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A review by niamhreviews
Elizabeth of East Hampton by Emily Harding, Audrey Bellezza
3.0
I want to preface my review by saying that I loved 'Emma of 83rd Street'. It was one of my favourite books of 2023, I had a great time reading it. I felt the setting of Emma Woodhouse's matchmaking trials on the Upper East Side was an excellent choice and that the authors found the right balance of honouring Austen whilst putting their own spin on a familiar tale. 'Elizabeth of East Hampton' continues the format, this time taking on Pride & Prejudice, though I feel it does it far less successfully than its predecessor. Because P&P is such a well known love story, the authors decision to use maybe 30-40% of the original novel to inform their retelling rather than sticking more closely to the original details hindered rather than supported their work.
But what works? The decision to set it in the Hamptons is a great one - it immediately establishes a divide between the Bennetts, who live there full-time, and the Darcy / Bingley contingent as the rich New Yorkers who flock during the summer. It makes that initial dislike between Lizzie and Darcy (styled as Will for this book) very satisfying to read about. I think the first half of the book is stronger than the second and I found the characters of Jane and Bingley particularly underused, but the most enjoyable to read about. We also get look-ins from Emma and Knightley, as well as suggestions that the next book in the series may be either Persuasion or Sense and Sensibility.
However. Where the authors fall upon their own sword is their inability to decide whether they want to present a retelling of P&P or fanfiction. Some characters - like the Bennetts and Darcy - get slightly modernised versions of their own names. Others, including Wickham, a character I'm assuming is the Charlotte, and all of Bingley's family, get radically different ones with no link to their originals. Georgiana and Mr Collins do not feature at all. Moreover, the authors make a decision that is quite key to the plot of the original novel and give it to a different character, thereby making the original character's role in the book completely pointless. I won't detail anymore because of spoilers, but I had to go back and re-read just to be sure I hadn't mis-heard the narrator when they said a different name to the one I was expecting.
Because it's a modern update, there's more sex, some moments of violence and more of an insight into Lizzie as a character - and I don't think it adds anything. If anything, Darcy's punch-up with not-Wickham and extended sex scenes with Lizzie turn him into a bog-standard rom-com male, rather than a very defined character. The conclusion felt incredibly rushed and there was no time for the characters to ruminate before we reach that wonderful point of connectivity - they were just suddenly desperately in love with each other. Lizzie also really got on my nerves and I put that entirely down to her presentation in this book.
Pride and Prejudice has been adapted, retold, and rewritten a dozen different ways - this is just the latest. I don't think it's one of the better ones, in fact I'd lean towards Sonali Dev's Austen series for a slightly more interesting take that's committed to just being influenced rather than trying to copy directly.
But what works? The decision to set it in the Hamptons is a great one - it immediately establishes a divide between the Bennetts, who live there full-time, and the Darcy / Bingley contingent as the rich New Yorkers who flock during the summer. It makes that initial dislike between Lizzie and Darcy (styled as Will for this book) very satisfying to read about. I think the first half of the book is stronger than the second and I found the characters of Jane and Bingley particularly underused, but the most enjoyable to read about. We also get look-ins from Emma and Knightley, as well as suggestions that the next book in the series may be either Persuasion or Sense and Sensibility.
However. Where the authors fall upon their own sword is their inability to decide whether they want to present a retelling of P&P or fanfiction. Some characters - like the Bennetts and Darcy - get slightly modernised versions of their own names. Others, including Wickham, a character I'm assuming is the Charlotte, and all of Bingley's family, get radically different ones with no link to their originals. Georgiana and Mr Collins do not feature at all. Moreover, the authors make a decision that is quite key to the plot of the original novel and give it to a different character, thereby making the original character's role in the book completely pointless. I won't detail anymore because of spoilers, but I had to go back and re-read just to be sure I hadn't mis-heard the narrator when they said a different name to the one I was expecting.
Because it's a modern update, there's more sex, some moments of violence and more of an insight into Lizzie as a character - and I don't think it adds anything. If anything, Darcy's punch-up with not-Wickham and extended sex scenes with Lizzie turn him into a bog-standard rom-com male, rather than a very defined character. The conclusion felt incredibly rushed and there was no time for the characters to ruminate before we reach that wonderful point of connectivity - they were just suddenly desperately in love with each other. Lizzie also really got on my nerves and I put that entirely down to her presentation in this book.
Pride and Prejudice has been adapted, retold, and rewritten a dozen different ways - this is just the latest. I don't think it's one of the better ones, in fact I'd lean towards Sonali Dev's Austen series for a slightly more interesting take that's committed to just being influenced rather than trying to copy directly.