I received Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature’s Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart for my birthday last month. I’m going to wait to read some of the stories until after I re-read the books on which they’re based. However, I’ve already read the stories based on Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey (both of which I’ve re-read fairly recently), as well as several that are more generally Jane-esque.
A Night at Northanger by Lauren Willig ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Perfectly fine modern take on Northanger Abbey.
Faux Jane by F. J. Meier ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I loved this one! It blended elements of the Thin Man movies with Jane Austen – sheer heaven!
Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane by Adriana Trigiani ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I photographed 4 passages in this 6 page story. That might be a record. Beautiful!
The Ghostwriter by Elizabeth Aston ⭐
Why ON EARTH would a professed Janeite write Jane Austen as a manipulative b***h?!?
The Mysterious Closet: A Tale by Myretta Robens ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Good enough, with some fun Northanger Abbey references, but the “ending” is open ended, which I kind of hate.
Jane Austen’s Cat by Diana Birchall ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Absolutely lovely! Jane gives advice on love and marriage in an adorable way. Mansfield Park’s Mrs. Norris as a cat elicited a Harry Potter fangirl squee!
What Would Austen Do? by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
So completely and utterly adorable! A teenage boy’s take on Jane Austen. The note on the authors says that they’re working on turning it into a full length novel, which I must have NOW!
The Chase by Carrie Bebris ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This true story of Frank Austen’s derring-do in a navel battle is exciting, if not particularly Jane-esque.
A BIBLIOPHILE'S STYLE 
And now you’ve made me want to look at Jane Austen in a different light! I must confess that I am not a big Austen fan – I know, I know, bad English teacher! – but honestly, I haven’t read her since high school and perhaps I wasn’t ready for her then. I must now revisit and try to feel the love. Maybe she’ll be my challenge author this year (I’m making all my students read at least 3 challenge books per sem – classics implied – and I had Moby Dick – blech! – and Dickens on mine originally).
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I would love it if you gave Jane another try! P&P, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey are my favorites. 🙂 Also, you’ve just inspired me to do an Austen T3!
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So which book should I start with, you think? And huzzah for inadvertent inspiration!!!
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Which of her books did you read back in high school and what did you dislike about it?
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