Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award
In a nutshell: Dances | Dreams | Determination Younger sister of Lizzy and Jane, Lydia Bennet is one of literature’s great catalysts. Her actions are fundamental to the story of Pride and Prejudice, but there we never learn exactly what lead up to her shocking elopement with Wickham. Natasha Farrant fills in those gaps, drawing Lydia as impetuous, bold, determined, a breathing teenage girl, much more likeable than she’s allowed to be in Austen’s novel. She gives Lydia some 21st century sensibilities, showing her frustrated by society’s constraints on women and dreaming of escape and independence. Her relationship with her sisters is warmly and wittily described, as is her relationship with Wickham – they are surprisingly honest with each other, and he is much more sympathetic as a result. In fact this story is full of surprises, a fresh, sharp but faithful reimagining it will delight readers, whether they know the original or not. ~ Andrea Reece
A Piece of passion from Publisher, Barry Cunningham It’s no secret that Pride and Prejudice has captured the hearts of readers for centuries. But what’s been under wraps, until now, is the life and voice of one of its more minor characters – Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister – who’s anything but minor in this funny and fresh reimagining of the beloved novel.Lydia is spirited, witty and independent – a modern girl before her time. Through her diary entries and letters, we see a young woman trying to break free, trying to get what she wants, but who just . . . CAN’T. But there’s romance and adventure on her horizon, and with it a life that she would have never thought possible. Not to be too Austentatious, but I think there’s a lot of Lydia in me. The author has told me she thinks there’s a lot of Wickham in her. And I KNOW that readers will love seeing themselves in these much-loved characters . . . brought to life in the modern age in a way like never before.
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