Bad Austen: The Worst Stories Jane Never Wrote [Paperback]

Peter Archer (Author), Jennifer Lawler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Imagine Mansfield Park set on the Jersey Shore. Or Mr. Darcy heading up the Starship Enterprise. Or Emma Woodhouse traveling through time to indulge her matchmaking.

If you think that sounds like bad Austen, you couldn't be more right. It is a truth universally acknowledged that an author as popular as Jane Austen should be imitated, expanded upon, and parodied. Now, in the tradition of the Bad Hemingway and Bad Faulkner contests, comes a new collection of hilarious efforts to write the

worst excerpt from the novel Jane Austen never wrote.

Bad Austen: Because the only thing better than good Austen is bad Austen!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Archer is an editor at Adams Media and author of The Quotable Intellectual and I Watch, Therefore I Am. In his life he has been a college instructor, a convenience-store clerk, and a short-order cook, as well as a lifelong fan of Jane Austen. He lives in Wareham, MA.

Jennifer Lawler is a writer and editor and the author or coauthor of more than thirty books. Love of Jane Austen may have convinced her to earn a PhD in English Literature, but it was the love of laughter that made her beg to help create Bad Austen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (November 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440511853
• ISBN-13: 978-1440511851
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,947,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Very Good Stories in Here November 4, 2011

By Jennifer Robertson

Format:Paperback

There are also some very bad ones. This was an online contest and I was able to read most of the stories there, before publication. The purpose of the contest was to write bad Jane Austen stories, according to the book's title. The stories should have been enjoyable, as well as written in the style of Austen, but be about something that she would never write. Many of these stories are good stories, very entertaining, and some of them are just unreadable. The real gem in the book is the story "Virtue and Voracity". It's about American football, as written by Austen. This one holds most to her writing style, is entertaining and funny. I have no idea why they buried it near the back of the second section.

I enjoyed reading most of the entries and I recommend it to all Jane Austen fans. This book is definitely worth a look!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great gift May 10, 2013

By T.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My wife is enjoying this gift as she is a long tim Jane Austen fan. She reads a lot and like to read.