Pride, Prejudice, and Disaster?!

One of the most intriguing phenomena surrounding Jane Austen’s work is the burgeoning genre of Austen pastiche. Most famously, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, Death Comes to Pemberly, and, my personal favorite, Darcy’s Story by Janet Aylmer.

Joining their ranks is E.M. Storm-Smith’s Reputation, An Easy Thing to Lose. Bringing her lawyer’s mind to bear upon Austen’s world of social strictures, marriage, reputation, and inheritance, E.M. Storm-Smith examines an alternate reality of Pride and Prejudice based upon a single, hysterical line from Mrs. Bennett.

Jumping into the final third of the original Pride and Prejudice, the Bennett family is struck by tragedy within the first few pages of the novel, facing a future none of us dared to imagine.

With a minute understanding of the characters involved and the legal loopholes of the time, E.M. Storm-Smith weaves an alternative love story built upon the foundations of the mutual growth and regard between Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett.

Walking in the path so well-founded by the authoress is a daunting and tricky business; Austen’s style and stories are so deliberately and skillfully crafted. E.M. Storm-Smith offers an intriguing alternative to the problems of the story in language and style that honors Jane Austen’s unique story-telling.

With a believable supporting cast and fleshed-out original characters, Reputation, an Easy Thing to Lose elucidates the context of Austen’s society, lending a deeper understanding and appreciation of the problems facing Austen’s heroine.

A lovely, nostalgic treat with a twist for an autumn day!