Pride and Prejudice Retelling 

 

 

As someone who adores the original Pride and Prejudice to no end, I was really hoping to love this one just as much, especially considering the added diversity and modern setting. However, this fell very flat for me. 

 

Mr. Darcy was a billionaire in this retelling (which makes sense considering the setting switch), but the author kept trying to showcase him as an ethical billionaire, when we know there is no such thing as an ethical billionaire. I would have enjoyed him realizing this over the course of the book and making the necessary changes to not be a billionaire, but that’s not what we got. Mr. Darcy was also overly sexual to the point that it was a little creepy at times. Though it seems to be a theme in romance novels that the male POV is overly sexual and is in a constant state of lust. But I really wanted pining and noticing little things about her throughout their relationship that made him look again. (In short I was looking for more vibes from the original than what I got). 

 

Elizabeth is a millennial radio show host, but that job is mostly irrelevant to the story, despite it being a form of protest. I was so excited to have this activist and billionaire go toe-to-toe with each other. But, our FMC stereotypes Mr. Darcy as a struggling security guard when she meets him, despite their being evidence to the contrary. It felt very out of character so early on. And, much to the contrast of her character arc, she ends up with Mr. Darcy, which b/c this version is an activist, I couldn’t see happening without him giving up billionaire status. It ruined her arc for me. 

 

The conversations also felt extremely forced at times. It felt like the author was trying to stick so closely to the original script of writing that it was awkward for the time period they were in and just ended up feeling forced and falling flat. Especially the Caroline and Liza take a walk scene. 

 

I feel like this had potential with an activist and a billionaire going toe to toe and overcoming differences and challenges to realize how much they love each other and make the necessary changes to be with each other. Overall, because the author worked to make Darcy feel like an ethical billionaire, both character arcs fell flat.