It separated itself into a book where I kind of knew a bit about the plot, but still ended up surprised. It was a bit weird to imagine P&P characters getting it on, but after a while I didn’t find myself linking Eligible to the original. Again, some of it may not be for the purists but personally, I felt it went with the plot. Yes folks, there is a bit of sex in Eligible. How else would Mrs Bennet know that Chip Bingley is the former star of Bachelor-style program Eligible? CrossFit has a strong showing, as does reality TV, smartphones and hate sex. Eligible comes with a huge dose of modern scenarios. (For example, Jane is a yoga instructor and Mr Bingley is an emergency physician slash reality star). While I think Liz is perfect as a writer, others might not sit quite as comfortably. Faithful to the original and with an addiction to online shopping.) Another major difference is that the characters all have jobs. Others are instantly recognisable (Mrs Bennet, for instance, is just perfect. For one of the characters (Jasper Wick), it took me a while to work out who he was based on. Eligible isn’t slavishly faithful to the original plot, it plays around a bit with some of the characters and their timelines. But if you’re an absolute purist, the changes and tweaks will probably disgust you and fascinate you in equal measures. Is she the person to bring this novel to the 21 st century?Įligible is the modern version of Pride and Prejudice fans like me have been searching for. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Curtis Sittenfeld. Pride and Prejudice is my most beloved Austen novel and I’ve made several attempts to try and get the same buzz with various sequels, retellings and reinventions. But then I couldn’t decide if I wanted to read it. So it was a trip to the shop after an early morning start to get my hands on it.

Since I first heard about this book, I have been desperate to get my hands on it. I feel like I’ve been waiting for Eligible for ages.

Setting: Cincinnati, New York and California

Publisher: Borough Press (Harper Collins) Why I chose it: I love P&P and I enjoy Sittenfeld’s books. The not-so-good: Possibly not a book for serious P&P purists.

The good: The twists on the original and updates for modern life. Darcy’s a neurosurgeon and the action takes place in Cincinnati. In brief: It’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but not as you know it.

2016 curtis sittenfeld