Now, dear reader, if you have devoured every morsel of Miss Austen’s genius and find yourself bereft, wandering the literary landscape like a guest who has overstayed at Pemberley, take heart. There exist books of such delightful wit, such spirited heroines, and such satisfying romance that even the most devoted Janeite shall find comfort within their pages.
What follows is a collection of novels that understand what makes Austen’s work immortal: clever prose, characters who leap from the page, heroines of independent mind, and the eternal dance of pride and prejudice in all its forms.
1. The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
If Miss Austen had turned her pen to adventure upon the high seas, she might have produced something rather like The Wendy—and we say this with the utmost admiration for both parties.
This Peter Pan retelling centers upon Wendy Darling, an orphan in 1780s England who dreams of captaining her own ship in an age when society insists women must content themselves with domestic pursuits. Like Elizabeth Bennet before her, Wendy possesses an eyebrow of remarkable expressiveness and a wit sharp enough to match any man who dares underestimate her.
The prose carries that same delicious quality Austen fans treasure—a narrator who comments upon the action with knowing humor, observations both tender and arch, and dialogue that sparkles. Readers have called it “a classic in its own right” and praised its ability to speak “of the most extraordinary occurrences in the most ordinary of terms.”
Wendy navigates the treacherous waters of Captain Hook’s schemes and Peter Pan’s mysteries whilst never losing sight of her ambitions. The complete trilogy—The Wendy, The Navigator, and The Captain—is now available for those who, like all sensible readers, shall immediately wish to continue.
2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Mrs. Gaskell, a contemporary of our beloved Miss Austen’s literary descendants, produced in North and South what many have called “Pride and Prejudice meets social consciousness.” Margaret Hale, transplanted from the genteel South to an industrial Northern town, finds herself at odds with mill-owner John Thornton in a battle of wills that shall feel deliciously familiar to any admirer of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
The romance blooms amidst class conflict and moral questioning, with Margaret proving herself every bit the independent thinker Austen heroines aspire to be.
3. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
Miss Heyer, who practically invented the Regency romance as we know it, created in Sophy Stanton-Lacy perhaps the most outrageously delightful heroine since Emma Woodhouse herself. Arriving in London to stay with her cousins, Sophy discovers several ill-matched engagements on the horizon and sets about fixing everyone’s romantic affairs—including her own.
The wit crackles upon every page, and Sophy’s cheerful disregard for propriety (whilst remaining safely within important boundaries) shall charm any reader who ever wished Emma had been just a touch more daring.
4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Cassandra Mortmain, seventeen years of age and living in genteel poverty within a crumbling castle, captures her observations in a diary that J.K. Rowling herself declared features “one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met.” The Los Angeles Times proclaimed it “as fresh as if it were written this morning and as classic as Jane Austen.”
When two handsome American brothers inherit the nearby estate, the emotions of an eccentric household are thrown into delightful turmoil—a circumstance Miss Austen would have handled with similar aplomb.
5. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
Marianne Daventry escapes an unwanted suitor in Bath for a sprawling country estate, where her plans for peaceful relaxation are thwarted by a dashing heir. From elegant balls to encounters with highwaymen, this clean Regency romance captures the very essence of Austen whilst adding a more modern pace.
Readers have declared it feels like “a modern-day version of a Jane Austen novel: Austenian at its core but simpler in prose.”
6. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
A village inhabited mostly by spinsters and widows, where matters of propriety are of the utmost importance and genteel poverty is managed with tremendous dignity—does this not sound like the very territory Miss Austen might have explored?
Mrs. Gaskell’s affectionate portrait of Miss Matty and her neighbours demonstrates “the strength of women at a time when it was all too common for women to be regarded as the inferior sex.”
7. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
At last, poor overlooked Mary Bennet receives her due. Miss Hadlow’s novel begins before Pride and Prejudice and shows us how a quiet, bookish soul suffers under Mrs. Bennet’s disappointment before finding her own path to happiness.
Named a Best Book of 2020, reviewers praised how it “felt so similar to Jane Austen that it almost took my breath away.”
8. Longbourn by Jo Baker
Whilst Elizabeth Bennet fusses over balls and gentlemen, what of the servants who scrub the mud from her petticoats? Miss Baker dares to show us Pride and Prejudice from below stairs, creating what The Guardian called “a splendid tribute to Austen’s original but, more importantly, a joy in its own right.”
9. Austenland by Shannon Hale
A modern woman with an unhealthy attachment to Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy inherits a trip to a Jane Austen-themed resort in the English countryside. The result is a delightful confection that Stephenie Meyer called “the best tribute to obsessed Austen freaks that I’ve ever read.”
10. The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
In post-war England, a group of disparate souls find themselves united by their love of Miss Austen’s works. This charming tale explores how literature brings people together across all manner of social boundaries—a theme Miss Austen herself would surely have appreciated.
11. Evelina by Fanny Burney
Miss Burney published this satirical account of fashionable society before Miss Austen was even born, and Austen herself named Burney as a favourite. Here lies the very wellspring from which Austen drew her wit, her perception, and her ability to skewer society whilst remaining utterly entertaining.
12. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Often considered Mrs. Gaskell’s masterpiece, this tale of Molly Gibson navigating provincial society features the same keen observation of character and social dynamics that makes Austen’s work eternal. Unfortunately, Mrs. Gaskell passed before completing it, but the ending matters rather less than the journey.
13. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne Shirley possesses the same independence of spirit, the same romantic imagination, and the same memorable voice that makes Austen’s heroines so beloved. The writing features “exquisite and descriptive language and memorable characters that leap off the page.”
14. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
For those who appreciate Austen’s satirical wit above all, Miss Gibbons provides a perfectly hilarious parody of melodramatic rural literature. Flora Poste, sensible and determined, descends upon her chaotic relatives and sets about putting everything to rights—rather like a more efficient Emma Woodhouse.
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Though darker in tone than Miss Austen’s works, Jane Eyre features an intelligent, resolutely fearless heroine with “a desperate desire for self-understanding.” Those who love Elizabeth Bennet’s refusal to be diminished shall find much to admire in plain Jane’s journey.
There you have it, dear reader—fifteen paths back to that particular pleasure only the finest novels provide. Whether you seek adventure, romance, wit, or wisdom, these books understand that the best stories feature heroines who think for themselves, prose that respects the reader’s intelligence, and endings that satisfy without insulting.
And should you begin with The Wendy, do not say we did not warn you: you shall almost certainly find yourself reaching for the sequel before the final page has cooled.
