Alphabet Challenge Round 9 AKA What Would Jane Do?

J is for Jane Austen Made Me Do It, a collection of short stories inspired by and focused on Jane Austen and her characters. Love or hate her, everyone in the western world knows Jane Austen. This anthology is for those who love her. The only rule for these stories is that Jane Austen, her work, or her characters must play a crucial role which has lead to an incredibly diverse collection of stories.

Some tales are about contemporary characters and how Jane Austen impacts their world. Others are continuations or back stories about characters from her works like Emma and Persuasion. Others have Jane Austen as a ghost or her characters making appearances in the modern world. Some are written with contemporary dialogue and others are written with the grammar and style of Austen’s time. I will admit going back and forth between writing styles was a bit jarring at times.

In order to appreciate this collection you must enjoy Austen’s original works as well as the more modern takes on her work. I don’t mean Pride & Prejudice & Zombies but things along the lines of Jane Austen Ruined My Life, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, or The Private Diaries of Mr. Darcy. (All of the noted titles are by contributing authors.) Austen purists won’t have as much fun here.

My favorites from this collection are Jane Austen’s Nightmare (awesome!), A Night at Northanger, Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss, Nothing Less than Fairy-land, the Ghostwriter, Intolerable Stupidity, and What Would Austen Do? The last one is the only tale told from a male perspective. It was a nice change and indicative of who this collection is written for.

A
B
C
D - Divergent by Veronica Roth
E
F
G - The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham
H - How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
I
J - Jane Austen Made Me Do It edited by Laurel Ann Nattress
K
L
M - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
N - Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow
O - One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde
P
Q
R - Reality Bites Back by Jennifer L. Pozner
S
T
U - Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman
V
W - White Girl Problems by Babe Walker
X
Y
Z

Current Music: Just a Game - Birdy