There aren’t many novels to truly compare to Jane Austen (probably none, if I’m being honest). However, several kindred books like Jane Austen are available for readers who love her work.
Known for her swoon-worthy romantic novels (without being overly sentimental), biting wit, irony that critiques social hypocrisy, and memorable characters, both male and female, Jane Austen’s literary style stands out and has influenced several writers that followed.
RELATED CONTENT: 15 of the Best Pride and Prejudice Adaptations And Movies, Ranked
Two hundred years after her passing, Jane still has a loyal following of Janeites. Plus, readers with an undying devotion for Mr. Darcy (though I confess an equal devotion to Captain Wentworth).
All true Janeites know it’s rare for a novel to be as good as Pride and Prejudice. However, several other fabulous books are still out there to fill that Austen void! Here are 50+ suggestions.
Editorial Note: This article was initially published in 2017 and updated in 2023 with extra book choices – including more recent books published after 2017. See the bottom of the list for the bonus selections of even more books and authors like Jane Austen.
50 BOOKS LIKE JANE AUSTEN (In No Particular Order)
#1: Daniel Deronda By George Eliot
Goodreads Summary: “George Eliot’s final novel and her most ambitious work, Daniel Deronda contrasts the moral laxity of the British aristocracy with the dedicated fervor of Jewish nationalists. Crushed by a loveless marriage to the cruel and arrogant Grandcourt, Gwendolen Harleth seeks salvation in the deeply spiritual and altruistic Daniel Deronda. But Deronda, profoundly affected by the discovery of his Jewish ancestry, is ultimately too committed to his own cultural awakening to save Gwendolen from despair.”
Why you should check it out: Daniel Deronda remains a classic for a reason. It’s romantic, ironic, and from one of the greatest female writers of all time.
The depth of the characterization of Gwendolen is absolutely breathtaking. Give Daniel Deronda a chance. Then do yourself a favor and watch the British mini-series starring Romola Garai, Hugh Dancy, and Hugh Bonneville.
Related content: Classic Romantic Moment of the Week: Daniel and Gwendolen
#2: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Goodreads Summary: “When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice.
This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.”
Why you should check it out: I have a serious question for Jane Austen lovers. Why wouldn’t you read North and South?
The relationship dynamics between Margaret and Thornton are not only extremely similar to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but Thornton is about as swoon-worthy and dashing as they come!
Edited by Charles Dickens, North and South is a nice mix of Dickens and Austen. Gaskell captures both the social and the domestic with perfection. A top favorite for sure if you like Jane Austen books.
Related content: Why the BBC Period Drama ‘North and South’ Matters
#3: Anne of Green Gables Series By L.M. Montgomery
Goodreads Summary: “Favorites for nearly 100 years, these classic novels follow the adventures of the spirited redhead Anne Shirley, who comes to stay at Green Gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets.”
Why you should check it out:
If Anne (spelled with an ‘e,’ obviously) has yet to steal your heart, then read the Anne series ASAP. Anne of Green Gables has exquisite and descriptive language and memorable characters that leap off the page and stay with you for a lifetime.
To top everything off with a nice bow, Montgomery gave us Gilbert Blythe. While a piece of my heart definitely belongs to Austen characters, my absolute favorite literary couple will always be Anne and Gilbert.
Who knew breaking a slate over someone’s head would turn into quite the romance? Like Mr. Darcy, Gilbert also knows quite a bit about making large, selfless gestures. Sigh.
And if you love Anne, you want to catch another of Montgomery’s excellent series: The Emily books, starting with Emily of New Moon.
Related content: 85 Period Dramas to Watch If You Love Anne of Green Gables
#4: Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte
Goodreads Summary: “Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead and subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.
She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.
With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte’s innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.”
Why you should check it out: Catherine Morland would have totally devoured every word of Jane Eyre! If you love Austen’s Romantic Heroes, chances are (if you are anything like me), you also have a thing for Heroes of the Byronic persuasion.
So, enter Jane’s intense gothic story at Thornfield Hall, and allow Bronte’s words to invite you into one of the best novels ever. You might just fall for the mysterious and moody Mr. Rochester in the meantime…
Related content: 15 of the Best Jane Eyre Movies and Adaptations, Ranked
#5: The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
Goodreads Summary: “When the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on Diplomatic Business he parks his only daughter Sophy with his sister’s family, the Ombersleys, in Berkeley Square.
Upon her arrival, Sophy is bemused to see to see her cousins are in a sad tangle. The heartless and tyrannical Charles is betrothed to a pedantic bluestocking almost as tiresome as himself; Cecilia is besotted with a beautiful but quite feather-brained poet; and Hubert has fallen foul of a money-lender.
It looks like the Grand Sophy has arrived just in time to sort them out, but she hasn’t reckoned with Charles, the Ombersleys’ heir, who has only one thought – to marry her off and rid the family of her meddlesome ways.”
Why you should check it out: When Jane Austen wrote and published her now-famous novels, she had no idea the momentum she gave to future writers. I mean, she inspired an entire genre of books.
Because of Jane, Regency Romance is a thriving literary genre today. And Georgette Heyer writes some of the best! If you still need to discover Heyer, start with The Grand Sophy.
#6: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Goodreads Summary: “Through six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family.
By the time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply, hopelessly, in love.”
Why you should check it out: I mostly love I Capture the Castle for how Cassandra invites me into her family’s strange little world.
If you love the Bennet household, you will also love the Mortmain household. Just don’t go in expecting a romantic happily ever after…
#7: Austenland by Shannon Hale
Goodreads Summary: “Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare.
But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen; or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows.
And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?”
Why you should check it out: Austenland is for Mr. Darcy fans who can’t get enough of Colin Firth. Check out this light-hearted read if you’re looking for a book to identify with! Imagining your own Darcy-like character in the modern day doesn’t hurt, either.
Related content: Austenland: Hilarious Romantic Comedy That Will Make You Believe in Love
#8: Evelina by Fanny Burney
Goodreads Summary: Frances Burney’s first and most enduringly popular novel is a vivid, satirical, and seductive account of the pleasures and dangers of fashionable life in late eighteenth-century London.
As she describes her heroine’s entry into society, womanhood and, inevitably, love, Burney exposes the vulnerability of female innocence in an image-conscious and often cruel world where social snobbery and sexual aggression are played out in the public arenas of pleasure-gardens, theatre visits, and balls.
But Evelina’s innocence also makes her a shrewd commentator on the excesses and absurdities of manners and social ambitions–as well as attracting the attention of the eminently eligible Lord Orville.
Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women’s position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story.
Why you should check it out: A precursor to Jane Austen, Evelina stands out as a must-read for Janeites. Fanny Burney’s writing made a considerable impact on Austen. Jane even mentioned Burney in her letters as a favorite author.
And like Jane Austen, Burney had a great knack for perception and humor. If you love satire and take an interest in Austen’s literary influences, Evelina (and Burney’s other novels) should be at the top of your list.
Related Content: Literary Romantic Moment Series: Evelina and Lord Orville
#9: For Darkness Shows the Stars By Diana Peterfreund
Goodreads Summary: “It’s been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love.
Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth–an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret–one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.”
Why you should check it out: For Austen fans who love everything of the YA variety, For Darkness Shows the Stars stands out. A retelling of Persuasion, Diana Peterfreund cleverly alters the familiar love story with a YA post-apocalyptic twist.
#10: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Goodreads Summary: “A portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid nineteenth century, Cranford relates the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of vignettes, Elizabeth Gaskell portrays a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women.
Her wry account of rural life is undercut, however, by tragedy in its depiction of such troubling events as Matty’s bankruptcy, the violent death of Captain Brown or the unwitting cruelty of Peter Jenkyns. Written with acute observation, Cranford is by turns affectionate, moving and darkly satirical.”
Why you should check it out: The satire on society, the lovely relationship between sisters (though much older), and Gaskell’s keen observance skills mark Cranford as a charming old-fashioned read all Jane Austen fans should enjoy.
Related content: Cranford (2007): A Gem of a Period Piece on Community
#11: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Goodreads Summary: “Connie Willis’ Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Doomsday Book uses time travel for a serious look at how people connect with each other. In this Hugo-winning companion to that novel, she offers a completely different kind of time travel adventure: a delightful romantic comedy that pays hilarious homage to Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat.
When too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned’s holiday anything but restful – to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history.
Delightfully aided by the perfect comedic timing of narrator Steven Crossley, To Say Nothing of the Dog shows once again why Connie Willis is one of the most talented writers working today.”
Why you should check it out: Sometimes Austen readers need time travel, romance, and sci-fi to bide the time. The biting wit and humor is just the cherry on top!
#12: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies By Seth Grahame-Smith
Goodreads Summary: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.
As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy.
What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry?
Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.”
Why you should check it out: I’m not a fan of zombies. Like at all. But then Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (the film adaptation) came around, and I LOVED it. The book is just as much fun.
If you don’t mind a writer twisting the words of Jane (and ignore the prior and appalling summary that ‘ahem’ implied none of us want to read classics like Pride and Prejudice), give this one a whirl.
Related content: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Everything You Could Ever Want
#13: A Room with a View By E.M. Forster
Goodreads Summary: Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance.
Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Bertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr. Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.
Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?
Why you should check it out: Jane Austen fans are often hopeless romantics. So, for all the hopeless romantics out there, read Forster’s brilliant novel, A Room with A View.
It’s an intelligent, Edwardian love story that explores the hypocrisy of her time as Lucy chooses between her priggish fiancee and the man that opens her heart to true love.
Related content: A Room with a View (1985) – An Artistic and Stunning Romantic Period Drama
#14: Rebecca By Daphne du Maurier
Goodreads Summary: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .
The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage.
Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.”
Why you should check it out: Another Gothic romance Catherine Morland would read with (as Anne Shirley might say) rapturous delight.
There are no words to describe how much I love this novel. If you still need to read Rebecca, do it!! It’s a page-turner you won’t want to put down.
#15: The Semi-Detached House By Emily Eden
Goodreads Summary: “Emily Eden (1797-1869) was a British author. Her works include: Portaits of the People and Princes of India (1844), The Semi-Detached House (1859), The Semi- Attached Couple (1860), ‘Up the Country’: Letters Written to Her Sister from India (1866) and Letters from India (1872).”
Why you should check it out: From a more obscure Victorian author, Jane Austen readers may love Emily Eden if you want to find a more feel-good, fluffy novel to read. It’s sweet, happy, and charming. Plus, it’s fun to discover a less-known female writer.
#16: Little Women By Louisa May Alcott
Goodreads Summary: “Following the lives of four sisters on a journey out of adolescence, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women explores the difficulties associated with gender roles in a Post-Civil War America.”
Why you should check it out: While the happy ending is certainly debatable among Alcott fans (I personally fluctuate between Team Laurie & Team Jo single), what isn’t debatable is how lovable the March family is. It’s a lovely book to read over and over again.
Related content: Little Women Discussion Questions – A Useful Silver Petticoat Book Club Guide
#17: Lorna Doone By R.D. Blackmore
Goodreads Summary: “First published in 1869, Lorna Doone is the story of John Ridd, a farmer who finds love amid the religious and social turmoil of seventeenth-century England. He is just a boy when his father is slain by the Doones, a lawless clan inhabiting wild Exmoor on the border of Somerset and Devon. Seized by curiosity and a sense of adventure, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by the beautiful Lorna.
In time their childish fantasies blossom into mature love—a bond that will inspire John to rescue his beloved from the ravages of a stormy winter, rekindling a conflict with his archrival, Carver Doone, that climaxes in heartrending violence. Beloved for its portrait of star-crossed lovers and its surpassing descriptions of the English countryside, Lorna Doone is R. D. Blackmore’s enduring masterpiece.”
Why you should check it out: Perhaps you’ve already read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and a few other classic British Lit authors, and now you’re ready to venture out into new territory.
Give R.D. Blackmore and his romantic star-crossed classic a try. You may just fall in love with his masterful description of the countryside, with a good romance to boot.
Related content: Period Film Review – Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor (2001)
#18: The Heiress of Winterwood (Whispers on the Moors #1) By Sarah E. Ladd
Goodreads Summary: “Pride goes before the fall . . . but what comes after?
Darbury, England, 1814
Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s infant baby. She’ll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father, Graham, a sea captain she’s never met.
Tragedy strikes when the child vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts. Fear for the child’s safety drives Amelia and Graham to test the boundaries of their love for this infant.
Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.
Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.
Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them.”
Why you should check it out: Sarah E. Ladd is a great place to start for the Christian audience seeking sweet Regency period romances! Plus, I’m a firm believer in rewarding pretty book covers.
Related content: Top 30 Cleverly Clean Romances to Sneak Under Your Covers
#19: The Pursuit of Love By Nancy Mitford
Goodreads Summary: “Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford’s most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love satirizes British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford’s own.
The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford’s father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children.
Mitford’s wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.”
Why you should check it out: Are you searching for another (and somehow rare) witty author? Take a closer look at Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, first published in 1945. A fantastic Comedy of Manners you don’t want to miss.
Related content: ‘The Pursuit of Love’ Review: This is a Delightful and Witty Period Drama
#20: Far From the Madding Crowd By Thomas Hardy
Goodreads Summary: “Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak.
Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy’s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.”
Why you should check it out: I love this book for Hardy’s descriptive pastoral writing and his passionate characters. There aren’t words for how much I adore Gabriel Oak; I think you will too. I’m glad the latest film adaptation finally gave this romantic character his due.
#21: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day By Winifred Watson
Goodreads Summary: “Miss Pettigrew, an approaching-middle-age governess, was accustomed to a household of unruly English children. When her employment agency sends her to the wrong address, her life takes an unexpected turn.
The alluring nightclub singer, Delysia LaFosse, becomes her new employer, and Miss Pettigrew encounters a kind of glamour that she had only met before at the movies. Over the course of a single day, both women are changed forever.”
Why you should check it out: While not as romantic as the film adaptation, Miss Pettigrew remains a hilarious Cinderella story about mistaken identities. Read it for the humor and fabulous characterization.
#22: Becoming Jane Austen By Jon Spence
Goodreads Summary: “Jon Spence’s fascinating biography of Jane Austen paints an intimate portrait of the much-loved novelist. Spence’s meticulous research has, perhaps most notably, uncovered evidence that Austen and the charming young Irishman Tom Lefroy fell in love at the age of twenty and that the relationship inspired Pride and Prejudice, one of the most celebrated works of fiction ever written.
Becoming Jane Austen gives the fullest account we have of the romance, which was more serious and more enduring than previously believed. Seeing this love story in the context of Jane Austen’s whole life enables us to appreciate the profound effect the relationship had on her art and on subsequent choices that she made in her life.
Full of insight and with an attentive eye for detail, Spence explores Jane Austen’s emotional attachments and the personal influences that shaped her as a novelist. His elegant narrative provides a point of entry into Jane Austen’s world as she herself perceived and experienced it. It is a world familiar to us from her novels, but in Becoming Jane Austen, Austen herself is the heroine.”
Why you should check it out: I know I’m not the only fan who speculates about Jane Austen’s romance with Tom Lefroy. Spence takes a closer look at the evidence to do just that. I loved reading about the possibilities. A great read!
Related content: Becoming Jane (2007) – A Gorgeous Period Drama About Jane Austen
#23: Enthusiasm By Polly Shulman
Goodreads Summary: “Julie’s best friend, Ashleigh, is an enthusiast. Julie never knows what new obsession will catch Ashleigh’s fancy, but she does know she’s likely to be drawn into the madness.
Ashleigh’s latest craze is Julie’s own passion, Pride and Prejudice. But Ashleigh can’t just appreciate it as a great read; she insists on emulating the novel’s heroines, in speech, dress, and the most important element of all—finding True Love. And so Julie finds herself with Ashleigh, dressed in vintage frocks, sneaking into a dance at the local all-boys prep school, where they discover some likely candidates.
The problem with Ashleigh’s craze this time, however, is that there is only one Mr. Darcy. So when the girls get a part in the boys’ school musical, what follows is naturally equal parts comedy and romance, as a series of misinterpreted—and missed—signals, dating mishaps, and awkward incidents make Julie wonder if she has the heart for True Love.“
Why you should check it out: If you’re seeking YA books about Austen fanatics with a chick-lit flare, Enthusiasm is for you! This is a cute contemporary and romantic read.
#24: Belinda By Maria Edgeworth
Goodreads Summary: “The lively comedy of this novel in which a young woman comes of age amid the distractions and temptations of London high society belies the challenges it poses to the conventions of courtship, the dependence of women, and the limitations of domesticity. Contending with the perils and the varied cast of characters of the marriage market, Belinda strides resolutely toward independence.
Admired by her contemporary, Jane Austen, and later by Thackeray and Turgenev, Edgeworth tackles issues of gender and race in a manner at once comic and thought-provoking. The 1802 text used in this edition also confronts the difficult and fascinating issues of racism and mixed marriage, which Edgeworth toned down in later editions.”
Why you should check it out: This is your chance to read a very celebrated female author contemporary to Jane Austen. You will see wit and romance, but look for a bit more moralizing than Jane.
#25: I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend By Cora Harrison
Goodreads Summary: “When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen, she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip, and romance that Jane inhabits. At fifteen, Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship. So when Jenny falls utterly in love with Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this dashing man?
But is that even possible? After all, Jenny’s been harboring a most desperate secret. Should it become known, it would bring scandal not only to her, but also to the wonderful Austen family. What’s a poor orphan girl to do?
In this delicious dance between truth and fiction, Cora Harrison has crafted Jenny’s secret diary by reading everything Jane Austen wrote as a child and an adult, and by researching biographies, critical studies, and family letters. Jenny’s diary makes the past spring vividly to life and provides insight into the entire Austen family—especially the beloved Jane.”
Why you should check it out:
A lovely YA book about young Jane as she might have been. Adorable story based on orphan Jane Cooper who stayed with Jane in 1791 and met Captain Thomas Williams (perhaps they inspired Persuasion??). A whirlwind romance actually ensued with Jane as her bridesmaid.
#26: Longbourn by Jo Baker
Goodreads Summary: “If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah often thought, she’d most likely be a sight more careful with them.”
“In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs.
When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended.
Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Jane Austen’s classic—into the often overlooked domain of the stern housekeeper and the starry-eyed kitchen maid, into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars—and, in doing so, creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world that is wholly her own. “
Why you should check it out: Longbourn comes with a strong warning, but I included it for potential interest for some readers. While the Downton Abbey premise is fantastic, there is much to offend Austen purists (so I am forewarning you).
But, if you ever wanted a grittier downstairs take on Pride and Prejudice, try it out. Note, Longbourn is not a wholesome read. However, the historical details are genuinely fascinating.
#27: The Portrait of a Lady By Henry James
Goodreads Summary: “When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors.
She then finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond, who, beneath his veneer of charm and cultivation, is cruelty itself. A story of intense poignancy, Isabel’s tale of love and betrayal still resonates with modern audiences.”
Why you should check it out: If you love complex books with complex female characters, look no further than the classic book, The Portrait of a Lady.
#28: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Goodreads Summary: “A satiric masterpiece about the allure and peril of money, Our Mutual Friend revolves around the inheritance of a dust-heap where the rich throw their trash.
When the body of John Harmon, the dust-heap’s expected heir, is found in the Thames, fortunes change hands surprisingly, raising to new heights “Noddy” Boffin, a low-born but kindly clerk who becomes “the Golden Dustman.”
Charles Dickens’s last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend encompasses the great themes of his earlier works: the pretensions of the nouveaux riches, the ingenuousness of the aspiring poor, and the unfailing power of wealth to corrupt all who crave it.
With its flavorful cast of characters and numerous subplots, Our Mutual Friend is one of Dickens’s most complex—and satisfying—novels.”
Why you should check it out: I couldn’t make a list and not include Dickens. Of all his fantastic novels, I selected Our Mutual Friend for its satirical qualities and lovely romance.
I especially love Dickens’s (and this particular novel) skill in writing a good love story and focusing on deeper social issues. Jane Austen was also a master at this, and it is a specific skill several contemporary Regency and Victorian Romance authors struggle to achieve.
Related content: Vintage Review: Our Mutual Friend – A Romantic Charles Dickens Adaptation
#29: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall By Anne Brontë
Goodreads Summary: “Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young widow who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son.
He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behavior becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced.
It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of her past.”
Why you should check it out: Way ahead of her time, Anne wrote perhaps the first novel about a woman leaving her abusive husband.
Also, she gets rewarded with a second chance at love with the handsome Gilbert (always an awesome name in my book)! Anne’s literary achievements still deserve as much notice as her sisters.
Related content: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: An Intelligent Period Drama That Will Make You Think
#30: Dear Mr. Knightley: A Novel By Katherine Reay
Goodreads Summary: “Dear Mr. Knightley is a contemporary epistolary novel with a delightful dash of Jane Austen.
Samantha Moore survived years of darkness in the foster care system by hiding behind her favorite characters in literature, even adopting their very words. Her fictional friends give her an identity, albeit a borrowed one. But most importantly, they protect her from revealing her true self and encountering more pain.
After college, Samantha receives an extraordinary opportunity. The anonymous “Mr. Knightley” offers her a full scholarship to earn her graduate degree at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. The sole condition is that Sam write to Mr. Knightley regularly to keep him apprised of her progress.
As Sam’s true identity begins to reveal itself through her letters, her heart begins to soften to those around her—a damaged teenager and fellow inhabitant of Grace House, her classmates at Medill, and, most powerfully, successful novelist Alex Powell.
But just as Sam finally begins to trust, she learns that Alex has secrets of his own—secrets that, for better or for worse, make it impossible for Sam to hide behind either her characters or her letters.”
Why you should check it out: Dear Mr. Knightley is for those who can relate to hiding away in books (because none of us have ever done that before!) Plus, there’s a good amount of Jane Austen love to throw around.
#31: A Simple Story by Elizabeth Inchbald
Goodreads Summary: “When Miss Milner announces her passion for her guardian, a Catholic priest, she breaks through the double barrier of his religious vocation and 18th-century British society’s standards of proper womanly behavior.
Like other women writers of her time, Elizabeth Inchbald concentrates on the question of a woman’s “proper education,” and her sureness of touch and subtlety of characterization prefigure Jane Austen’s work.”
Why you should check it out: Read A Simple Story for the characterization. A great find for readers wondering what other female authors were published during Jane Austen’s time.
#32: The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Goodreads Summary: “With The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators.
Portraying her heroine’s inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, The Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunt’s new husband, Montoni.
Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni’s threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her.”
Why you should check it out: Our dear Catherine Morland devotedly loved Radcliffe’s all-absorbing Gothic novel, so why wouldn’t you? Read Ann Radcliffe’s influential The Mysteries of Udolpho to discover why Austen had fun satirizing it!
#33: Diary of a Provincial Lady By E.M. Delafield
Goodreads Summary: “When Diary of a Provincial Lady was first published in 1933, critics on both sides of the Atlantic greeted it with enthusiasm. This charming, delightful and extremely funny book was named by booksellers in England the o.p. novel most deserving of republication.”
Why you should check it out: Delafield writes with such wit that her novels are the perfect match for fans of Jane Austen.
The novel follows a middle-class wife and mother in the country with literary aspirations of her own. Written in diary form, you will love the main character’s observations on those around her—a charming read.
#34: The Towers of Trebizond By Rose Macaulay
Goodreads Summary: “‘Take my camel, dear,’ said my aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass.’ So begins The Towers of Trebizond, the greatest novel by Rose Macaulay, one of the eccentric geniuses of English literature.
In this fine and funny adventure set in the backlands of modern Turkey, a group of highly unusual travel companions makes its way from Istanbul to legendary Trebizond, encountering potion-dealing sorcerers, recalcitrant policemen, and Billy Graham on tour with a busload of Southern evangelists.
But though the dominant note of the novel is humorous, its pages are shadowed by heartbreak as the narrator confronts the specters of ancient empires, religious turmoil, and painful memories of lost love.”
Why you should check it out: This one is for the Austen fans who love a bit of humor and travel.
#35: Death Comes to Pemberley By P.D. James
Goodreads Summary: “It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles.
Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.
Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.
Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P.D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.”
Why you should check it out: While some Austen purists won’t gravitate towards this P&P sequel, it’s a fun choice for Jane Austen fans who love a good mystery. And what better setting than Pemberley?
Related content: Death Comes To Pemberley TV Review – An Enchanting Adaptation
#36: The House of Mirth By Edith Wharton
Goodreads Summary: “First published in 1905, THE HOUSE OF MIRTH shocked the New York society it so deftly chronicles, portraying the moral, social and economic restraints on a woman who dared to claim the privileges of marriage without assuming the responsibilities.
Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated, is accepted by ‘old money’ and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears thirty, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing and to maintain her in the luxury she has come to expect. Whilst many have sought her, something – fastidiousness or integrity- prevents her from making a ‘suitable’ match.”
Why you should check it out: While Jane Austen always gave us her wonderful happy endings, sometimes it’s interesting to read the tragedies too.
Wharton’s The House of Mirth hits all the right notes. Her criticism of society and the sorrow of unrealized love is heartbreaking and brilliant.
#37: The Last Best Kiss By Claire LaZebnik
Goodreads Summary: “Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook. Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life.
All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her.
Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too….
With her signature wit and expertly authentic teen voice, Claire LaZebnik (the author of fan favorites Epic Fail and The Trouble with Flirting) once again breathes new life into a perennially popular love story. Fans of Polly Shulman, Maureen Johnson, and, of course, Jane Austen will love this irresistibly funny and romantic tale of first loves and second chances.”
Why you should check it out: A cute, contemporary retelling of Persuasion for the teen audience. A wonderful read for those seeking a book about first love.
Related content: Author Claire LaZebnik Talks New Book ‘Things I Should Have Known’
#38: Doctor Thorne By Anthony Trollope
Goodreads Summary: “Doctor Thorne (1858) by Anthony Trollope is one of the charming series of loosely connected novels set in Barsetshire. This is the third book to appear in the series, but may be read as a standalone work, and enjoyed on its own merits.
While the good Dr. Thomas Thorne is at the heart of the novel, it is the romantic story of his niece Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham — a story with the playful sensibility of Jane Austen and the heartwarming cheer of Dickens.”
Why you should check it out: Does anyone else enjoy the 2016 adaptation from Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes? This book is a tremendous romantic classic to add to your reading list. Anthony Trollope has several other novels to discover as well.
Related content: Romantic Moment of the Week: Doctor Thorne – Frank Gresham and Mary Thorne
#39: Edenbrooke By Julianne Donaldson
Goodreads Summary: “Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance.
Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.
From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing.
Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.”
Why you should check it out: A fun and wholesome historical romance. Definitely for readers who prefer the old-fashioned romantic style of Jane.
A great one to read when you’re not seeking something particularly complex. An entertaining read!
#40: Old Friends and New Fancies By Sybil G. Brinton
Goodreads Summary: “Originally published in 1914, this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from all six Austen novels with new characters of the author’s devising.
Inventive matchmaking leads numerous pairs of lovers through the inevitable (and entertaining) difficulties they must encounter before they are united in the end. Old Friends and New Fancies is a gratifying read for any Jane Austen enthusiast.”
Why you should check it out: I discovered Old Friends and New Fancies while working on this list. Reading sequels to Jane Austen’s books written during the Edwardian Era is exciting. Super fascinating!
#41: Sorcerer to the Crown (A Sorcerer Royal Novel) By Zen Cho
Goodreads Summary: “At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.
But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…”
Why you should check it out: Highly entertaining and influenced by Jane Austen and L.M. Montgomery, Sorcerer to the Crown is a much-needed diverse novel. Fantasy fans who love Jane should, hands down, check out Cho’s series of books.
#42: The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless by Eliza Haywood
Goodreads Summary: ‘”A comic investigation of city morals and manners develops into a dark critique of women’s vulnerability in bourgeois marriage.”‘ — Ros Ballaster, Mansfield College, Oxford University
Why you should check it out: Published before Jane Austen was even born, Eliza Haywood would have influenced Jane.
However, her work is denser language-wise. Plus, it’s much more scandalous as she openly talks about sensuality. Still worth checking out for hardcore readers.
#43: The Princess Bride By William Goldman
Goodreads Summary: “What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be…well…a lot less than the man of her dreams?
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the “good parts” reached his ears.
Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the “Good Parts Version” to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.
What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.
In short, it’s about everything.”
Why you should check it out: True Love, satire, poison, swashbuckling fights, and so much more. What’s not to love? Seriously, read this entertaining fairy tale ASAP. It’s just as good as the fabulous movie!
Related content: 170 Best Amazing Princess Movies Full of Enchantment and Magic to Watch
#44: The Female Quixote By Charlotte Lennox
Goodreads Summary: “The Female Quixote, a vivacious and ironical novel parodying the style of Cervantes, portrays Arabella, the beautiful daughter of a marquis, whose passion for reading romances colors her approach to her own life and causes many comical and melodramatic misunderstandings among her relatives and admirers.
Both Joseph Fielding and Samuel Johnson greatly admired Lennox, and this novel established her as one of the most successful practitioners of the ‘Novel of Sentiment.”‘
Why you should check it out: An ironic romp perfect for those who love Northanger Abbey! Sure, Lennox doesn’t succeed as seamlessly as Jane, but who does?
Related content: Northanger Abbey (2007): A Feast of Coy Smiles and Charming Smirks
#45: Cold Comfort Farm By Stella Gibbons
Goodreads Summary: “Winner of the 1933 Femina Vie Heureuse Prize, COLD COMFORT FARM is a wickedly funny portrait of British rural life in the 1930s.
Flora Poste, a recently orphaned socialite, moves in with her country relatives, the gloomy Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm, and becomes enmeshed in a web of violent emotions, despair, and scheming, until Flora manages to set things right.”
Why you should check it out: Read Cold Comfort Farm if you need a good laugh. It is seriously funny and parodies some of the best classics like Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence.
Related content: Cold Comfort Farm (1995) Film Review – Kate Beckinsale’s Crazy Family Tree
#46: Miss Marjoribanks By Mrs. Oliphant
Goodreads Summary: “Returning home to tend her widowed father Dr Marjoribanks, Lucilla soon launches herself into Carlingford society, aiming to raise the tone with her select Thursday evening parties.
Optimistic, resourceful and blithely unimpeded by self-doubt, Lucilla is a superior being in every way, not least in relation to men.
‘A tour de force…full of wit, surprises and intrigue…We can imagine Jane Austen reading Miss Marjoibanks with enjoyment and approval in the Elysian Fields’ – Q. D. Leavis. Leavis declared Oliphant’s heroine Lucilla to be the missing link in Victorian literature between Jane Austen’s Emma and George Eliot’s Dorothea Brook and ‘more entertaining, more impressive and more likeable than either’.”
Why you should check it out: First published in 1865, Mrs. Oliphant remains an underrated Victorian female author known for her wit and irony—a definite must-read. There’s even a little bit of Emma in here.
#47: Ross Poldark (The Poldark Saga #1) By Winston Graham
Goodreads Summary: “In the first novel in Winston Graham’s hit series, a weary Ross Poldark returns to England from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth—believing Ross to be dead—is now engaged to his cousin. Ross has no choice but to start his life anew.
Thus begins the Poldark series, a heartwarming, gripping saga set in the windswept landscape of Cornwall. With an unforgettable cast of characters that spans loves, lives, and generations, this extraordinary masterwork from Winston Graham is a story you will never forget.”
Why you should check it out: You’ve seen the exquisite period drama series starring Aidan Turner, right? Well, the book series is worth checking out too.
Related content: The Top 35 Period Dramas To Satisfy Your Poldark Addiction
#48: Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey #12) By Dorothy L. Sayers
Goodreads Summary: “Gaudy Night stands out even among Miss Sayers’s novels. And Miss Sayers has long stood in a class by herself.”
—Times Literary Supplement
“The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists.
Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers’s work, praising her “great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail.” The third Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Gaudy Night is now back in print with an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master.
Gaudy Night takes Harriet and her paramour, Lord Peter, to Oxford University, Harriet’s alma mater, for a reunion, only to find themselves the targets of a nightmare of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats.”
Why you should check it out: Often regarded as the best of Dorothy Sayers’ novels, why not give it a try? There’s a significant bit of characterization, romance, and an interesting look at women’s education.
#49: Excellent Women By Barbara Pym
Goodreads Summary: “Excellent Women is one of Barbara Pym’s richest and most amusing high comedies.
Mildred Lathbury is a clergyman’s daughter and a mild-mannered spinster in 1950s England. She is one of those “excellent women,” the smart, supportive, repressed women who men take for granted.
As Mildred gets embroiled in the lives of her new neighbors–anthropologist Helena Napier and her handsome, dashing husband, Rocky, and Julian Malory, the vicar next door–the novel presents a series of snapshots of human life as actually, and pluckily, lived in a vanishing world of manners and repressed desires.”
Why you should check it out: A wonderful book full of irony about an independent spinster during Post-WWII Britain.
When it comes to books to read, if you like Jane Austen, this should be at the top of your list. If you have not discovered Barbara Pym, there’s no better time than the present!
#50: The Woman in White By Wilkie Collins
Goodreads Summary: “‘In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop… There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white’
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright’s eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his ‘charming’ friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison.
Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.”
Why you should check it out: Like Lady Susan, Collins tells his story through letters. Furthermore, the Gothic mystery is super intriguing.
The Woman in White makes a great reading selection for fans of Austen and Dickens. However, it is slightly longer than it needed to be.
BONUS – MORE BOOKS AND AUTHORS SIMILAR TO JANE AUSTEN
Amber & Autumn of The Silver Petticoat Review chose these bonus book selections in 2023. Happy reading!
More Books For Jane Austen Fans:
- The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley
- Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
- Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia
- Being a Jane Austen Mystery Book Series (15 books total) – Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron is the first book.
- The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot
- Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
- A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright
- Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
- The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
- Georgana’s Secret by Arlem Hawks
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
- Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
- His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel by Nancy Kelley
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
- Indiscretion by Jude Morgan
- The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
- Jane Austen Heroes Series by Amanda Grange
- Jane Austen Lives Again, Project Darcy, or Searching For Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe
- Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress
- The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
- Jane Austen’s First Love by Syrie James
- Jane Austen’s Letters by Deirdre Le Fey
- Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility by Hillary Manton Lodge
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse
- The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
- Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig
- Miss Austen and Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby
- Miss Lattimore’s Letter by Suzanne Allain
- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
- The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
- The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
- The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen by Shannon Winslow
- Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral by Jessie Redmon Fauset
- Possession by A. S. Byatt
- Pride by Ibi Zoboi
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
- The Rajes Book Series by Sonali Dev
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Sanditon by Kate Riordan
- The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen
- The Siren of Sussex: The Belles of London (Book 1), by Mimi Matthews
- Sister Novelists by Devoney Looser
- The Parasol Protectorate Series (Soulless is Book 1) by Gail Carriger
- Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
- Unmarriageable by Somah Kamal
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
- Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
So, fellow Jane Austen fans, what books will you be reading? Do you have any suggestions for books similar to Jane Austen? Sound off below.
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Oh, this is a surprising list. I have read about half of the recommended ones, and there are some of my favourites (next to Austen, of course) and also some of my burn-it-with-fire. Yes, I am an Austen Purist. But I also mean “Portrait of a Lady”, which is one of the few books I wanted to throw away rather than donate.
On the other hand, why have I never heard of the 1914 fanfiction?
I also recommend Selma Lagerlöf, particularly “Lilliecronas Home” for sweet old-fashioned romance and rich characters.
Great list! I loved seeing The Princess Bride on here. It seems the movie gets all the glory but the book is even better.
Thanks for sharing this list. I discovered so many goodies here and added them to my reading list. Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen story so of course I added For Darkness Shows the Stars to my reading list. Last night, I couldn’t resist and bumped it to the top. I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning reading. I could not put it down. It was wonderful! So wonderful! My heart literally ached as I read the story and then I wept. By the end, I was smiling. A wonderful, wonderful, read! Time to start the next one! 😉
I’m a member of an Austen Fan Fiction group on Goodreads. We read “For Darkness…” as a group and most loved it.
If you’re a Persuasion fan, Catherine, let me recommend “The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen” to you. It explores the source of the story and a plausible happy ending for Jane herself. Wonderful!
Great list!!! I’m a member of two Austen bookclubs and we have read a good portion of the list!(many worked for me and some didn’t) I’m not an Austen purist. I love that you included #37. Claire LaZebnik has three other Austen YA books that are pretty good too. Especially the Mansfield Park one “The Trouble with Flirting”. “North and South” is a must but even closer to Austen for me is “Wives and Daughters”. While she didn’t finish it, her publisher tells us how she was planning doing that. The adaptation is lovely in my view. Bizarre fact: Gaskell passed in Alton, not many miles from Chawton. “The Summer Before the War” by Helen Simonson
Julie klassen needs to be on this list
Wow! What an incredible list. I love both Georgette Heyer and Julianne Donaldson’s books. I would also recommend Julie Klassen as an Austen-style type author.
Thanks, Brittaney!
Excellent list, love your recommendations. Would like to suggest Madselin, by Norah Lofts, The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough, Precious Bane by Mary Webb, A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute, An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters and The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. Thank you for your blog.
I saved this list and just now read it. So happy for all the recommendations! I am a knit-a-holic, so I listen to audiobooks as I knit. I just listened to all 12 books in the Poldark Series. I couldn’t help myself. They are outstanding!
Not a bad list, but there are some great variations out there. For something a little different than most, I recommend “I Could Write a Book,” an Emma story based in the 1970’s by American historical Austenesque novelist Karen M. Cox.
Reading Sense and Sensibility right now under lockdown. Plenty of time. Thanks for the other titles. Interesting.
What an amazing list! I would add a couple of recent YA books to it that I’ve just read: Seeking Mansfield and Off Script by Kate Watson. Great contemporary retellings of Mansfield Park and Emma set around a theater and Hollywood backdrop. I loved them!
Thank you! And thanks for the recommendations. 🙂 They sound interesting!
Definitely BECOMING JANE AUSTEN BY JON SPENCE is a must read. It’s the biography of the real-life Jane Austen, and more compelling than fiction.
I agree. That book is very compelling and the evidence convincing.
I’ve read many, but several new titles. Thank you for the list. But no zombies, please. 🙂
Please, stop with the Colin Firth. No one compares with the portrayal by David Rintoul opposite Elisabeth Garvie in the Masterpiece Theatre production about 15 years earlier. Even Judy Parfitt’s Lady Catherine was far, far superior. Thank you for the recommendations, but I say no to Charlotte Bronte. Anyone who hates the works of Jane Austen is not someone whose work I care to read again.
You are welcome to your opinion, of course! I happen to appreciate both Firth and Rintoul’s performances. And yes, not everyone likes Charlotte Bronte. But her opinions on Austen were over 150 years ago. So, it’s just her opinion from a different time. I don’t see the point in holding a grudge against her. Many people enjoy both female writers. I appreciate both women writing in a time that was difficult for women and admire them both.
Hello,
What a precious list ! I am definitely going to read your suggestions. I have already read some of them, and I loved them all. The statistics is in your favor.
Have a wonderful day
Montaine
Great list. I really enjoyed Longbourn. I guess I’m not a purist.
Some excellent suggestions here. Best wishes to you both.
Thank you! Best wishes. 🙂
I would have liked to see “Agnes Grey” on the list. But it is a great list! I can’t wait to read some of these.
Also a good one! I hope you find some great new books to read. 🙂