Is that not a gorgeous cover? This was a sweet, queer, YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice, though as a straight, cis woman, it’s easy for me to call it sweet. I imagine it would be much heavier emotionally for members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially those who are trans or nonbinary.
Instead of Elizabeth Bennet, we have Oliver Bennet. Only a handful of people know that he is trans, which means most family members, friends, and acquaintances are constantly deadnaming him and referring to him as a woman. While he is attracted to men, he can’t stand the idea of getting married to one because that would mean having to become someone’s “wife.” He is sometimes able to dress in gender-affirming clothing and go out and about, which is how he starts to get to know Darcy, who had spurned him when he was presenting as Elizabeth.
The novel is faithful to the source material in many ways. We have a lot of the same characters and events that happen in the same sequence. Some of the major changes make sense, such as the Bennet family living in London, which allows Oliver the opportunity to go out and about in public as himself in a way that he probably couldn’t have done in a village. Charlotte is the only child of a single father who works long hours, which allows freedom for Oliver to go to Charlotte’s house to change into men’s clothing (and allows Charlotte to have a Sapphic relationship with a woman). Other changes make less sense, such as changing Charlotte’s last name from Lucas to Lewis or having some characters say outrageous things they wouldn’t have said in polite company (e.g., Mr. Collins telling Oliver that he has beautiful childbearing hips). Some of these comments further cement why Oliver wouldn’t like these characters, but he already had enough of a reason.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, so I was nervous about reading a retelling, but I really enjoyed this one, and I think its faithfulness to the original partly contributed to that. However, there were a couple of places where this novel didn’t work as well for me. It was a little too unrealistic, especially at the very end, regarding how Oliver’s gender was treated by his family. I can understand wanting to give that to readers, but it just didn’t work for me. I also felt that Oliver’s character needed more work. It seemed like he mostly thinks about his gender, not wanting to become someone’s wife, and his feelings about Darcy. It’s understandable that this would consume a lot of his thinking, especially as he approaches marriageable age, but I wish we’d gotten to know him a little better. Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the novel and gave it 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4, and I recommend it to fans of Pride and Prejudice, readers who like classic retellings, and anyone looking for more LGBTQ+ representation in their books.