“I’m one of four siblings,” Sittenfeld said. If you are a novelist, you learn that lesson repeatedly.' 'I've always known you cannot please everyone. Luckily, when it comes to reviews and would-be purist Janeites, Sittenfeld has been prepared since childhood. When writing her version, Sittenfeld said she had a copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' open on her lap and that close followers of Jane Austen have picked up on the amount of parallels between the two books.Īmong positive reviews that have looked on the novel with a fun-loving eye, the book has also received a few high-profile reviews that have been critical of the retelling.

Of course, his neurosurgeon friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, disapproves. Bennet is intent on setting up Jane, nearing 40, with a former contestant on the Bachelor-like reality show ‘Eligible,’ Chip Bingley. In “Eligible,” Sittenfeld has Liz and Jane Bennet return home from New York City to Cincinnati in order to care for their aging parents and, in the process, fall back into the hands of their matchmaking mother.

Louis-based author of best-sellers such as “Prep” and “American Wife,” was chosen as one of six contemporary novelists tasked with retelling Austen’s classic stories as part of London-based The Austen Project. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is magnificent but I would not say it is the Bible.” “They don’t remember the content, it is lots of parties and gossip and romance, and think it is like the Bible. “The kind of person who is most resistant to ‘Eligible,’ my suspicion, is someone who hasn’t read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for 40 years and thinks they remember but they actually don’t,” Sittenfeld said. Interestingly enough, the Janeites haven’t been Sittenfeld’s biggest source of criticism for the now-best-selling novel: That translates as some people thinking: ‘Any derivation of her stories, I would love to read … any fan fiction, anything that’s inspired by Austen, I love.’ That can also translate into people thinking: ‘Those novels should not be touched, they should be left alone.’” “You have to have a pretty thick skin,” Sittenfeld told St.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that if a writer makes reference to Jane Austen in her works, she could likely incur what we’re calling “the wrath of the Janeites.” Or, at least, that’s some of what author Curtis Sittenfeld has experienced since the release of her novel “ Eligible,” which is a modern retelling of Austen’s most famous book “ Pride and Prejudice.”

2016 curtis sittenfeld