Austenesque Books
Resolution is a modern retelling of the Jane Austen classic Persuasion. Instead of sailors, we have academics and instead of Bath, we have Carmel.
Our story opens with Anne Elliott packing up the family home. Her father, a professor at the University of California, is book smart but a financial idiot. In an attempt to recoup his losses from a disastrous business investment, he rents out the family home to the Crofts, who happen to be the brother-in-law and sister of Derrick Wentworth, Anne’s former love. They met while students at university and had an acrimonious parting the spring of her junior year.
Now thirty-five, she’s dated other men, but no one has made as deep dents in her heart as had Derrick Wentworth. We have the selfish father, the odious sister, and whining malcontented sister set against the backdrops of California cities of Berkeley and Carmel.
There is commentary on academia, grief, love in the modern age, and marriage in the modern age, and stubborn young men who learn to regret their arrogance and the women who love them.
Reviews
“Resolution is an inspiring and empowering modern-day Persuasion adaptation. A perfect choice for fans of Anne Elliot!”
— Meredith, Austenesque Reviews
“[Resolution] a fast-paced modern romance filled with rich fleshed out characters that are realistic, flawed, and endearing. The northern California setting provides a luscious backdrop that explores the various physical and social communities of the Bay Area.“
— Risa SJ, Amazon reviewer
“Normally I'd run a mile from modern-day takes on Jane Austen, because translating Austen's nuanced, clever language, plots and characters into a time two centuries later rarely works at all. But Johnson succeeds quite brilliantly. She has a deft hand with characterization, bringing her version of Anne and her ex-fiancé to life and retaining enough of the Austen original storyline to be recognizable in its new setting.”
— Anna O., Amazon reviewer
Using the mystery writing world as a backdrop, Pen and Prejudice is a modern pastiche of the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice, but instead of our witty, playful heroine and attractive but arrogant suitor willfully misunderstanding each other while attending balls and dinner parties in the nineteenth century, they metaphorically duke it out in the twentieth at mystery writing conferences. A cross between I Don’t Know How She Does It and Bridget Jones’ Diary, this novel is a romantic comedy that provides an insider look into the struggles facing most writers of genre fiction.
Reviews
“Pen and Prejudice is marvelous… the gold standard for contemporary Austenesque fiction—and a delightful novel, even without the Austen hook.”
— H. Bok, Amazon user
“Pen and Prejudice is marvelous… the gold standard for contemporary Austenesque fiction—and a delightful novel, even without the Austen hook.”
— H. Bok, Amazon user