Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice [Paperback]

Jane Odiwe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Lydia Bennet is the flirtatious, wild and free-wheeling youngest daughter. Her untamed expressiveness and vulnerability make her fascinating to readers who'll love this imaginative rendering of Lydia's life after her marriage to the villainous George Wickham. Will she mature or turn bitter? Can a girl like her really find true love?

In Lydia Bennet's Story we are taken back to Jane Austen's most beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, to a Regency world seen through Lydia's eyes where pleasure and marriage are the only pursuits. But the road to matrimony is fraught with difficulties and even when she is convinced that she has met the man of her dreams, complications arise. When Lydia is reunited with the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys for a grand ball at Netherfield Park, the shocking truth about her husband may just cause the greatest scandal of all ...

"A breathtaking Regency romp!"
-Diana Birchall, author of Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma (20080711)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this pleasant addition to the growing microgenre of Austen knockoffs, Odiwe pays nice homage to Austen's stylings and endears the reader to the formerly secondary character, spoiled and impulsive Lydia Bennet. Odiwe begins partway through the original tale, with Lydia heading to Brighton. Shifting between a third-person narrative and Lydia's first-person journal entries, Odiwe grants readers unfettered access to Lydia as she flirts with her many beaus and falls hard for George Wickham, with whom she elopes. After the pair is married and settled in Newcastle, Lydia has a hard time keeping her jealousy in check as George, a notorious flirt, does not change his ways. Her marital discontent leads to frequent visits to her sisters, and it's during one of these visits that a massive scandal befalls the Wickham household. In a pleasantly foreshadowed if too abrupt conclusion, a slightly matured Lydia finds true happiness in the most unlikely of places. It won't convert anybody who doesn't already worship at the church of Jane, but devotees will enjoy. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Lydia Bennet’s one goal in life is to be the first of her sisters to marry. That dream seems to come true when dashing regimental soldier George Wickham asks her to elope with him. It takes a bit of time—and some active involvement from one of her sisters’ suitors, a certain Mr. Darcy—before Lydia and George are actually married. Soon after the wedding, though, Lydia discovers married life is not quite the round of social events, nonstop shopping, and the attention of a devoted husband that she imagined. Snippets from Lydia’s “diary” are interspersed in each chapter as Odiwe re-creates her version of what happened to the “wild” Bennet sister from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice. While Lydia’s story might be sexier than what Austen would have written, Odiwe emulates Austen’s famous wit, and manages to give Lydia a happily-ever-after ending worthy of any Regency romance heroine. --John Charles

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 351 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402214758
• ISBN-13: 978-1402214752
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jane Odiwe is the author of Mr. Darcy's Secret, Willoughby's Return, and Lydia Bennet's Story. She lives in High Barnet, North London, and Bath, England, with her husband, three children, and two cats.
In 2003, her obsession with all things Austen really took off when she wrote and illustrated a little book, 'Effusions of Fancy, consisting of annotated sketches from the life of Jane Austen in a style entirely new,' which is a light hearted celebration of Jane Austen's early life, in letters and paintings. In 2007, Jane was thrilled to be asked if Sony Pictures could use her Jane Austen illustrations in a short film; a biography feature about the author on The Jane Austen Book Club DVD.
It was a short step to writing her first novel, Lydia Bennet's Story, a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Her lifelong dream of becoming a published author came true when Sourcebooks editor, Deb Werksman, rang her one cold, December evening asking to meet her in London the next day to discuss publication. Sourcebooks published Lydia Bennet's Story in October 2008.
Mr Willoughby's Return, a Sequel to Sense and Sensibility, was published in autumn 2009. Mr Darcy's Secret is to be published in February 2011, and Jane is contributing to a short story anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It, to be published by Ballantine Books, autumn 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant romp, December 4, 2008

By 

C. J. Reno "bibliophile" (Grafton, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice (Paperback)

Although not quite up to Miss Austen's standard as far as language complexity and vocabulary usage is concerned, this sequel to Pride and Prejudice is nevertheless a fun period romp, and well worth reading. Ms. Odiwe expands on the story of Lydia Bennet, the daughter who ran off with a military officer. The novel is partially told through diary entries made by Lydia and partially through narrative, which gives us two perspectives on some of the events.

I'd recommend this book for people who enjoy Jane Austen's novels and especially for those who like the Masterpiece Theater adaptations of said novels.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Sequel, October 31, 2008

By 

ExLibris (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice (Paperback)

"The true misfortune, which besets any young lady who believes herself destined for fortune and favour, is to find that she has been born into an unsuitable family." (pg. 9)

The opening line of Chapter 1 of Jane Odiwe's sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice describes the character of Elizabeth Bennet's youngest sister Lydia to a tee. In Lydia Bennet's Story, Jane Odiwe brings to life Lydia's lively, high-spirited character as we gain insight to her side of the Wickham debacle through her eyes - and her heart.

Lydia Bennet's Story begins at the point where Lydia becomes increasingly involved with that dastardly rake, George Wickham. Lydia, who cares not to think beyond a new bonnet and how many suitors will ask her to dance at the next assembly, falls quickly under Wickham's spell. To Lydia, who is high spirited and wants nothing more than to be married to a wealthy, handsome soldier, Wickham seems to be the man of her dreams. But she finds out the hard way that Wickham's heart has never been hers and that he only wants her as a connection to Mr. Darcy and his money.

Odiwe weaves her fiction into Austen's story seamlessly, as we follow Lydia through the aftermath of her marriage to Wickham and the subsequent scandals she is subjected to because of him. We also watch Lydia transform from a selfish girl into a mature young woman who wants nothing more than to love and be loved - in style, of course.

I enjoyed Lydia Bennet's Story immensely. It was a fun story with everything I love about good Regency fiction - good writing, plenty of period descriptions and background information that lend authenticity, and romance that is exciting but not over the top. Odiwe did an excellent job of staying true to Austen's style while creating new characters and plots to make the story fresh and interesting. She also gave me a new appreciation for the character of Lydia. In an age of numerous Austen sequels, this one is definitely worth reading.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A promising story that fell flat, June 12, 2009

By 

Holly (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice (Paperback)

As I read attempted Pride and Prejudice sequels, I'm always hopeful that the latest one will be a delight. They rarely are, and this one is no exception. Lydia was never someone I really cared about as I read Pride and Prejudice. She's more the annoying gnat that keeps buzzing around your head: the one you keep slapping away. This book is simply a light peek into the life of Lydia Bennet, one of the silliest girls in all of England.

The story is told in a third-person narrative, with Lydia's first-person journal entries interspersed. The technique works here. Jane Odiwe has defined Lydia in such a way that we find out why she acts the way she does and we see some of her thought processes. Most of it is plausible. Her main issue is that she craves positive attention from her father, the man who openly favors Elizabeth, but all she ever receives is negative.

The story follows her adventure to Brighton and subsequent marriage to George Wickham. Their marriage is chronicled as is Lydia's embarrassment at her husbands infidelity, and her pleas to Elizabeth and Jane for help. Things wrap up a bit too neatly and Lydia never really suffers for her misbehavior or inappropriate antics.

A promising story that fell flat. I just wanted it to be finished.