It is a truth universally acknowledged that a devoted reader of Jane Austen must, sooner or later, crave more than the original six. Whether it’s the slow burn of a mismatched romance, the sly observation of class and character, or the subtle art of social warfare waged over tea and glances, Austen’s spirit lingers, and many modern authors have answered her call.
These ten 21st-century novels don’t merely retell Austen’s stories; they reinterpret, interrogate, and at times boldly reinvent them. Some remain loyal to her plots and period settings, while others transport her wit and wisdom into fresh cultural landscapes. But all of them understand what makes Austen timeless: her unsentimental honesty about love, her sharp social commentary, and her unerring sense of the human comedy.
1. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (2016)
If Pride and Prejudice were rebooted with CrossFit, and reality television it would look something like this. Sittenfeld writes with biting precision, updating Austen’s world with contemporary satire so pointed it occasionally cuts too deep. The characters are exaggerated and the tone unapologetically sharp, but it’s a gleeful, fast-paced romp through the familiar plot, reimagined for the age of dating apps and talk shows.
2. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow (2020)
Long dismissed as the dull, moralizing sibling, Mary Bennet is finally given her due. Hadlow’s portrait is slow to unfold, some may find the pacing languid but what emerges is a psychologically rich tale of self-discovery. Thoughtful, interior, and deeply sympathetic, this is a book for anyone who’s ever felt overshadowed and unchosen.
3. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (2018)
This vibrant, Muslim-Canadian retelling of Pride and Prejudice sparkles with both reverence and originality. Ayesha is a spirited poet navigating faith, family, and career in a tight-knit Toronto community, while Khalid is a conservative man with secrets behind his stoic exterior. Jalaluddin crafts a cultural remix that never loses sight of Austen’s themes: pride, prejudice, and the possibility of change.
4. The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner (2020)
Less a reinterpretation than an homage, Jenner’s novel is a bibliophile’s dream. Set in the village of Chawton shortly after WWII, it follows a group of unlikely allies who come together to preserve Austen’s legacy. Warm, nostalgic, and steeped in literary affection, this is comfort fiction with real heart. The characters may feel at times like they’ve wandered out of a BBC adaptation, but that’s part of the pleasure.
5. Longbourn by Jo Baker (2013)
This is Pride and Prejudice viewed from the scullery. By turning the narrative over to the Bennet family’s servants, Baker highlights the physical labor, class inequities, and bodily costs of the genteel world Austen’s novels often float above. Gritty, emotionally resonant, and beautifully written, it’s a subversive and necessary companion to the original.
6. Bridget Jones’s Diary (and sequels) by Helen Fielding (1996–2000s)
Though Bridget technically stumbles in just before the millennium, her sequels and her influence make her a bona fide 21st-century Austen heroine. Loosely inspired by Pride and Prejudice, Fielding’s iconic singleton drinks too much, falls for the wrong men, and documents it all with hilariously self-deprecating charm. While the quality wavers across the sequels, the original remains a cultural touchstone and a wickedly funny homage.
7. Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith (2015)
McCall Smith’s take on Emma is a quiet, genteel affair. His Emma is more introspective than meddlesome, more polite than provocative. The result is elegant but occasionally underpowered. Still, there’s a soft pleasure in watching familiar characters stroll through a subtly modernized Hartfield, manners intact and drama dialed down.
8. Pride by Ibi Zoboi (2018)
Zoboi plants Austen firmly in the streets of modern Brooklyn and lets her bloom. Zuri Benitez is fierce, proud, and passionate—not a Lizzie clone, but a heroine with her own fire. This YA novel reimagines class conflict through the lens of gentrification, culture, and racial identity, proving that Austen’s social themes transcend time and place. It’s bold, poetic, and utterly refreshing.
9. The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay (2017)
This lighthearted, metafictional adventure follows two friends on a retreat where participants role-play Austen characters in costume. Part rom-com, part emotional reset, the novel explores identity, friendship, and fandom. While the plot occasionally wobbles, it’s an endearing story for anyone who finds Austen not just an author, but a refuge.
10. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby (2020)
Quiet, melancholic, and deeply moving, Hornby’s novel gives Cassandra Austen a voice and a motive. As she seeks to protect her sister Jane’s legacy by recovering personal letters, what unfolds is a meditation on memory, spinsterhood, and the price of invisibility. Less a novel of romance than of reckoning, it’s a poignant tribute to the overlooked women history rarely rewards.
Beyond the Bonnet
Reading these books is like attending a literary dinner party where every guest is channeling Austen in their own way. Some offer pitch-perfect mimicry, others arrive in jeans with a Regency twist, and a few create something entirely new. Some celebrate her, others critique, but all keep her conversation going.
What unites them is a shared understanding that Austen’s world of wit wielded like a rapier, of flawed yet fiercely independent heroines, of love earned through self-knowledge is not a relic. It simply changes its costume. And as long as society continues to wrestle with class, gender, and love, we will always need books that speak Austen, even if they sing in another key.
