Sarah, Plain and Tall? You're about to find out! This week, we dive into Mr. Darcy’s Mail-Order Bride by J. Dawn King, a variation that moves our favorite couple from Hertfordshire to post–Civil War Oregon and swaps empire-waist dresses and tea rooms for sturdy walking boots and logging camps. We chat about the charm (and chaos) of the mail-o...

Have you ever wished you could step into the world of Pride and Prejudice, if only for a day? In Heather Moll’s Nine Ladies, that fantasy comes true... with a time-travel twist that had us completely hooked. Co-hosts Emilie and Sharon are absolutely swooning over this Pride and Prejudice variation with a deliciously Outlander-esque twist! When modern-day Elizabeth finds herself flung back to Regen...

There are JAFF stories, and then there are JAFF rollercoasters, and Amy D’Orazio's An Offer of Marriage is definitely the latter! Emilie Davis is joined this week by co-host Sharon Cortes to unpack the bonkers-in-the-best-way moments of this wildly entertaining Pride and Prejudice variation, from Anne de Bourgh going full villain mode (with the tantrums, poison, and assassins to prove it) to Darcy...

Before there’s love, there’s friendship, and in Such Persuasions as These by Emilia Stratford, that friendship is genuine, unexpected, and exactly what Mr. Darcy didn’t know he needed. In this week’s episode, Emilie Davis is joined by guest co-host Sharon Cortez to discuss a variation where Elizabeth leads with kindness, not combat, and finds herself at the center of Darcy’s slow, sweet transforma...

If you’ve ever found yourself lingering in the car just to finish an audiobook chapter, there’s a good chance Stevie Zimmerman had something to do with it. In this special episode, we sit down with the incredibly talented Stevie Zimmerman, an audiobook narrator with over 340 titles on Audible and a voice many of our Book Clubbers will instantly recognize. Stevie shares how she found her way into n...

What happens when you drop Elizabeth Bennet into a Cinderella-style nightmare, including an evil stepmother, scheming stepsisters, and a slipper clue that changes everything? And more importantly, if you were in Elizabeth's shoes, would you stand your ground like her or keep the peace like Jane? This week, Sharon and Emilie explore why this variation’s fairy-tale nods work without feeling like a D...

What a treat this week, Book Clubbers! 🎉 We're joined by the incredibly talented Tiffany Thomas, author of Fine Eyes and Beastly Pride and one of Sharon's absolute favorites! Whether you've devoured her books already or if they're still on your TBR list, this conversation is a can't-miss! Tiffany shares how she found her way into the world of JAFF, what inspired her unique take on Darcy and Eliza...