Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
This novel by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding is set in the Hamptons in the United States. This setting is important as it describes the changing face and expectations of people now flocking to this area especially for the holiday season. Though enjoying the benefits these new people bring, the locals are always happy to see them go again. For the Bennett family who own the local bakery, it is an opportunity for their five daughters to meet new people. Their second daughter Elizabeth is the key protagonist in this story. This is a modern story of boy meets girl – she has a negative reaction to him at first, then later realises that she has fallen in love with him.
Readers who are familiar with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will experience extra enjoyment in comparing this story with the original. Most of the names of the key characters are the same as are their personalities. The basic themes in the storyline also remain except for a few modifications. I believe while in Austen’s work Lydia was the one creating all the major problems for the family, in this story it is the youngest Mary with her ‘save the environment’ activities.
It is interesting to ponder what Jane Austen would have thought about girls wearing bikinis under wet suits while surfing, or wearing crocs, leggings, jeans and t-shirts, or septum piercing, let alone other activities that society now deems as acceptable but was not in Austen’s day.
The authors have done a good job finding modern situations which continue Austen’s themes without diverting too far from the original story. The Bennett household remains a chaotic one with a pushy mother and her short-lived business ideas and a reclusive father. The oldest of the girls, Jane, is the introverted one who is loved by all especially her primary school students. The twins, Lydia and Kitty, although they are close have different aspirations. Lydia loves to put herself out there while Kitty is a planner. Mary the youngest is always in trouble for her activities to get her environmental message across.
And there is Elizabeth, who of course is the focus of this novel, as the title suggests. She takes on all the problems of the family. She is the one they all turn to for solutions. She has deferred her university studies since her father had his stroke to keep the bakery running so the family has an income. She has put on hold her desires to leave this district to become a journalist. She is the tough one saying exactly what she thinks.
The two key men in this story are Charlie Pierce and Will Darcy, partners in a very successful business. They come to this area where they meet Jane and Elizabeth Bennett. It is their love stories which fill the pages of this novel. They arrive by helicopter and rent the ultra-modern glass and steel building known to the locals as Marv’s Lament. While Charlie wears his heart on his sleeve and is forever falling in love and being taken advantage of, Will hides his true feelings and spends his life fixing up other people’s problems. He is pessimistic about relationships believing that 70% of couples split before they make it to one year (67). Of course there is also Will’s nemesis as in the original story.
This is an interesting take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and shows that however much society might change over time, individual personalities have not. Many stories have been written imagining how the lives of Will and Elizabeth may have turned out and even placing Elizabeth from the past into the present. All have been interesting reads for Jane Austen fans. This story goes back to the original storyline and modernises it to fit the 21st Century. It is also an interesting read.
The authors, Emily Harding and Audrey Bellezza both worked at a production company developing nonfiction television shows. They now have their own company and are both avid champions of Jane Austen.
Elizabeth of East Hampton
(2024)
by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9- 81761-424601
$24.99; 384pp