27 Books, TV Shows, And Movies Jane Austen Lovers Should Check Out
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I'm Rachel, and I love a lot of things that have been inspired by Jane Austen novels!
Whether it's the well-known takes like Clueless or even newer media that incorporates the original tales, I'm a big sucker for them. I wanted to share some of my favorite reads and watches with you, some directly inspired by Austen characters and some which I just think have some element that Austen lovers will appreciate (romantic pining, anyone?). So here are some of the books, TV shows, and films I recommend if you're looking for new things to consume after your 57th rewatch of Pride & Prejudice (2005), or after dissecting that trailer for the new Persuasion adaptation.
1.Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
Kamila is certainly the matchmaker of her friend group...after all, she's the lead in this retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. She pretty much has a plan for everything, including the job she loves, the local shelter's puppy prom, and her dog's highly followed Instagram. Even Rohan, a longtime friend of the family and subject of Kamila's "harmless flirting," isn't going to distract her. Or so she thinks until her secret nemesis returns to town, with her hopes set on Rohan.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
2.Accomplished by Amanda Quain
Georgiana Darcy probably should have been expelled last year. Despite that, she's starting junior year at Pemberley Academy and is doing her best to put The Incident with her ex, Wickham Foster, behind her by rebuilding her marching band reputation and also recovering from her brother Fitz's disappointment by setting him up with his classmate Lizzie. To live up to the family name, she'll use her best matchmaking ideas (sure, many of them were inspired by her favorite fanfics), a lot of pancakes, and potentially gain a new love interest.
Get it from Bookshop. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
3.The Viscount Made Me Do It by Diana Quincy
Hanna is a bonesetter in London, working hard to build a reputation for herself amongst naysayers who consider her line of work fraudulent. Among them is Griff, a former soldier followed by the dark rumors that he killed his own parents as a boy. Griff wants to get close to Hanna to know how she got the necklace she wears around her throat — one that his mother had the day she died. But as Hanna begins to pull new feelings out of him, along with being able to actually help with his war-injured arm, he begins to shy away from the truth he's been searching for.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
4.Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Ayesha Shamsi is working as a teacher, temporarily holding off her dreams of being a poet in order to pay off her debts. In the meantime, the family she lives with keeps reminding her that she's far behind her younger cousin Hafsa in the marriage proposal count. The most recent man she's been attracted to, however, is not only one who seems judgmental of her choices, but is also newly (and surprisingly) engaged to Hafsa.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
5.The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
In the crossover event of the season, Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a house party for an assortment of other Jane Austen characters. But when Mr. Wickham, who was not even invited to the evening, is discovered dead, everyone (despite kind of wishing he was out of the picture) is shocked. It is up to a pair of the party's youngest guests — Juliet Tilney, daughter of Catherine and Henry from Northanger Abbey, and Jonathan Darcy, eldest son of the Darcys — to discover who among them is a killer.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
6.Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Zuri wants nothing to do with the new wealthy family that has moved in across the street from her family. Though her sister, Janae, has begun to fall for Ainsley Darcy, Zuri cannot stand his brother Darius, which is just fine, since she's got college applications coming up to focus on. But though Zuri and Darius come to an understanding, she'll still have to work to solidify her place in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood she loves so deeply.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
7.Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass
The same year Reyna lost her mother, her childhood best friend/first kiss/first love, Aiden, left Tobago to pursue his music dreams. Two years later, Reyna is trying to keep the Plumeria, her family's seaside resort in Tobago where she has spent most of her life, running, and the three members of DJ Bacchanal, the hottest music group, have arrived as VIP guests — a trio that includes Aiden.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
8.The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
Freddy wishes she could concentrate on learning her lines. After all, she's a participant in The Austen Playbook, a live TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene. Regrettably, her focus has been marred by Griff, a critic who has consistently torn her performances to pieces recently but also happens to now run the estate where the show is being filmed. Griff's own focus is down the drain, since all he can think about is Freddy.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
9.Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
Lizzie Bennet desires a future as a lawyer, hopping on the solving of a scandalous society murder as a launching point for her law career. But the man accused of the crime already has a lawyer, Fitzwilliam Darcy, one who is the heir to a prestigious law firm. Though she's determined to prove herself, and to solve the case before Darcy can, she realizes that the case might be more complicated than either of them anticipated, and the only way to solve it might be to work together.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
10.The Bittersweet Bride by Vanessa Riley
Theodosia Cecil has placed an ad in the newspaper for a husband. As a widow, she's in search of a spouse to help protect her son, but she's shocked when Ewan Fitzwilliam, her lost first love that she thought dead, reappears. To get past the tangled web of their shared history, they'll need to share their secrets with each other to have any chance at a future.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
11.A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
Liza is determined to prove herself to her mother, who thinks of her as the rebellious daughter. She's agreed to help with her mom's Yin & Yang Bakery's annual junior competition, but when Liza arrives, she realizes her mom has handpicked all the contestants ... and they're all young Asian American men her mom would approve of her dating. Regrettably, she finds herself drawn to a contestant, James, the most stoic of them all.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
12.Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Theodora Ettings was cursed by a faerie as a child, leaving her without a sense of fear or embarrassment. For a young lady during the London Season, this leaves her at a high risk of scandal. To make it through unscathed, the plan is to remain a wallflower and out of risk's way. But instead, she is drawn into the world of Elias Wilder, the least-liked man in high society, and the affairs of faeries and elves alike.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
13.Fresh by Margot Wood
Elliot McHugh enters college knowing precisely nothing about what she wants to do with her life. An undeclared freshman, her major is the last thing on her mind as she experiences all the parties, new friendships, and gorgeous RAs that college has to offer. This delightful disaster of a freshman year is loosely based on Emma; if you're a fan of that or Clueless, or just want a fun queer college-set book, this is for you!
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here.
14.Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli
Adriana is the daughter of gold-medalist parents, and her sister is heading to the Olympics. All she wants is to live up to the family name, hoping to earn a spot on the podium at the upcoming Junior World Championships. But her dad's lavish lifestyle doesn't quite live up to his income, and their skating rink is struggling because of it. So a deal to host the rest of the Junior World team is reached, and now Adriana is training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie — the one who barely acknowledged her existence for the last two years. But to drum up even more publicity, her partner Brayden suggests telling the world that they are together, leaving her caught between the past and present.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
15.Debating Darcy by Sayantani DasGupta
Pride and Prejudice gets a debate club update in this eagerly anticipated YA debut of beloved middle grade author, Sayantani DasGupta. Leela Bose is a fierce debater. Onstage at tournaments, she loves nothing more than to crush the competition, especially the infuriating Firoze Darcy. As she and her debate team (a clever reinvention of the Bennet sisters' relationship) ready themselves to make it to first place, Leela begins to realize that she may have misjudged not only the tournament, but Firoze himself.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
16.The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton
Charlotte belongs to the League of Gentlewomen Witches, who strive to improve the world by using magic in small ways. Her current goal is to keep the long-lost (and recently discovered) amulet of Black Beryl from falling into the wrong hands. Regrettably, her path crosses with that of pirate Alex O'Riley, who she reluctantly teams up with to steal the amulet before the rest of the world gets to it.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
17.Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev
Sonali Dev's whole Rajes series (of connecting, but not something you need to read in order, stories) are loosely based on different Austen tales, and this one is inspired by Sense and Sensibility. Yash is running for governor of California, but is trying to keep his panic under wraps after a hate-fueled incident at a rally that injured his friend. Turning to a stress management coach, India Dashwood, aka his sister's best friend, Yash will need to unlearn years of repression in order to move past his current situation.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
18.Hearts, Strings, and Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins
Mansfield Park might not be the most retold of Austen's novels, but Firkins' contemporary YA does just that, setting the story in Mansfield, Massachusetts — the last place Edie wants to be. While she's trying to set her own plans into motion, in addition to coping with the death of her mother, she finds herself distracted by and drawn to two very different boys ... the local bad boy and her childhood first love.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound here. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
19.Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta
Mrs. Bennett (a magnificently cast Jackée Harry of Sister, Sister) is the author of a popular self-help book on finding the perfect husband, though all five of her daughters are single. As she narrates the story, we learn of the arrival of Will Darcy, who immediately finds conflict with her daughter Lizzie, a community activist.
Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta is available to stream through Apple TV+ with the ALLBLK add-on.
20.The Personal History Of David Copperfield
Dev Patel takes on the role of David Copperfield in this take on the Charles Dickens novel. David's journey takes him from life as a young, impoverished orphan to a Victorian writer. This version of the story is fun and warm, and if you're wanting the Austenian charm of a historical leading man, Dev Patel is definitely your guy.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield is available to stream on HBOMax.
21.Belle
As I've yet to be given an Austen adaptation led by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, I'm tossing the underrated Belle onto this list. Directed by Amma Asante, this film follows Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race daughter of Sir John Lindsay, a Captain in the Royal Navy. Taking place in the late 18th century, so slightly before the Regency Era Austen was known for, this drama is a fictionalized version of a historical figure that features a dynamite cast.
Belle is available on Blu-ray from Amazon for $9.99 or to rent on Prime Video for $3.99.
22.Bride & Prejudice
This Pride and Prejudice retelling follows Lalita Bakshi, one of four unmarried daughters who are the subject of their mother's hopes to find husbands for. While at a friend's wedding, Lalita meets Will Darcy, an American, and her sister Jaya begins to fall for Will's friend Balraj.
Bride & Prejudice is available to stream on Starz.
23.Fire Island
The most recent of the films on this list, 2022's Fire Island stars IRL friends Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang as Noah and Howie, part of a group of friends heading to Fire Island for a weeklong trip. Booster, who also wrote the script, plays the Lizzie Bennet role, while Yang takes on Jane's part (plus, the film also features Conrad Ricamora as the Darcy-esque Will and Margaret Cho as the Mrs. Bennet role). A perfect watch for Pride month (and every month after!).
Fire Island is available to stream on Hulu.
24.About Time
Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) learned on his 21st birthday that he, and the men of his family, have the ability to travel back in their own timelines. As he falls in love with Mary (Rachel McAdams), and she returns his feelings despite a significant number of time travel shenanigan mistakes, he learns that a family member has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and has to deal with the consequences of meddling in time.
About Time is available to stream on Tubi with ads.
25.Love Life (Season 2)
I'm specifying which season here because Love Life operates as an anthology series, meaning each season follows different people from their first romance to their last. Season 2 follows Marcus, played by William Jackson Harper (who, if you've seen The Good Place, you know can act the hell out of a love story), who begins his season in the end of a marriage and works toward a future with a complex understanding of himself as well as a relationship with Jessica Williams's Mia.
Love Life is available to stream on HBOMax.
26.Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Phryne Fisher is the daughter of a Baron, recently returned to 1920s Australia and heading to a fabulous party, only to find a murder scene instead of a celebration. After meandering her way through her first case, she decides to become a private detective, much to the chagrin of the handsome Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. Romantic tension abounds between the two of them for the three-season show, and you stay glued to every moment they share the screen.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is available to stream on AcornTV.
27.Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is about a pie-maker, Ned, who has the ability to touch a dead thing and bring it back to life. Bring it back to life for longer than a minute, something else dies. Touch it a second time, it dies, forever. Having been discovered by a private investigator and now roped into helping him solve crimes, Ned comes across the murder of his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, and zaps her back to life. As they rekindle their romance, all without a touch, as it would put her in the grave she so handily avoided, the pair help the PI solve murders while running Ned's pie shop and keeping Chuck a secret. The romance in this one is perfect, especially if you're a fan of Darcy's hand flex in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice.
Pushing Daisies is available to stream on HBOMax.
