Reimagining Pride and Prejudice

Do you love reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen (BR 01583, BR 11521, DB 50549, LB 00263, LB 05326)? Are you sad every time you finish re-reading it because it’s over? Others have felt the same way. Here below are nine re-imaginings of the classic regency era novel by modern authors in a variety of genres: from psychological suspense, to paranormal romance, to contemporary romance.

MR. DARCY’S DAUGHTERS by Elizabeth Aston (DB 81252)

The five daughters of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), are left in London while their parents perform a diplomatic mission. Eldest Letty deals with the reappearance of her fiance, who was presumed dead; and Camilla discovers love for her cousin’s fiance. Commercial audiobook. 2003.

LONGBOURN by Jo Baker (BR 20385; DB 77776)

Regency England. In this re-imagined tale of the Bennet family, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), the joys and crises of the servants take center stage. The world of orphaned housemaid Sarah changes when a new footman is hired. 2013.

SEDUCING MR. DARCY by Gwyn Cready (DB 71238)

Philippa, a.k.a. Flip, gets transported into Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice by a magical masseuse. Returning, Flip is horrified to learn that her dalliance with Mr. Darcy has changed the novel’s plot. She needs attractive Austen scholar Magnus to fix things. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. 2008.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: THE CLASSIC REGENCY ROMANCE–NOW WITH ULTRAVIOLENT ZOMBIE MAYHEM! by Seth Grahame-Smith (DB 69090)

Elizabeth captures Mr. Darcy’s attention as she decapitates a throng of the undead during a country ball. Smitten with her warrior abilities, Mr. Darcy verbally spars with Elizabeth and fights his growing attraction and admiration for her as they attempt to eliminate the rotting corpses infesting England. Violence. Bestseller. 2009.

MR. DARCY, VAMPYRE by Amanda Grange (DB 70631)

Newlyweds Darcy and Elizabeth set off on their honeymoon, but Elizabeth doubts Darcy’s love for her when he fails to consummate the marriage. His nightly disappearances and other strange behaviors raise more questions in her mind. Commercial audiobook. 2009.

AYESHA AT LAST by Uzma Jalaluddin (DB 95458)

In this twenty-first-century Muslim retelling of “Pride and Prejudice,” Ayesha is lonely but does not want an arranged marriage. She meets Khalid, who is smart and handsome, but also conservative and judgmental. Ayesha is torn when Khalid becomes engaged to her flighty young cousin.

DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by P. D. James (BR 19476; DB 74076, LB 07034)

Derbyshire, England; 1803. Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife Elizabeth (nee Bennet), who have been married six years and have two sons, are relaxing on the night before their annual autumn ball. Elizabeth’s wayward sister Lydia arrives unexpectedly, declaring that her husband Wickham has been murdered on Darcy’s estate. Bestseller. 2011.

INDEPENDENCE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Colleen McCullough (DB 68680)

Colleen McCullough penned this sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Liberated from caretaking duties after her mother’s death, unmarried Bennet sister Mary decides to investigate England’s ills. While Mary finds unexpected danger and romance, Elizabeth, Darcy, and others face their own difficulties. Some descriptions of sex. 2008.

ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld (DB 84222)

Contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549) that moves the action to Cincinnati. Sisters Liz and Jane return from New York to help with their ill father. Liz has been having an affair with married man John Wick, when she meets handsome neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2016.

Banned Books Week: 25 Banned and Challenged Classics

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Celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week: September 25th through October 1st, 2016!

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom records all challenges or attempts to ban books. According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been the target of ban attempts.

The titles below represent 25 of the banned or challenged books on that list in the Talking Book Program’s collection. For more information on why these books were challenged, visit challenged classics and the Banned Books Week web site.

Title: GREAT GATSBY
Author: FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT
BR 00089, BR 11057, DB 16147, LB 00377

Title: CATCHER IN THE RYE
Author: SALINGER, J.D.
BR 01617, BR 11909, DB 47480, LB 00182

Title: GRAPES OF WRATH
Author: STEINBECK, JOHN, 1902-1968
BR 01621, BR 09954, DB 68308, LB 00233, LB 06026

Title: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Author: LEE, HARPER
BR 12850, DB 36414, DB 77672, LB 04882

Title: COLOR PURPLE
Author: WALKER, ALICE
BR 07222, BR 12265, DB 58842

Title: ULYSSES
Author: JOYCE, JAMES
BR 10287, DB 19994

Title: BELOVED
Author: MORRISON, TONI
BR 16707, DB 26026

Title: LORD OF THE FLIES
Author: GOLDING, WILLIAM
BR 01595, BR 09480, DB 48388

Title: NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR
Author: ORWELL, GEORGE
BR 10312, DB 73474, LB 02843

Title: LOLITA
Author: NABOKOV, VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH
BR 13157, DB 67388

Title: OF MICE AND MEN
Author: STEINBECK, JOHN
BT 03345, DB 48515, LB 04513

Title: CATCH-22
Author: HELLER, JOSEPH
BR 11980, DB 48063, LB 01027

Title: BRAVE NEW WORLD
Author: HUXLEY, ALDOUS
BR 01601, BR 11922, DB 47108, LB 02990

Title: SUN ALSO RISES
Author: HEMINGWAY, ERNEST
BR 03615, BR 16853, DB 34114, LB 04118

Title: AS I LAY DYING
Author: FAULKNER, WILLIAM
BR 12386, BT 00963, DB 49008

Title: FAREWELL TO ARMS
Author: HEMINGWAY, ERNEST
BR 12510, DB 49506, LB 00380, LB 04736, LB 06068

Title: THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD
Author: HURSTON, ZORA NEALE
BR 16074, DB 35745

Title: INVISIBLE MAN
Author: ELLISON, RALPH
BR 08550, BR 14988, DB 56346

Title: SONG OF SOLOMON
Author: MORRISON, TONI
BR 09632, DB 38330

Title: GONE WITH THE WIND
Author: MITCHELL, MARGARET
BR 01609, BR 08519, BR 11427, DB 33082

Title: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
Author: KESEY, KEN
BR 12698, DB 56351

Title: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE; OR, THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE: A DUTY-DANCE WITH DEATH
Author: VONNEGUT, KURT
BR 17373, DB 64540

Title: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Author: HEMINGWAY, ERNEST
BR 00484, BR 12455, DB 49108, LB 03367

Title: CALL OF THE WILD
Author: LONDON, JACK
BR 09833, BR 12582, DB 49486, LB 04818

Title: SEPARATE PEACE
Author: KNOWLES, JOHN
BR 10776, DB 24697, LB 01155