The Short Version
If you finished Pride and Prejudice and you’re in love with Elizabeth and Darcy, this one’s for you. Six books to read next, no spoilers.
Three are classics, and three are modern. All of them have what Austen does best: sharp dialogue, a slow burn, and two people who get each other wrong at first.
Persuasion
Number one: Persuasion, by Jane Austen, from eighteen seventeen, her last finished novel. Anne Elliot was persuaded to break off her engagement to a navy officer eight years ago. Now he’s back, successful, and cold to her.
It’s quieter and more grown up than Pride and Prejudice, and it has the best love letter in English. If you only pick one, pick this.
North And South
Number two: North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell, from eighteen fifty five. Margaret Hale moves from the green south of England to a smoky mill town, and clashes with the mill owner, John Thornton.
It’s Pride and Prejudice with factories, strikes and real class conflict. Pick it if you want more Darcy, with more grit.
Jane Eyre
Number three: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, from eighteen forty seven. An orphan becomes a governess at a gloomy house, and falls for her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester. But the house has a secret.
It’s darker and more dramatic than Austen. Pick it for gothic romance.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Number four: Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding, from nineteen ninety six. A single woman in London writes about her weight, her job, her terrible boss, and a stiff lawyer named Mark Darcy.
It’s a loose, very funny modern retelling. Pick it if you want to laugh.
Eligible
Number five: Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld, from twenty sixteen. The Bennet sisters are grown up and living in Cincinnati, Bingley is a reality TV star, and Darcy is a neurosurgeon.
It follows Austen’s plot closely, with modern twists. Pick it for a full, faithful update.
The Hating Game
Number six: The Hating Game, by Sally Thorne, from twenty sixteen. Two executive assistants who share an office despise each other, and compete for the same promotion.
It’s pure enemies to lovers, with lots of banter. Pick it if the bickering was your favorite part.
How To Choose
So, how to choose. For more Austen, Persuasion. For a grittier Darcy, North and South. For gothic drama, Jane Eyre.
For laughs, Bridget Jones’s Diary. For a faithful modern version, Eligible. And for banter, The Hating Game.
Your Turn
Which one are you reading first? Tell me in the comments. My review and the full summary are linked below.
