Jane Austen fan fiction

Last updated

Cover of Old Friends and New Fancies, by Sybil Brinton, considered to be the first work of Austen fan-fiction. (1913) Old Friends and New Fancies cover.jpg
Cover of Old Friends and New Fancies, by Sybil Brinton, considered to be the first work of Austen fan-fiction. (1913)
Pride & Prejudice-fiction Pride & Prejudice-fictions.JPG
Pride & Prejudice-fiction

Jane Austen fan fiction is the collection of numerous sequels and spin-offs produced by authors who have either used the plot of Austen's original novels, or have extended them, to produce new works of fiction. Austen's posthumous popularity has inspired fan fiction that runs the gamut through numerous genres, but the most concentrated medium has remained the novel. [1] According to Pucci and Thompson in their 2003 survey on the contemporary evolution of Jane Austen's work, at the turn of the 20th century (over 150 years after the final publication of her first collected works), over one hundred sequels, rewritings, and continuations of her novels had been published. [2]

Pride and Prejudice accounted for the majority of published Austen-inspired books, at 900 total, and all six novels and three minor works are represented in published Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF). The number of unpublished Austen-inspired stories on various JAFF sites at least doubles that number. They have continued to remain popular well into the 21st century, with modern adaptations reaching as high as third on The New York Times Best Seller list [3] However, opinions remain mixed in regard to the liberties taken by authors when modifying or adding to the existing canon of Austen literature. While audiences have responded well commercially to various novels, critics have argued that transposing new work onto of the frame provided by Austen adulterates the genre. [4] [5] For example, while Dr. Lynda A. Hall is wary of how JAFF and adaptations of Jane Austen's novels distort the public's understanding of the original texts, she also believes that there is value in studying popular culture's representations of Austen's works. [6]

Notable works

Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen – by Sybil Brinton (1913)

Margaret Dashwood, or, Interference (1929) and Susan Price, or, Resolution (1930) – by Edith Charlotte Brown

Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued – by Emma Tennant (1993)

Mr. Darcy's Daughters – by Elizabeth Aston (2003)

More Letters from Pemberley – by Jane Dawkins (2007)

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict – by Laurie Viera Rigler (2007)

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World'by Abigail Reynolds' (2009)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – by Seth Grahame-Smith (2009)

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters – by Ben H. Winters (2009)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls – by Steve Hockensmith (2010)

Death Comes to Pemberley – by P D James (2011)

Longbourn -- by Jo Baker (2014)

Related Research Articles

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> 1813 novel by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemberley</span> Fictional place in Pride and Prejudice

Pemberley is the fictional country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy, the male protagonist in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It is located near the fictional town of Lambton, and believed by some to be based on Lyme Park, south of Disley in Cheshire.

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> (1995 TV series) 1995 British television drama series

Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, respectively. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. The A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.

<i>First Impressions</i> (musical) 1959 Broadway musical

First Impressions is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by George Weiss, Bo Goldman, and Glenn Paxton, and book by Abe Burrows, who also directed the musical. It is based on Helen Jerome's 1935 stage adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice.

<i>Pride & Prejudice</i> (2005 film) 2005 film by Joe Wright

Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays her romantic interest Mr Darcy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Bennet</span> Fictional character from Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.

<i>Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy</i> 2003 film

Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy is a 2003 independent romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Black and produced by Jason Faller. The screenplay, by Anne Black, Jason Faller, and Katherine Swigert, is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Provo, Utah. The film stars Kam Heskin as college student Elizabeth Bennet whose dreams of becoming an author supersede the cultural and societal pressures to be married. Elizabeth tries to escape the advances of several bachelors, including handsome but haughty businessman Will Darcy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Darcy</span> Literary character

Fitzwilliam Darcy Esquire, generally referred to as Mr. Darcy, is one of the two central characters in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's protagonist. The story's narration is almost exclusively from Elizabeth's perspective; the reader is given a one-sided view of Darcy for much of the novel, but hints are given throughout that there is much more to his character than meets the eye. The reader gets a healthy dose of dramatic irony as Elizabeth continually censures Mr. Darcy's character despite the aforementioned hints that Mr. Darcy is really a noble character at heart, albeit somewhat prideful. Usually referred to only as "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy" by characters and the narrator, his first name is mentioned twice in the novel.

<i>Mr. Darcys Daughters</i> 2003 novel by Elizabeth Aston

Mr. Darcy's Daughters is a 2003 novel by the English author Elizabeth Aston, published by Simon & Schuster in the United States. Set in 1818, Mr. Darcy's Daughters is written as a sequel to Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It features the five daughters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet – aged 21 to 16 – as they navigate London society in the absence of their parents, who have embarked on a diplomatic post to Constantinople. In London, the sisters meet new friends and find themselves in various romantic entanglements, all while learning what is acceptable behaviour among the city's elite.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman is the collective name given to a trilogy of historical romance novels written by Pamela Aidan. As the title suggests, they are based heavily on Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, and feature many events of the novel as seen from the perspective of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the central male character of Austen's novel.

<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was first published in April 2009 by Quirk Books and in October 2009 a Deluxe Edition was released, containing full-color images and additional zombie scenes. The novel was adapted into a 2016 film starring Lily James and Sam Riley.

<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls</i> Book by Steve Hockensmith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (2010) is a parody novel by Steve Hockensmith. It is a prequel to Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, focusing on "the early life and training of Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of the earlier Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as she strove to become a gifted zombie hunter, with some mishaps in her early romantic encounters also included." It was first published by Quirk Books on March 23, 2010.

A mash-up novel is an unauthorised non-canonical work of fiction which combines a pre-existing literature text, often a classic work of fiction, with another genre, usually horror genre, into a single narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr William Collins</span> Fictional character from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mr William Collins is a fictional character in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. He is the distant cousin of Mr Bennet, a clergyman and holder of a valuable living at the Hunsford parsonage near Rosings Park, the estate of his patroness Lady Catherine De Bourgh, in Kent. Since Mr and Mrs Bennet have no sons, Mr Collins is also the current heir presumptive to the Bennet family estate of Longbourn in Meryton, Hertfordshire, due to the estate being entailed to heirs male. Mr Collins is first introduced during his visit to Longbourn. His dull-witted character is in parallel to another 'Austen' character, Mr. Rushworth, from Mansfield Park. Mr Collins is also somewhat comparable to the Shakespearean character, Malvolio, from Twelfth Night.

<i>Death Comes to Pemberley</i> 2011 novel by P. D. James

Death Comes to Pemberley is a 2011 mystery fiction novel by British writer P.D. James that continues Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice with a murder mystery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Reynolds (writer)</span> American author and physician

Abigail Reynolds is an American author and physician. She is best known as the author of Jane Austen-inspired novels in the Pemberley Variations series as well as modern novels set on Cape Cod.

Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen (1913) is a novel by Sybil G. Brinton that is often acknowledged to be the first sequel to the works of Jane Austen and as such is possibly the first piece of published Austen fan fiction, although earlier examples have been described by Sarah Glosson. It incorporates characters from each of Austen's six major novels into one unified story, alongside characters of Brinton's own invention. Keeping to the spirit of the source novels, its major theme is the difficulties faced by assorted pairs of lovers placed within the class structure of early 19th century Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wickham</span> Fictional character

George Wickham is a fictional character created by Jane Austen who appears in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. George Wickham is introduced as a militia officer who has a shared history with Mr. Darcy. Wickham's charming demeanour and his story of being badly treated by Darcy attracts the sympathy of the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, to the point that she is warned by her aunt not to fall in love and marry him. It is revealed through the course of the story that George Wickham's true nature is that of a manipulative unprincipled layabout, a ne'er-do-well wastrel, compulsive liar and a degenerate, compulsive gambler, a seducer and a libertine, living the lifestyle of a rake. Lacking the finances to pay for his lifestyle, he gambles regularly and cons credit from tradesmen and shopkeepers and skips out on paying-up.

<i>Longbourn</i> 2013 novel

Longbourn is a 2013 novel by the British author Jo Baker. It gives an alternative view of the events in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, telling the story from the perspective of the servants at Longbourn, the Bennet family home. It was published by Doubleday in the UK and by Knopf in the US. It has been translated into twenty-one languages, was shortlisted for the IBW Book Award and is due to be made into a film, adapted by Angela Workman and Jessica Swale and directed by Sharon Maguire.

References

  1. Todd, Janet. Jane Austen in Context (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen). New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.
  2. Pucci and Thompson, Jane Austen and Co.: Remaking the Past in Contemporary Culture. Albany, New York: State University Of New York Press, 2003. Print.
  3. "Jane Austen in zombie rampage up the book charts". the Guardian. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  4. Andrew Wright,Jane Austen Adapted. Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Vol. 30, No. 3, pgs 421–453. Print
  5. "Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith". ComicMix. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  6. Hall, Lynda A. (Winter 2019). ""Flipping the Jane Austen Classroom"". Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 61 (4): 416–433. doi:10.7560/TSLL61406. S2CID   211677125 via Project Muse.
  7. The Times, 11 December 1929
  8. Quoted in advertisement in The Times Literary Supplement 20 November 1930
  9. Robinson, L. Review: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, The Women's Review of Books, 11, pg. 18. Print.
  10. Dawkins, Jane.Letters from Pemberley Review. Chicken Soup Press, 1999. Print.
  11. Segal, Francesca (18 April 2009). "Review: Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  12. "Fiction Book Review: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds, Author ". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  13. "Jane Austen in zombie rampage up the book charts". the Guardian. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  14. "Sussex Chainsaw Massacre". NYMag.com. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  15. Bowman, Donna. "Steve Hockensmith: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies: Dawn Of The Dreadfuls". AUX. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  16. Johnson, Diane (11 October 2013). "'Longbourn,' by Jo Baker". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 7 September 2017.