Hi friends! I am so delighted to welcome back author Jennifer to Austenesque Reviews today! 🙌🏼
Jennifer was just here earlier this year sharing about her newest Pride and Prejudice variation – More Than You Know – (which you may recall, I loved!) 🥰
Today, Jennifer is here to talk about another new release that is a little bit different. 🆕
We hope you enjoy!! 🤗
Hi all, and thank you so much, Meredith, for hosting me on your blog again today!
I’m popping in with something a little different this time around. 🙂
If you’ve been following me on social media, you may already know that I’ve been working on a bit of a passion project: my very own edition of Jane Austen’s iconic novel, Pride and Prejudice. It’s truly been a labor of love, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without the amazing JAFF community, who offered thoughtful feedback on my cover and have shown so much support and enthusiasm throughout the process.
While there are plenty of editions of Pride and Prejudice in the world, my goal in creating this one was a bit unique.
As someone who has explored many formats of the novel, I’ve noticed that most books tend to fall into one of two categories: either they’re bare-bones reprints, often with tiny print and dense formatting, or they’re academic-style editions filled with lengthy essays, footnotes, and annotations. Neither, in my opinion, feels especially welcoming to modern readers—especially those who might be a little intimidated by classic literature.
My hope was to bridge that gap. I wanted to design a book that included the original novel (lightly edited to reflect modern spelling) in an attractive, easy-to-read layout with a generous font size. Alongside the text, I added a range of bonus material designed to help the novel feel more approachable, engaging, and enjoyable for today’s readers.
So, in addition to the original 1813 text, this edition includes:
- A character guide and timeline to help new readers stay oriented
- Bite-sized facts about Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice
- A quick guide to Regency-era etiquette to illuminate the social stakes of the story
- A built-in glossary of historical terms and expressions for quick, on-the-page reference
- A book club guide with discussion questions for group conversation or solo reflection
Whether you’re a longtime Austen enthusiast who’s read the novel countless times or someone who’s always been a bit hesitant to dive in, I hope you’ll give this edition a try.
The book is currently available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover formats, with more purchase options coming soon.
Additionally, if you enjoy reviewing books and would like to join a small, informal review team, I’d love to hear from you. Early reviews go a long way in helping a book find its readers, and I’d be so grateful for your honest thoughts. If you’re interested, feel free to comment below or reach out to me via email at Jennifer.Altman.Author [at] gmail. 🙂
Thanks so much for reading—and for your continued support!
What a terrific idea to crate an edition that lives in the middle ground! I think this is a great choices for readers who want to gain other insights with their reading (or re-readings 😉 ), but don’t want to have just as many annotations and footnotes as original text to erad.
And the cover is stunning! I love the estate and the peacock being framed by such a beautiful border. 🦚
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Today Jennifer brings with her 3️⃣ ebook copies of Pride and Prejudice (Box Hill Edition) for me to give away to 3️⃣ lucky readers!
To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Jennifer!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Jennifer!
- This giveaway ends July 9th!
Sounds like quite a job. Good luck with the book, though I do hope that modern spelling doesn’t mean American spelling!
Great question! But fear not–the novel retains U.K. spellings throughout. 🙂 The only updates are to antiquated spellings, like changing “shew” to “show” and “chuse” to “choose.” I know this will not appeal to some purists, but there are plenty of editions that retain all the original spellings. As I said, my goal here was to retain all of Austen’s original text, with updates only to make the reading experience smoother for a modern audience. 🙂
That’s good to hear.
Thank you for your dedication to writing this book. I am always eager to learn more about the insights into Pride & Prejudice and the Regency Period. Thank you for this giveaway.
Thanks so much, Eva! And best of luck in the giveaway. 🙂
The cover turned out awesome! What an amazing keepsake you worked so hard to offer to the world. Happy 250th to Jane Austen and well done to you!
Thank you, Sam! I’m really happy with the way the cover turned out. 🙂 To be honest, I was actually leaning towards a different design, but reader feedback overwhelmingly favored this one, and I’m so glad I listened to all of you. I think it’s perfect!
This sounds amazing! Congrats on completing a monumental task – which, could only have been a labor of love. 🙂 ~ Amy Z
Thank you so much, Amy! 🙂
One can never have too many editions of a classic novel. 🙂
So true! Especially this one. 🙂
I never really dwelled on why there are so many editions of P&P out there. Of course I knew some were annotated or illustrated but as for the actual text and cover..never gave it a second thought. I will be open now to looking at new editions to discover what the author’s intent in producing it is. I do love the cover. A perfect frame for a perfect story. Jennifer, I’m always open to do an arc read. Being retired I read a lot…it’s my main hobby!
Thank you so much, Terri! 🙂 And I’m so glad you like the cover!
I have a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice published 2007 by Thomas Nelson/Bethany House which similarly attempts to offer cultural notes of interest to the general reader (their “Insight Edition”, apparently also available as an ebook now); however, it sounds like your edition will go a little more in-depth into the Regency era, and perhaps include less commentary on how film/TV adaptations of Pride and Prejudice handled certain bits. Should be interesting to compare the two editions!
Oh, that’s interesting! I don’t think I’m familiar with that edition. Yes, would definitely be interesting to compare. 🙂
Wonderful! I’m looking forward to reading your new edition!
Thanks so much, Jennifer! I hope you enjoy it if/when you have a chance to read. 🙂
This book sounds like a fascinating read that I’d enjoy. I like that the author added the bonus materials as those will be helpful for anybody who enjoys reading the story.
Thanks so much, Stephanie! 🙂
Anything that opens Jane Austen, and particularly Pride and Prejudice, to new readers, is cause for celebration. Those additions can only make the story more relatable, especially to new and/or younger readers. I’d be very interested in these additions myself. Congratulations on a great cover and a lovely edition of a beloved book!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Susan! I hope you enjoy the book if/when you get to read. 🙂
This is definitely a great idea for an edition and the cover is lovely!
Thank you so much! I’m really happy with how the cover came out. And the paperback looks even nicer than the ebook cover. 🙂
I helped vote for the cover choice! Love what she designed.
denise
Thank you so much, Denise! And thank you so much for helping me pick the cover! I love it too. 🙂
What a wonderful project, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing your insights on P&P with us through this edition! Congratulations! (No need to enter me into the giveaway, as I’ll get my own copy.)
Thank you so much, Christina! I truly appreciate your support. 🙂 (Also, the paperback edition is especially nice!) 🙂
Congratulations love the final cover!
Thank you so much! I love it too!
I love how it turned out. It is one that I would add to my bookshelves not just an ebook
Aww… Thank you, Glory! I have to say, the paperback (and hardcover!) look especially nice. 🙂 It’s honestly so much prettier in person than I thought it would be. I hope you get a chance to read. 🙂
What a lovely cover. All the side info is worth yet another copy for my collection. 😉
Thank you! I hope you get to add it. 🙂 The paperback and hardcover versions are especially nice! 🙂
Beautiful cover, an what an interesting concept, look forward to reading
Thank you so much, Stephanie! 🙂
This is a lovely idea, especially for younger readers who might judge a book solely by its cover. I love that your cover includes the peacock from the original edition, yet it feels so modern and cozy with the bright colors, the flowers, and Pemberley! This cover reminds me of some modern romance covers, and I really hope it reaches a lot of new readers!
Thank you so much, Loren! That’s exactly the look I was going for. 🙂 My 23 year old niece just told me “it looks like something my friends would buy if they wanted something to look nice on their bookshelves.” 🙂
Ms Altman. I am thrilled with the description of your offering. As a volunteer editor and hobby author, I think this new edition will orchid a tutorial on regency writing that will be wonderfully useful. Thank you for the dedication and attention you have put in to this project.
Lol, see, autocorrect is not our friend – type once, read thrice!
Thank you so much! 🙂 I hope it gets more students and younger people to give the novel a try. 🙂
This sounds fantastic!