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Beguiling Miss Bennet
From the publisher:
This is the third volume of short stories shortlisted for the Chawton House Library Short Story Award. It takes as its inspiration minor characters from the famous novels and tells the tales that continued behind the scenes, at Pemberly, Mansfield Park and elsewhere.
Edited by Caroline Oakley and Lindsay Ashford with stories from multiple authors across the world.
This is the third volume of short stories shortlisted for the Chawton House Library Short Story Award. It takes as its inspiration minor characters from the famous novels and tells the tales that continued behind the scenes, at Pemberly, Mansfield Park and elsewhere.
Edited by Caroline Oakley and Lindsay Ashford with stories from multiple authors across the world.
- GenresShort Stories
202 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2015
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 1, 2016
4.5 stars! Insightful and Intriguing Tales Inspired by Jane Austen and Her Characters!
OVERVIEW: This is the third collection of winning entries from the Jane Austen Short Story Competition hosted by Chawton House Library. The first two collections are Dancing with Mr. Darcy (2010) and Wooing Mr. Wickham (2011). All three collections include an introduction, foreward, and biographies of each contributor and editor. Each collection contains twenty short stories, and the stories in this collection are inspired by minor characters and Jane Austen’s lesser known works, to my pleasure and delight! The stories range from five to nine pages in length and are about an equal mixture of Regency and modern-day settings. These vignettes range from sequels, prequels, and alternate point-of-view scenes to contemporary retellings and abstract reinterpretations.
MY READING EXPERIENCE:
I enjoyed this lovely anthology over the course of four days, reading about four to six stories in each sitting. If I were to judge each individual story on a 1-5 star rating scale, my average rating would total out 4.05 stars with five stories earning 5 stars, six stories earning 4.5 stars, two stories earning 4 stars, two stories earning 3.5 stars, three stories earning 3 stars, and only 2 stories earning 2.5 stars.
MY ASSESSMENT:
I greatly enjoyed this diverse collection of Austen-inspired stories and I’m so glad the Chawton House Library continues to hold the Jane Austen Short Story Competition. Back in 2010 I read and reviewed Dancing with Mr. Darcy and took pleasure in the creativity and merit I found in many of the stories. I was thrilled that this anthology focused a spotlight on some minor characters and equally impressed that some authors found their inspiration in some unlikely characters such as Mrs. Clay’s daughter, Mary Price, Frederica Vernon, and Nurse Rooke.
I loved the digital style of retelling Lady Susan found in “The Wedding Planner.� This clever and modern retelling was fully comprised of communication via email, instagram, text, twitter, and phone calls � it was brilliant and skillfully executed. I also enjoyed revisiting an unhappy and bitter Mary Crawford in “Mary Crawford’s Last Letter� and a hopeful yet high-handed Willoughby in “A Thing of Beauty.� Both stories accurately illustrate the regret these characters experience and reveal how their hearts truly were touched long ago. In addition, I admired “The Austen Factor� and “Romance and Rehydration,� which were inventive little tales that showed us a modern-day Mary Bennet about to audition for a television music competition and an older and wiser Lydia Wickham returning to the field of dating.
The small group of stories that didn’t float my boat were either a little too obscure in their connection to Jane Austen or too brief. Some stories felt the need of more resolution and explanation. Moreover, I was a little sad to not see one story inspired by Emma. But I understand how that wasn’t something the editors could control, these stories were the top twenty carefully culled from all the entries submitted.
CONCLUSION:
Looking for little snapshots and vignettes of Austen-inspired tales to enjoy? This charming compilation would definitely be one of my recommendations! Beguiling Miss Bennet offers diversity and originality while presenting an astute and contemplative variety of homages for Jane Austen and her characters, both big and small. I sincerely hope Chawton House Library continues to hold these competitions and Honno Press publishes more anthologies!
Austenesque Reviews
OVERVIEW: This is the third collection of winning entries from the Jane Austen Short Story Competition hosted by Chawton House Library. The first two collections are Dancing with Mr. Darcy (2010) and Wooing Mr. Wickham (2011). All three collections include an introduction, foreward, and biographies of each contributor and editor. Each collection contains twenty short stories, and the stories in this collection are inspired by minor characters and Jane Austen’s lesser known works, to my pleasure and delight! The stories range from five to nine pages in length and are about an equal mixture of Regency and modern-day settings. These vignettes range from sequels, prequels, and alternate point-of-view scenes to contemporary retellings and abstract reinterpretations.
MY READING EXPERIENCE:
I enjoyed this lovely anthology over the course of four days, reading about four to six stories in each sitting. If I were to judge each individual story on a 1-5 star rating scale, my average rating would total out 4.05 stars with five stories earning 5 stars, six stories earning 4.5 stars, two stories earning 4 stars, two stories earning 3.5 stars, three stories earning 3 stars, and only 2 stories earning 2.5 stars.
MY ASSESSMENT:
I greatly enjoyed this diverse collection of Austen-inspired stories and I’m so glad the Chawton House Library continues to hold the Jane Austen Short Story Competition. Back in 2010 I read and reviewed Dancing with Mr. Darcy and took pleasure in the creativity and merit I found in many of the stories. I was thrilled that this anthology focused a spotlight on some minor characters and equally impressed that some authors found their inspiration in some unlikely characters such as Mrs. Clay’s daughter, Mary Price, Frederica Vernon, and Nurse Rooke.
I loved the digital style of retelling Lady Susan found in “The Wedding Planner.� This clever and modern retelling was fully comprised of communication via email, instagram, text, twitter, and phone calls � it was brilliant and skillfully executed. I also enjoyed revisiting an unhappy and bitter Mary Crawford in “Mary Crawford’s Last Letter� and a hopeful yet high-handed Willoughby in “A Thing of Beauty.� Both stories accurately illustrate the regret these characters experience and reveal how their hearts truly were touched long ago. In addition, I admired “The Austen Factor� and “Romance and Rehydration,� which were inventive little tales that showed us a modern-day Mary Bennet about to audition for a television music competition and an older and wiser Lydia Wickham returning to the field of dating.
The small group of stories that didn’t float my boat were either a little too obscure in their connection to Jane Austen or too brief. Some stories felt the need of more resolution and explanation. Moreover, I was a little sad to not see one story inspired by Emma. But I understand how that wasn’t something the editors could control, these stories were the top twenty carefully culled from all the entries submitted.
CONCLUSION:
Looking for little snapshots and vignettes of Austen-inspired tales to enjoy? This charming compilation would definitely be one of my recommendations! Beguiling Miss Bennet offers diversity and originality while presenting an astute and contemplative variety of homages for Jane Austen and her characters, both big and small. I sincerely hope Chawton House Library continues to hold these competitions and Honno Press publishes more anthologies!
Austenesque Reviews
December 6, 2016
Beguiling Miss Bennet and I are not natural bedfellows and I think it shows.
For one, I am rarely fond of stories based in the modern day - retellings/sequels or otherwise. I already know what it's like to live in the late 20th and early 21st century. I best like to read about things that are new to me. Plus, such takes are often awkward (case in point: Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet - I know some people loved it, but it made me cringe). Not all of the short stories in Beguiling Miss Bennet are modern day, but several are... none of which I liked. The very first story included, in fact, is an engagement talked about over Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/email etc. Reading words like "selfies", "natch" and "WDYT" associated with Austen... I'm sorry, but it's so inelegant and, while it could've been an interesting use of media, I'm a little bit too purist to put up with it. And don't even get me started on time-travelling robots and battles between prison inmates (for entertainment of the general public no less).
Secondly, Austen's heroines have happy endings. So, no matter what happens in their stories, you know they will turn out alright and that's incredibly comforting, like fairytales for adults. Several of the stories in Beguiling Miss Bennet have decidedly dark endings, whether that be matricide (and by a character I've always thought would be interesting to see developed further... but not in that way!), child grooming, child abuse, near suicide attempts, incest, estrangement from one's children, seeing an ex-husband nearly die... A right uplifting lot!
And finally, the degree to which the characters whose stories have been carried on are minor ones; or in other words: I couldn't tell who they all were! A little explanation included with each story would've been illuminating to say the least.
I don't want this review to be totally damning. In any anthology there will be hits and misses and, although I have largely covered the misses, there are a few that I did enjoy:
- All at Sea by Sandy Norris - the older I get, the more joy I see in , which had little appeal when I first read Austen as a teenager. More wordly-wise and more regrets I suppose. In any case, this was a lovely bit of wish fulfilment and reinforcement of how perfectly suited Persuasion's characters are for each other. Just what I hoped for from this book.
- Candour by Price W. Grisham - a mashup of and in which Edmund becomes vicar of Pemberly. It's delightful to see Fanny, Elizabeth et al. interacting and there's a rather funny and on point cameo from Mr Collins.
- The Grey Lady by Susan Piper - the most interesting in concept of the three, this features Jane's character being written and rewritten by Austen as she edits her. Jane has quite the mind of her own, only it's tightly reigned in to make sure the right girl ends up with Darcy! Intriguing stuff.
It is for the benefit of these three stories, that I'm going to give Beguiling Miss Bennet three stars. Rated on overall enjoyment, this probably would've been a two.
For one, I am rarely fond of stories based in the modern day - retellings/sequels or otherwise. I already know what it's like to live in the late 20th and early 21st century. I best like to read about things that are new to me. Plus, such takes are often awkward (case in point: Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet - I know some people loved it, but it made me cringe). Not all of the short stories in Beguiling Miss Bennet are modern day, but several are... none of which I liked. The very first story included, in fact, is an engagement talked about over Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/email etc. Reading words like "selfies", "natch" and "WDYT" associated with Austen... I'm sorry, but it's so inelegant and, while it could've been an interesting use of media, I'm a little bit too purist to put up with it. And don't even get me started on time-travelling robots and battles between prison inmates (for entertainment of the general public no less).
Secondly, Austen's heroines have happy endings. So, no matter what happens in their stories, you know they will turn out alright and that's incredibly comforting, like fairytales for adults. Several of the stories in Beguiling Miss Bennet have decidedly dark endings, whether that be matricide (and by a character I've always thought would be interesting to see developed further... but not in that way!), child grooming, child abuse, near suicide attempts, incest, estrangement from one's children, seeing an ex-husband nearly die... A right uplifting lot!
And finally, the degree to which the characters whose stories have been carried on are minor ones; or in other words: I couldn't tell who they all were! A little explanation included with each story would've been illuminating to say the least.
I don't want this review to be totally damning. In any anthology there will be hits and misses and, although I have largely covered the misses, there are a few that I did enjoy:
- All at Sea by Sandy Norris - the older I get, the more joy I see in , which had little appeal when I first read Austen as a teenager. More wordly-wise and more regrets I suppose. In any case, this was a lovely bit of wish fulfilment and reinforcement of how perfectly suited Persuasion's characters are for each other. Just what I hoped for from this book.
- Candour by Price W. Grisham - a mashup of and in which Edmund becomes vicar of Pemberly. It's delightful to see Fanny, Elizabeth et al. interacting and there's a rather funny and on point cameo from Mr Collins.
- The Grey Lady by Susan Piper - the most interesting in concept of the three, this features Jane's character being written and rewritten by Austen as she edits her. Jane has quite the mind of her own, only it's tightly reigned in to make sure the right girl ends up with Darcy! Intriguing stuff.
It is for the benefit of these three stories, that I'm going to give Beguiling Miss Bennet three stars. Rated on overall enjoyment, this probably would've been a two.
May 2, 2016
A wonderful Austen inspired anthology
This is the third collection of winning entries from the Jane Austen Short Story Competition hosted by Chawton House Library (Dancing with Mr Darcy in 2010, and Wooing Mr Wickham in 2011). Having read anthologies in the past, I thought that this would be another interesting break from the normal P&P variation I've been reading.
I enjoyed that all 20 of the enclosed stories were based on the secondary characters, allowing them to have a voice. Though I must say that several or the stories were more dreary than I was in the mood for when reading it (I guess due to the dreary weather we've lately had where I live). I have to note that several of the stories aren't immediately identifiable as to who they are written about.
I must state that I would recommend this anthology of Austen inspired stories to all JAFFers in search of more stories about those secondary characters we either forget about or love.
This is the third collection of winning entries from the Jane Austen Short Story Competition hosted by Chawton House Library (Dancing with Mr Darcy in 2010, and Wooing Mr Wickham in 2011). Having read anthologies in the past, I thought that this would be another interesting break from the normal P&P variation I've been reading.
I enjoyed that all 20 of the enclosed stories were based on the secondary characters, allowing them to have a voice. Though I must say that several or the stories were more dreary than I was in the mood for when reading it (I guess due to the dreary weather we've lately had where I live). I have to note that several of the stories aren't immediately identifiable as to who they are written about.
I must state that I would recommend this anthology of Austen inspired stories to all JAFFers in search of more stories about those secondary characters we either forget about or love.
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