Pride & Prejudice Book Club Podcast

This week, guest co-host Sharon joins Emilie to dive into Fine Eyes and Beastly Pride by Tiffany Thomas, an imaginative Pride and Prejudice variation inspired by the classic Disney Beauty and the Beast animated movie.  Sharon especially loved the way Darcy’s transformation into the “Beast” was reimagined through a laudanum addiction: dark, dramatic, and surprisingly effective. Both she and Emilie...

What happens when Elizabeth Bennet is kidnapped, locked in a tower, and forced to marry Mr. Darcy by a completely unhinged Lady Catherine de Bourgh? This book is what happens! This week, Emilie Davis and guest host Sharon Cortez (filling in for Alicia) dive into In the Tower With Mr. Darcy by Valerie Lennox, a bold, fairy tale–tinged Pride and Prejudice variation that had us texting "What is HAPPE...

Just when you thought you'd seen every twist Pride and Prejudice fanfiction could offer, along comes Mr. Bingley: Just as a Gentleman Ought to Be, a book so wild, we had to call in backup. Emilie is joined by returning guest co-host Sharon Cortez for a deep dive into a version of Bingley that moonlights as an assassin on a righteous mission. Yes, you read that right. Together, we unpack the ethica...

Is love a fancy or a feeling...or fate? In Julie Cooper’s Only Mr. Darcy, a young Elizabeth Bennet asks her beloved grandmother who she’ll marry, and receives a cryptic answer just moments before the woman passes away. The name? Charles. The result? Absolute certainty that her fate is intertwined with her new neighbor, a handsome man named Charles Bingley…even as he clearly falls for Jane. This we...

This week on the Pride and Prejudice Book Club, we’re thrilled to welcome our new co-host Sharon Cortez as she joins the podcast for an interview with author Summer Hanford! If you’ve devoured The Bennett Gang Duology and Mr. Darcy’s Bookshop, you already know Summer’s work is delightfully creative and full of heart. We chat about everything from her writing origins (in a surprise twist, she did N...

We’re diving back into the world of Summer Hanford’s Bennet Gang Duology with Gentleman of Honor, the second and final installment in this imaginative Pride and Prejudice variation.  The overall feel of this book was different from the first, with a greater emphasis on Lydia's perspective and some mustache-twirling villains causing mayhem for our band of bandits. But it also wrestled with some dif...

We are absolutely buzzing after diving into Dishonorable Gentlemen, the electrifying opener to Summer Hanford’s Bennett Gang Duology, and we can't wait to bring you along! Without giving too much away, we’ll admit: we were hooked early. The story kicks off with highway robbery (literally) as Hanford reimagines the Bennett sisters as Robin Hood-like figures with some surprising talents and a desire...

What if Pride and Prejudice had a touch of magic…and a lot fewer pages? This week, we dive into Her Charms To Recommend Her by Mary Smythe—a delightfully short reimagining where women wield magic in the form of charms, and men help amplify them. Elizabeth’s ability to grow flowers in her hair seems laughable…until it’s not. And Caroline Bingley? Let’s just say her magically produced perfume smells...

Set sail with us, Book Clubbers! This week we’re talking Pirates and Prejudice by Kara Louise, a swashbuckling Austen variation that is exactly as bonkers as the title suggests. We’ve got Darcy going full emo post-rejection, Elizabeth getting stranded on an island, a wildly convoluted pirate impersonation plot, and yes…plenty of over-the-top swashbuckling pirate antics! We had a lot of fun unpacki...

It’s hard to surprise us with a book premise, but this week’s story pulled it off! We’re discussing More Than You Know by Jennifer Altman, a Pride and Prejudice variation with a twist we’ve never seen before: Elizabeth is paired with Bingley (!!), and Darcy is hiding a mysterious secret that had us eagerly turning the pages. The setup felt fresh and full of promise, and honestly, that kind of orig...

Is it ever okay to lie to "protect" someone? That’s the big question we wrestle with this week as we dive into Amy D’Orazio’s Done for the Best. In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy makes a very bold choice: after Elizabeth loses her memory, he lets her believe they’re engaged—even though they’re not. Cue all the ethical dilemmas. Was it selfless? Was it selfish? And is “done for the best”...

We couldn’t wait to welcome Elizabeth Adams back for her third visit to the podcast, and trust us—she did not disappoint! This time, we dive deep into her epic reimagining Sons of Pemberley, a richly layered story that explores what might have happened if Lady Anne Darcy had survived. Spoiler: everything changes. In this conversation, we cover everything from character arcs and alternate timelines...

In this episode of The Pride and Prejudice Book Club, we dive into Elizabeth Adams’ sweeping alternate universe tale, Sons of Pemberley. This rich reimagining had us reflecting on everything from the impact of childhood relationships to the quieter tragedies and triumphs of our lives. We loved discussing the novel’s unique premise—what if Lady Anne Darcy never died? That single change creates an e...

Book Clubbers, we have a very special treat for you this week! We had the distinct pleasure of seeing the 20th Anniversary re-release of Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice (2005), starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen — and we were so excited afterward that we immediately recorded our thoughts right there in the car (please excuse the less-than-perfect sound quality!). We talk about the mom...

What if your soulmate was revealed from the moment you first dance with them?  This week on The Pride and Prejudice Book Club, Alicia and Emilie dive into Sole Mates by Melanie Rachel—a delightful short story (seriously, maybe an hour of your time) that gives Lizzy and Darcy a literal soul connection… and matching foot burns. 😳🔥🥿 We talk about whether love can really blossom in a single night,...

This week, we read Bluebells in the Mourning by KaraLynne Mackrory, a Pride & Prejudice variation that opens with an emotional shock: Lydia is dead, and everything changes. The story brushes up against themes of grief and healing, but ultimately keeps things soft and comforting, with lots of Darcy-and-Lizzy time and a surprisingly sweet arc for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. We talk about what worked (G...

What if Elizabeth and Darcy had met before Netherfield—only for things to go terribly wrong? This week, we’re talking about A Shared History by Abigail Sheffield, a dual-timeline Pride and Prejudice variation that asks: can you rebuild something beautiful after a painful ending? With strong Persuasion energy and a narrative that moves between past and present, this story explores what happens when...

We’re back with a full-blown Austen murder mystery this week, and honestly? We were into it. Alicia and Emilie dive into Some Particular Evil by Amelia Stratford—a gripping “who-done-it” where Elizabeth goes full detective mode and Darcy’s on the run (and in disguise, no less). We talk red herrings, a suspiciously helpful Colonel Fitzwilliam, and a truly unhinged Anne de Bourgh. Plus, how believab...

Book Clubbers, we’re back with a light and fluffy modern variation of Pride and Prejudice — and this time, it’s set in Canada! Join us as we dive into All the Wrong Notes by Riana Everly, where Elise and Will get off on the wrong foot (shocking, we know), and somehow end up navigating romance, trust issues, and choral performances. We chat through the modern take on Wickham — a financial saboteur...

Book Clubbers, we have something special for you this week—our very first male author guest! We sit down with Timothy Bowden, author of Pride and Justice, a vigilante reimagining of Pride and Prejudice that asks: What if Elizabeth Bennet had a secret identity and took justice into her own hands? Timothy shares how his background as a history teacher and love for superhero stories inspired his take...

What if Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy weren’t just navigating balls and marriage proposals—but also serving as masked vigilantes, upholding justice in Regency England? Pride and Justice by Timothy Bowden takes Pride and Prejudice into the world of secret identities, moral dilemmas, and covert missions carried out in the name of honor. While the premise might bring to mind the outlandishness of Pr...

Take Pride and Prejudice, set it in modern-day Cincinnati, throw in a reality dating show, and give the Bennet sisters some very 21st-century quirks, and you’ve got Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld’s contemporary retelling of Austen’s classic. This week, we break down what Eligible gets right (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s modern updates are particularly well done) and where it might miss the mark (cough Liz a...

Book Clubbers, this is the episode for all of you who love indie romance, Jane Austen, and a good author origin story! We got to sit down with one of Emilie's absolute favorite modern authors, Jennifer Peel, and let’s just say—this was a major fangirl moment. 🎉 Jennifer shares how her love for Pride and Prejudice began with a book club (ha!) and how it eventually lead her to write her own P&P...

What happens when a die-hard Pride and Prejudice fan finds herself in a very Darcy-and-Elizabeth-esque romance? That’s exactly what Jennifer Peel explores in Without Pride and Prejudice, a charming contemporary love story that manages to honor Austen’s classic without simply rehashing it. This week, Emilie could not contain her excitement—she’s been a longtime fan of Jennifer Peel’s rom-coms, so s...

This week, we’re taking a detour from the world of Darcy and Elizabeth to dive into The Other Bennet Girl by Janice Hadlow—a novel that gives Mary Bennet her time to shine! The story follows Mary from her childhood in the shadow of her "prettier" sisters all the way to several years after the events of Pride and Prejudice, exploring themes of self-worth, personal growth, and what it means to find...