Welcoming some Pride and Protest to the Jane Austen arena

In these troubling times, we find comfort in many things and one of the best sources for that is in the classics; especially in those we know so well.

For Jane Austen fans, regardless of which book is our personal favorite, Pride & Prejudice is the preferred go-to in this category and like any good recipe for greatness, the best one for newcomers to add their own  imaginative ingredients to create a delicious read.

Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne introduces us to Alize”Liza” Bennet, who hosts her own radio show as “the DJ who gives a jam”, particularly when her family’s home at Longbourne Gardens in DC is about to be taken over by the Pemberley corporation.

While Pemberley is promising the community that their Netherfield Court will be beneficial to all, Liza is ready to raises her voice against the potential gentrification at the first chance to do so, namely the opening reception being given by the company.

As she arrives at the party with a batch of protest signs to slip into the back door, Liza thinks she has an instant ally in a waiter for the event and asks for his help. 

Turns out, he’s not who she thinks is he-Dorsey Fitzgerald, the adopted son and heir to the Pemberley corporation has enough trouble getting the board of directors to take him seriously without adding some social activism to this media event(even if he finds this particular protester to be incredibly beautiful).

Liza discovers her mistake soon enough and despite Dorsey’s efforts to throw her off her game, does manage to stir up some attention for her cause that night. She would prefer to stay enemies but when her sister Janae starts to fall for David Bradley, one of Dorsey’s good friends, she finds herself stuck in that social orbit yet refuses to censor her true thoughts about his company’s agenda:

While Dorsey is also trying be accommodating for his friend as well as his business interests, his attraction to Liza pulls him firmly in her direction.

While being on the opposite sides of just about every argument, the mutual passion between them creates a slow but steady smolder that grows hard for either of them to resist.

As Liza and Dorsey attempt to simply be the best of frenemies , that spark keeps on growing. Can they become more than that or will their opposing goals in life force them apart?:

I do love a good Austen retelling and Payne gives us a delightfully engaging modern twist to this pivotal story amongst Jane’s celebrated works.

The blend of lively humor and emotional depth given to the characters makes this book more than just another literary remix. Payne creates a romance that doesn’t overly rely on the source material; rather she gives the reader a pair of relatable people who we root for in more ways than one.

Her writing reminds me of a combination of Jasmine Guillory with Uzma Jalaluddin but make no mistake, Payne is her own literary woman who I hope to read more of as time goes by.

Books as good as Pride and Protest not only have me reading it slowly in order to savor the page by page moments of pleasure, they also make me thankful for writers who create these wonderful stories that help us take a break from the real world when needed.

Even with the challenges that lie ahead for all of us, it is a great comfort to know that we have plenty of excellent authors out there to make these times a bit better and perhaps, give us a happy for now ending to inspire us along the way.

 I have no doubt that Miss Austen would be proud in the best sense of such fine writing here: