Queering Jane Austen: 12 LGBTQ Jane Austen Retellings
I’m not sure exactly what it takes to qualify as an Austenite, but having read all of her novels, including some of her juvenilia, I would hazard I’ve made it into the club. Hopefully I come close, anyway. From my first time reading and falling in love with Pride and Prejudice as a high schooler to discovering Persuasion in my early twenties, I’ve known that Jane Austen was a writer after my own heart. She captures dialogue and social interactions in a way that still feels genuine hundreds of years later, and her characters are unforgettable. Don’t get me wrong: I love Jane Austen’s novels, and I love them as is. Buuut as a huge fan of retellings from way back (looking at you, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and Cinder Edna), I never say no to a good twist, especially if that twist involves taking a story I love and making it gay. So you can understand why I’m so excited about these 12 LGBTQ Jane Austen retellings.
These retellings range from historical to contemporary and feature reimaginings of every Jane Austen book except Lady Susan and her last, unfinished manuscript, Sanditon. There are more Pride and Prejudice and Emma retellings, which isn’t all that surprising considering how popular both of those novels are with modern readers. But whatever your favorite Austen novel, you’ll find a queer retelling here to fit your fancy.
Pride and Prejudice Retellings
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
Macmillan’s Remix series of reimagined classics has produced some retellings I truly love, and Most Ardently is high among them. It deviates from Pride and Prejudice‘s enemies to lovers storyline, but only because in this version Oliver gets to know Darcy much more quickly. In fact, their ability to be their true selves around one another is a big part of what draws them to each other. Of course, Oliver still has to deal with coming out to Darcy — and his family — as trans. It’s a delightful retelling full of fun nods to Regency England (including a Georgian bookstore! I die!).
Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg
When the queer magazine she writes for is saved from shuttering its doors by two wealthy lesbians, Liz knows she should be grateful. That’s hard when Daria, one of the new investors, is slashing budgets, canceling Bagel Fridays, and making fun of Liz’s listicles. Then the two are forced to work more closely together, and Liz sees a different side of Daria. It’s hard to keep hating a woman you’re beginning to have a crush on.
The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi
This is less of a straight (hah) retelling, and more of a modern romance inspired by Jane Austen’s characters, specifically the Bennet women. According to fellow Rioter Jess Pryde, this is a Pride and Prejudice reimagining that asks the question what if “everyone was already in therapy”? That’s exactly the kind of retelling I’m here for. Three best friends at Longbourn University navigate the ups and downs of love and relationships while making sure to put themselves — and each other — first.
Emma Retellings
Fresh by Margot Wood
Emma — ahem, Elliot — goes to college in this fun retelling about a Freshman who messes everything up and has to figure out how to build her life back up again. Elliot is more interested in getting laid than going to class or figuring out a major. She’s living it up and enjoying life and college parties. It’s all going well for her — until it’s not. Elliot spent all her time f-ing around, and now, with the reality of finals and mediocre sex, and her roommate’s asshole boyfriend catching up with her, she’ll have to figure out how to enjoy college without partying her life away.
Her Own Happiness by Eden Appiah-Kubi
Harriet Smith gets her own story in this imaginative spin on Emma. Maya (Appiah-Kubi’s modern take on Harriet) is a queer Black artist who’s scrambling to get her life back in order after everything falls apart. Enter: Emme Vivant. Emme is a girlboss with big plans for Maya, who she thinks deserves a glow-up. But the more Emme helps Maya figure out her life, the less Maya feels in control of it. Who even is she anymore? Her best friend Ant feels farther from her than ever, and Maya’s starting to question if this is the life she really wants.
Mismatched by Anne Camlin and Isadora Zeferino
Makeup influence Evan Horowitz has a knack for matchmaking. It’s a skill he doesn’t hesitate to put to use on his high school classmates. So when a new transfer student in clear need of his help shows up, he knows exactly what he needs to do — even if his best friend Davi thinks otherwise. But instead of a perfect match, Evan creates a tangled web of messed up romances. Can he set things right before he misses his own chance at romance, too?
Emmett by L. C. Rosen
Emmett Woodhouse is clever, rich, and handsome — everything you could aspire to be. But he doesn’t date. So when his situtationship Harrison says he wants a boyfriend, Emmett decides the best thing he can do is try his hand at matchmaking. His childhood best friend, Miles, thinks it’s a bad idea to set up someone you’re sleeping with, but what does he know? Miles is straight. Emmett might not be quite as good at matchmaking as he thinks he is, though. Soon, he’s made a real mess of things. As it turns out, he may not know the first thing about love.
Persuasion Retellings
Within My Reach by Amy Blythe
Persuasion is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels, so I’m delighted to see there’s a queer version out there. Anna Elliot is spending the summer babysitting her nephews instead of on vacation when she learns Frida Wentworth is back in town. No one knows they have a past, and Anna plans to keep it that way — especially since she still isn’t over their breakup. Neither is Frida, it seems, because she’s still holding a grudge. With two of her friends now thoroughly under Frida’s spell, how will Anna cope with being around the ex she never thought she’d get back?
Northanger Abbey Retellings
Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo
Cade has no interest in tagging along with his stepfather to work at Tyler Ranch this summer. He’d much rather stay home and watch horror movies. It’s a passion he soon discovers he shares with Henry, the youngest son of the intimidating General Tyler. Cade and Henry have even more in common, it seems, including the immense anxiety they feel about being queer in small-town Texas. But the Tyler family is hiding secrets, and Cade is beginning to worry they might be murderous ones. Has been just been watching too many horror movies or is something more sinister going on at Tyler Ranch and the Northranger house?
I love Rey Terciero’s choice to update our hero’s obsession with gothic novels in Northanger Abbey to horror movies in Northranger. It allows Cade to fall into the same missteps as Catherine, but with a setup more plausible for a teenage boy in modern-day Texas.
Cameron Wants to Be a Hero by Anyta Sunday
Cameron Morland wants to be the hero of his own romance for once. Unfortunately, he’s not very good at that. Romance books are easy. Real life? Not so much. But when he meets the confident, sexy Henry Tilney, Cameron knows exactly the story he wants to write for them. Will he actually be able to make it happen this time? Sunday’s Love, Austen series includes an impressive seven retellings of everything from Pride and Prejudice (Bennet, Pride Before The Fall) to Mansfield Park (Finley Embraces Heart And Home).
Mansfield Park Retellings
Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price
In the third book in former Book Rioter Tirzah Price’s charming Jane Austen Murder Mystery series, a deadly accident comes to Mansfield Park. But Fanny Price isn’t so sure it was an accident at all. Her uncle’s goodwill was the only thing keeping her at Mansfield Park; Fanny’s awful aunt and cousins would love to see her ousted. Digging into the family’s business probably won’t help her case either, but she’s determined not to let her uncle’s killer get away with it. With the help of some friends — including a certain Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy — she might just be able to find the truth and even a bit of love while she’s doing it.
Sense and Sensibility Retellings
The California Dashwoods by Lisa Henry
It’s up to Elliot Dashwood to take care of the family after his father passes away, leaving them penniless — or, to be more accurate, his father’s family leaving them penniless. It’s certainly not the time for a fling with Ned Ferrars. He’s got his grieving mother and his two younger sisters to contend with. Not to mention moving to California. This is no time for Elliot to be as reckless and romantic as Marianne. But is it worth being a little less sensible for once to take a chance on love?
I also want to shout out Sex, Lies, and Sensibility by Nikki Payne. For this list I only included books with LGBTQ main characters, but Sex, Lies, and Sensibility does have a secondary queer character (Marianne), so it deserves an honorable mention here at the end.
I love covering niche bookish topics, because it often means there aren’t a lot of other resources out there about them. But it also means there are fewer books to talk about and often fewer books by BIPOC authors to feature. That’s partly by nature of the fact that there are just fewer books to begin with, and partly an ongoing failing of the publishing industry to publish books written by BIPOC authors.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any BIPOC authors writing great queer fiction and LGBTQ romance, though! Aliette de Bodard and Nghi Vo have both ventured into the world of queer retellings with their versions of Beauty and the Beast (In the Vanisher’s Palace) and The Great Gatsby (The Chosen and the Beautiful) respectively, and I’d love to see what they’d do with fantasy takes on Austen. Talia Hibbert, Alyssa Cole, Kianna Alexander, and Adriana Hererra, meanwhile, have all written incredible queer romances. What I wouldn’t give to see them work their magic on some Austen retellings, modern or historical!
On a different but similar note, I can also only imagine what romance authors Lex Croucher and Alexis Hall would do with an Austen-inspired Regency romance. Both have already written Georgian / Regency romance with Croucher’s Infamous and Hall’s A Lady for a Duke.
Basically, what I’m saying is: keep the LGBTQ Jane Austen retellings coming.
In the meantime, if you like queer retellings you’ll probably also be interested in these other recommendations:
