"A Certain Persuasion: Modern LGBTQ+ fiction inspired by Jane Austen's novels"

[cinaed]

I'm trying to be better about reviewing things, so first up is an anthology of thirteen stories exploring the world of Jane Austen and celebrating her influence on ours. Overall I enjoyed this collection, though there were a few clunkers in it (mostly ones that just repeated the original canon beat for beat just with hidden queer romances or characters, but one that decided to kill off the love interest at the end in a very gotcha way - a hearty anti-rec for "The Wind Over Pemberly" by Fae Mcloughlin).

Still, it was a fun mix of remixes, queer retellings, modern AUs, and stories where the characters are Austen fans. 

My favorites, in no particular order:

• "Margaret" by Eleanor Musgrove - The one where Margaret Dashwood and Eliza (Colonel Brandon's ward) fall in love.
• "Know Your Own Happiness" by Narrelle M. Harris - The one that was kind of a modern day Persuasion story where this guy was convinced at age 19 to dump his boyfriend because his parents would disown him if they found out he was bi, and he didn't want to be a burden to the boyfriend. 
• "Cross and Cast" by Sam Evans - The one that was a take on Pride and Prejudice in modern day except it was a soap opera star turned Dancing With the Stars sort of guy and his relationship with a dance choreographer.
• "A Charming Marine Prospect" by Lou Faulkner - The one where William Eliot and Richard Musgrove hooked up and met Mary Anning.
• "Hide nor Hair" by Atlin Merrick - One of the trans love stories, though I couldn't figure out if they were minor characters from one of the books or just inspired by an Austen book. The couple was great in it though.
• "Man of War" by Sandra Lindsey - Another trans romance, this time about the minor Mansfield Park character William Price and his experiences on board the HMS Thrush. 
• "A Particular Friend" by JL Merrow - Another Mansfield Park story, this time about Susan Price and Mary Crawford. This one had a lovely voice and I really liked the developing relationship.  

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

Ooooh, thank you for reviewing this! I was so intrigued the first time you mentioned this in a round-up, and it makes me excited to have a guide (and a warning about "The Wind Over Pemberly :/).

[cinaed]

You're welcome! I really need to get back into the habit of reviewing stuff.

"The Wind Over Pemberly" was so annoying because it was a sweet, silly romance until the sudden "surprise, DEATH!" twist at the end. It's the only one I anti-rec-- the others I didn't mention were either boring and inoffensive or just didn't do anything for me. Like I wanted to enjoy the Emma/Harriet one, but it was just plain dull.