Finally, I Understand Austin.

I’ve never liked Jane Austin. There, I’ve admitted it. Take away my woman card, since damn near every one I’ve ever met adores the writer and, specifically, the character of Darcy. I read Pride and Prejudice in high school and I just didn’t get it. Darcy wasn’t dreamy; he was an ass. Or maybe I’m just too pragmatic for my own good, even at 16? I have no idea. A year and a half ago, a friend started bugging me about this web series based off the book, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I was not at all interested…until I heard Hank Green was involved. I’m a huge fan of both he and his brother John, so I figured “Well, if Hank is involved, it probably doesn’t suck…” It still took me a few weeks to get around to watching it, but once I did, I was hooked. Finally this love story made sense to me. It all clicked and I got why women swooned over Darcy, wanted to be like Lizzie. I even felt sympathy for Lydia, wanting to give her a hug and tell her it’ll be okay.

The book, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, is the perfect companion piece. If you’ve seen the web series, it fills in some blanks. You get more inside Lizzie’s head and you get deeper stories about her life and the events. More about the wedding, the night she meets George, the “indiscretion” that drives Jane and Bing apart. It’s so well constructed and well written that it actually makes the experience of the show better. Written by one of the co-creators and one of the writers of LBD, it’s no surprise that the voices of the characters are captured so effortlessly. Having watched the series (twice, don’t judge me) it was easy for me to picture it as I read. I don’t know how someone who hasn’t watched it will fare, but I image they’d enjoy the hell out of it. For me, I understood more than when I watched the series. There were parts that maybe weren’t explained as well, and the book made everything click into place.

I’ve never been a fan of the classics, including Austin. I find them stiff and stilted, the language too flowery or dull. To be able to translate that into something modern and easy to relate to is, in my opinion, quite difficult. You want to be able to keep the essence of the story, of the characters. You want to give them the justice they deserve, but draw new readers in at the same time. It’s a great challenge, and this book (and the series) did it so well. These are characters that you can relate to and that you want to root for. Getting to experience it through Lizzie’s eyes in the book was a wonderful way to see more of this world that’s been created. To be sucked into a story to the point where the rest of the world falls away is the most I could ever ask for in a book, and this one delivered that.

On top of everything else, it makes me want to re-read the original, give it another try. Now that I better understand what Austin was trying to do, the story being told, I feel like I could like that novel a lot more. I can’t think of a higher compliment to pay. From what I understand, there’s going to be another edition told from the POV of Lydia. Just take my money now, please.