My ongoing love of all things Jane Austen sometimes leads me to brilliant books written about her, her work and her world. That same enthusiasm can also lead me to some clunkers.

Reading Flirting With Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece, reminded me that some books defy easy categorization. While it’s true that this collection of lively essays provides only rare flashes of creative brilliance, the book’s not an entire dud. If you’re a fan of Austen, particularly of Pride & Prejudice, and if you’ve enjoyed the film adaptations of her work, you’ll find some fun things here, even if you’ll likely wince at some of it.

Let me first explain what this book is not: it is not a work of academic scholarship on Austen’s work. That said, even Austen academic wonks, if they can manage to get past the sub-title and cover, will find a few pieces worth their time, most notably Lawrence Watt-Evans’ essay A World at War, which looks at the political situation in Austen’s day and speculates on why she didn’t engage such issues more directly, and Jennifer Coburn’s Elizabeth...On the Roof which provides a provocative literary comparison between the characters and plot of Pride and Prejudice and those of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

That last should give you a big clue, however, to what this book is: a celebration and exploration of the intersections between Austen’s literary work and contemporary culture. It’s actually part of a series called "Smart Pop" published by BenBella Books. The work of a late 18th/early 19th century English novelist might not seem the likeliest candidate for such a series, but um...this is Jane Austen. Have you noticed how many of her books have been made, and re-made, into movies? How many contemporary novels purport to be inspired by her, to parody her, to revere her, to offer "sequels" to her work? Have you checked out the myriad of blogs and websites devoted to all things Jane? (OK, I have! If you have too, then you’ll likely enjoy some of the essays in the collection under discussion!)

Elizabeth Bennett...Talking on a Cell Phone?

Most of the contributors to this collection are novelists and short story writers. Almost all of them are women. Most (though surprisingly not all) are avowed Austen fans. Several of them write "chick-lit" – that light-weight, savvy, contemporary genre of women writing about and mostly for women. As a genre, "chick-lit’s" origins are often attributed to Helen Fielding, whose novel Bridget Jones’ Diary owes much to Austen. Despite the sub-title of this collection, most of the writers (except one) don’t seem too invested in trying to turn Austen into a chick-lit pioneer, for which I for one was thankful.

Editor Jennifer Crusie clearly offered the contributing writers amazingly free rein to reflect in any way they wanted on Austen’s most popular novel. Some approach the novel as literature, others delve into the sociology of Austen’s time versus our time, some explore the place of Austen in literary history, some reflect on how easy or difficult it is to translate her plot and characters into modern day work.

There’s some attempt to put this rather unwieldy and at times somewhat repetitive collection into a semblance of order, by grouping the essays under thematic headings. That works, but somewhat raggedly. Sometimes there’s really not enough "meat" to make up a full section, for instance the section entitled "Jane’s Hero" that covers two contributions on Mr. Darcy, the romantic hero of Pride and Prejudice. Neither of these is very thought-provoking, and the second one reads like a school-girl’s fantasy ravings over actor Colin Firth, who played Darcy in the 1995 A&E mini-series version of the novel. I like Firth and think he’s provided the screen’s definitive Darcy, but a little of the fan-girl raving goes a loooong way, especially when one realizes how many interesting ideas one might really explore about Mr. Darcy’s character if given the chance, even (or especially) in the context of exploring contemporary literary heroes. One gets the feeling these two essays got their own heading because Crusie didn’t know where else to put them.

In general, I think Crusie could have edited the entire collection with a much firmer hand. A few of the essays, like the Firth ravings, didn’t deserve the page-space, and one or two more, most notably Michelle Cunnah’s "Pride & Prejudice. With Cell Phones" are poorly written/sloppily edited (though it’s sometimes hard to tell if the writing or editing should come under more censure). At times, the authors seem so intent on coming across as hip that you lose the focus on Austen in the midst of their bright, clever chatter.

I also wish that a few other authors had been included. A few appear to have been chosen merely because they were women novelists, even if they didn’t have a real affinity for Austen (one admitted she’d never read P&P before being approached to contribute). I was surprised that they didn’t try to include more of the authors who have consciously engaged Austen in their own writing. (Helen Fielding or Stephanie Baron, anyone?)

With all that said, a handful of reflections in this book made me glad I’d picked it up, and even that I’d spent time skimming through the weaker contributions to get to the gems. The opening essay, Beth Kendrick’s "Does This Petticoat Make Me Look Fat?" does not perhaps teach one much of anything new about Austen, but it does raise provocative questions and insights into the roles and self-perceptions of women in the contemporary west and how those have changed (and not changed) since Austen’s time. I didn’t agree with all of it, but it made for engaging reading. I also loved Jennifer Coburn’s "Elizabeth...On the Roof" (already mentioned above) for the interesting parallels she drew between P&P and Fiddler on the Roof. I had never considered those two together, and the comparison bore interesting fruit, especially when one considers the role of women in family and community.

The section entitled "Jane’s Untold Stories" really contains fan fiction rather than essays. But before you roll your eyes, consider that a couple of these short stories are excellent. I think they also embody the spirit of the book best, because they show the postmodern writer’s fascination with characters on the margin, and with "remaking" something new by using vintage materials. Jane Espenson delivers a solid, well-written short story called "Georgianna," which delves into the life of Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, following the events of P&P. Melissa Senate’s "Charlotte ’s Side of the Story" also delves into the life of a minor character from Austen’s novel, Lizzy’s best friend Charlotte Lucas who marries the absurd Mr. Collins (on the rebound after Lizzy rejects his proposal). Senate updates Charlotte ’s character and story into the modern day. I was frankly astonished at how well it worked, and how plausible she was able to make the plot. Cheryl Sawyer’s "Lord Byron and Miss A" is an imagined collection of Byron’s letters to a friend following an imagined meeting with Austen. These witty letters are well-written and show a real grounding in Austen’s biography and era.

Even the final and more overtly contemporary section of the collection, "Jane and the 21st Century" has its moments. Joyce Millman’s "Pride and Prejudice: The Reality Show" was so funny it actually made me laugh out loud, not something that happens often when I’m reading!

I wish that the editor had provided a brief biography of Austen along with a list of her other novels, perhaps in an epilogue or appendix. It’s likely that pop culture devotees, or people who know Austen mostly through the movie versions of her books, will read this, so it would have been appropriate and helpful to provide a "for further reading" section.

The unevenness of the collection’s tone and its sloppy editing are why I give it three stars. Take it as an average: some of the pieces here deserve four or five, but a few deserve only one or two and drag the whole thing down. In the end, I can’t say I learned much of anything new about Austen and her novel, but I think I gleaned some insight into my own time and culture, and into the enduring popularity of her work. Perhaps the fact that Austen’s writing continues to inspire so many reflections, so many questions, and so much laughter, is proof positive that she will continue to be read long after most of the novels of the early 21st century have been tossed into landfills.

~befus, 2006

Thank you to pearannoyed for adding this to the database during such a busy season!

Flirting with Pride & Prejudice
edited by Jennifer Crusie
BenBella Books, 2005
1932100725



Recommended: Yes