Tag: Jane Austen

Posted in Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Being a Jane Austen Murder Mystery Spin-Off: In Want of a Suspect by Tirzah Price

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

In Want of a Suspect (A Lizzie & Darcy Mystery), by Tirzah Price, (Nov. 2024, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063278028

Ages 12+

The Jane Austen Murder Mysteries brought some of the author’s favorite characters to cozy mystery life, but author Tirzah Price gives us more in a new spin-off starring Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy! In Want of a Suspect features Lizzie, working as a solicitor in her father’s firm, and Darcy working as a solicitor in his family’s firm, Pemberley. Lizzie’s called in to investigate a suspicious warehouse fire and locate a person of interest seen at the location… which leads Lizzie to a woman Darcy once courted. When the key suspect turns up dead and Lizzie doggedly refuses to give up her investigation, she may be putting her own life on the line next. The interaction between Lizzie and Darcy makes the story. It’s alternately playful and cautious as the two blend their personal and professional lives and navigate expectations of young men and women in Austen’s time. Lizzie’s feelings for Darcy are in direct conflict with the knowledge that she would be expected – not by Darcy, but society – to leave her work and become a homemaker; Darcy feels the pressure to declare his intentions to Lizzie’s parents if he calls on her at home, relying instead on accompanying her on her investigations. The mystery itself is perfectly cozy, with the deaths occuring off-page; plot twists keep the whodunnit moving. You don’t need to have read the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries to jump into In Want of a Suspect, but it will be helpful as Price refers to previous events. Other characters from Austen’s novels make appearances. If you have mystery fans and Austen readers – YA and beyond! – this is a great add to your shelves.

Posted in Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

More manga classics! Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

austenSense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen (adapted by Stacy King)/illustrated by Po Tse, (Udon Entertainment/Morpheus Studios, Aug. 2016). $19.99 ISBN: 9781927925638

Recommended for ages 12+

Udon’s Manga Classics line continues to put out the most popular literary classics in manga format, no doubt to the relief to high school and college students everywhere. This time out, I read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. When sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood’s father dies, their family is forced by family finances and turmoil to move to a cottage in Devonshire. Elinor has high hopes for her former romantic interest, Edward, while Marianne falls for John Willoughby – who seems to be hiding something. Colonel Brandon, an older man, also shows interest in Marianne, but she’s initially afraid that he’s too old for her. Similar to Pride and Prejudice, we have romantic entanglements and complicated relationships. Manga fans who also want some reinforcement of the Austen classic will appreciate this more visual layout of all the relationships in this story. Great for middle, high school, and college students.

 

Posted in Graphic Novels, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Pride and Prejudice goes manga!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

pride and prejudice mangaPride and Prejudice, Manga Classics, by Jane Austen (adapted by Stacy King)/illustrated by Po Tse. (Udon Entertainment/Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC, Aug. 2014). $19.99 ISBN: 9781927925188

Recommended for ages 12+

I’ll admit it – I’ve never been a huge Austen fan. My taste in classics runs more toward the Bronte sisters, filled with more angst, rage, crazy wives locked away, that whole gothic thing with the moors. Lately, I’ve been bound and determined to re-read Austen, though, and decided to start with Stacy King’s manga adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

I loved this retelling! Po Tse’s manga style art is lush and sophisticated, with sweeping panels and beautiful attention to detail. There are great little winks to the manga style I’m more familiar with (I have three sons, therefore I have watched much Pokémon), like the cartoony, wild expressions of absolute joy or despair, meant to encourage a reaction from the reader, that enhanced my enjoyment of this story.

The basic story is all here – the five Bennett daughters, the overbearing mother trying to marry them off, the headstrong Lizzie and the prideful Mr. Darcy – all here, with all the supporting players. The manga style allows for exaggerated facial expressions, adding a relatable dimension to the more restrained drawing room drama.

The book reads in manga style: that is, from right to left, and a note to readers at the end of the book explains this. There’s a letter to the reader from Stacy King, discussing the appeal of Pride and Prejudice to modern audiences, particularly teenagers.

This is a great introduction to the classics for tweens and teens, especially those who may find the classics “boring”. I’d love to get a few copies of these manga classics on my library shelves and get kids reading them in preparation for the real thing – it lays a great groundwork and adds faces to put to the names, so when they do pick up the book, they’ll be more familiar with the characters and the world where the story takes place.

And heck, I’m going to sit down and read Pride and Prejudice again, myself.