Love Jane Austen? Here are 3 'captivating' modern rom-com retellings for you
The Next Chapter columnist Alicia Cox Thomson shares her favourite modern takes on the classics
Ontario writer and editor Alicia Cox Thomson has always felt the same draw to the stories of Jane Austen that so many fans of period dramas feel. Modern retellings, though different in their settings, make way for fans of regency romance to fall in love again with new cultures and characters.
"Austen's work resonates because she's writing about women's minds and the minutiae of their lives… issues of who you're going to marry, where you're going to live, family obligation and pressure, wanting the man you're crushing on to notice you — these are all relevant in 2024," she told The Next Chapter's Ali Hassan.
Now focusing on the narratives of racialized women, Thomson shares novels inspired by three of Austen's classic novels.
Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne
Inspired by the story of Jane Austen's first novel, Sex, Lies and Sensibility follows two sisters who are stuck revamping the rundown cottage left to them after their father dies, leaving behind the shocking revelation that Nora and Yanne were not his only children. When Nora meets Bear Freeman, an Abenaki tour guide in Maine, she's struck by their chemistry. But will their connection be enough to stay?
"This is definitely a faithful retelling of Sense and Sensibility, but it's modern and it's sexy," Thomson said. "It's spicy in the words of BookTok, but it's also very emotional. The connection between Nora and Bear is really what draws you in."
Nikki Payne is an American tech anthropologist and writer. She is also the author of Pride and Protest and belongs to a feminist writing collective called Smut University.
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
In Kamila Knows Best , Kamila has a nearly perfect life. While she keeps herself busy by throwing Bollywood movie parties, hanging out with her endless array of friends and running her dog's wildly successful Instagram account, her love life is lagging behind. So Kamila decides to start flirting with a handsome family friend named Rohan and eventually develops a crush. When a secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan, things begin to unravel for them both.
When asked about what would draw Austen fans into Heron's work, Thomson said, "It's a South Asian family, there's some beautiful food, there's lots of culture in this book and if you are familiar with Emma, you can kind of follow along the story and then be taken in by all these cultural details that might be new to you."
Farah Heron is a writer from Toronto. She is also the author of the romantic comedies The Chai Factor and Accidentally Engaged and the YA novel Tahira in Bloom.
Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Ayesha At Last, Uzma Jalaluddin's debut novel, tells the story of a young Muslim woman who aspires to be a poet, but must balance what her family expects of her with what she wants for herself. Things get tricky when she falls for Khalid, a young conservative man who is set to marry someone else.
"It is a Pride and Prejudice loosely inspired retelling," said Thomson.
"Ayesha and Khalid have to figure out how far they go with this chemistry that they don't want to explore… It's a slow burn, but it's not without its sexual tension as they are really into each other, but they cannot touch each other."
Jalaluddin is an Ontario writer, teacher and parenting columnist known for taking classic romantic comedies and giving them a modern Muslim twist. Her books include Hana Khan Carries On, Much Ado About Nada and Three Holidays and a Wedding.
