Pride & Prejudice Book Club Podcast

Author Interview: J Dawn King

This week we’re joined by a true gem in the JAFF world: J. Dawn King herself (also known as Joy D. King and Christie Capps)!
Throughout the episode, Joy reflects on the vibrant JAFF community, the unexpected joys of becoming a writer, and the incredible story of how a doctor’s advice after a stroke led to a whole new life as a beloved author with over 30 books to her name. We also get a tease for Joy’s most ambitious project yet: a sweeping Mediterranean treasure hunt that brings together Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Bennet in a globe-trotting, clue-solving adventure inspired by movies like National Treasure and Indiana Jones.
Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to her work, you’ll walk away with a fresh appreciation for the heart behind these beloved variations, and maybe a little bit of inspiration to write your own!
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
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Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins's Widow - By Timothy Underwood

How do you build a relationship when the past won’t leave you alone?
This week on The Pride and Prejudice Book Club, Emilie and Sharon discuss Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins’s Widow by Timothy Underwood, a variation that explores Elizabeth Bennet’s emotional healing after a traumatic early marriage to an awful Mr. Collins. When she becomes a widow and takes over Longbourn, Elizabeth isn’t looking for love… but a surprising friendship with Mr. Darcy begins to change everything.
One co-host is ready to be buried with this book, while the other wrestles with why this variation didn’t quite click for her. Their conversation dives into how personal taste shapes reading experiences, and why there’s room for every kind of reader (and variation) in the P&P universe!
We don’t always agree on enjoyment of books we read, but that’s half the fun. Whether you’re Team “Bury Me With This Book” or Team “I'm Not Mad At It,” we hope you’ll enjoy the ride.
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!
 

Betrothed to Mr Darcy - By Lin Mei Wei

What if a single rumor about a duel that never happened was enough to upend Elizabeth Bennet’s life and tie her fate to Mr. Darcy?
In this episode, we dive into Betrothed to Mr. Darcy by Lin Mei Wei, a variation that begins with a scandal and unfolds into a surprisingly tender (and occasionally bonkers) love story. With a marriage rooted in obligation, Elizabeth’s feelings build slowly but hit hard. And as for Darcy, he’s already quietly smitten...but definitely feeling insecure!
We explore the novel’s unique blend of romantic tension, high society intrigue, and emotional depth, including covert letters, generational trauma, and one very memorable library scene. Plus, we reflect on the sprawling (and messy) Darcy family, the burden of guardianship, and how sheltered both Elizabeth and Georgiana really are.
Also: fanfic tangents, spicy scenes, and Sharon’s head-canon Lizzy in all her confident glory.
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!

The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh - By Paige Badgett

What made Lady Catherine into the formidable force we meet in Pride and Prejudice? This week, we're diving into Paige Badgett’s novel The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and guess what? Alicia's baaaaack!
After her summer break, she’s rejoining us to unpack this villain origin story and all the surprising tenderness inside it.
Together, we explore the dynamics of sisters, the long shadows cast by grief, and the very Rhett-Butler-esque qualities of Sir Lewis de Bourgh. It’s a fascinating reminder that a woman we love to hate might just be more complicated than we ever gave her credit for.
 
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!

The Winter of Our Discontent - By Grace Gibson

This week, we're still recovering emotionally after devouring The Winter of Our Discontent by Grace Gibson (confession: we both read it in a single night!)
From the forced marriage premise to the “delicious angst” that had some of us (*cough* Sharon) crying at 1 a.m., this episode dives deep into what worked, what had us giggling, and what made us certain that we needed at least 200 more pages of this story!
We explore Darcy’s resentment arc, Elizabeth’s unflappable dedication to being the best mistress of Pemberley she could be, and a beautifully written sisterhood with Georgiana that gave us all the feels. 
Plus: an impromptu fanfic brainstorm session! 
Let us know your favorite angsty JAFF picks: we're always ready to cry (happily) over fictional heartbreak ❤️
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!

Mr Darcy's Mail-Order Bride - By J Dawn King

What do you get when you cross Pride and Prejudice with Sarah, Plain and Tall?
You're about to find out!
This week, we dive into Mr. Darcy’s Mail-Order Bride by J. Dawn King, a variation that moves our favorite couple from Hertfordshire to post–Civil War Oregon and swaps empire-waist dresses and tea rooms for sturdy walking boots and logging camps.
We chat about the charm (and chaos) of the mail-order bride trope, what it takes to fall in love after "I do," and how far a variation can stray while still keeping Austen's heart. 
We also go off on a big tangent about the upcoming Netflix Pride & Prejudice adaptation, and lay out our "wish list" items for what we hope is included. (Spoiler: Emilie reeeeeally wants a Darcy that smiles and more walks at Rosings!)
So grab your bonnet and join us for a fun, thoughtful ride through this Oregon-flavored variation and beyond!
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!

Nine Ladies - By Heather Moll

Have you ever wished you could step into the world of Pride and Prejudice, if only for a day? In Heather Moll’s Nine Ladies, that fantasy comes true... with a time-travel twist that had us completely hooked.
Co-hosts Emilie and Sharon are absolutely swooning over this Pride and Prejudice variation with a deliciously Outlander-esque twist! When modern-day Elizabeth finds herself flung back to Regency-era Pemberley, she must navigate corsets, strange customs, and a very compelling Mr. Darcy. But things take an unexpected turn when he follows her back to the 21st century.
Now what?
Because while they’ve fallen in love across time, reality isn't so easily rewritten. Elizabeth can’t see herself giving up her independence to live in the 1800s, and Darcy, a literal man out of time, can’t just forge a new life in the modern world without consequences. So how can they possibly make it work?
We dig into all the juicy details, from time-travel ethics to Darcy’s hilarious discomfort with shorts and spicy food. Heather Moll does an amazing job balancing fantasy with thoughtful realism, especially in crafting an ending that actually earns its happily ever after.
Also on the table? Corsets, heartbreak, and whether you’d choose plumbing or a cravat-wearing Darcy. You know, the important things.
📣 Book Clubbers, weigh in: Would you stay in 1812 for love, or convince Darcy to make a new life in your world?
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter

An Offer of Marriage - By Amy D'Orazio

There are JAFF stories, and then there are JAFF rollercoasters, and Amy D’Orazio's An Offer of Marriage is definitely the latter! Emilie Davis is joined this week by co-host Sharon Cortes to unpack the bonkers-in-the-best-way moments of this wildly entertaining Pride and Prejudice variation, from Anne de Bourgh going full villain mode (with the tantrums, poison, and assassins to prove it) to Darcy’s very public meltdown outside White’s.
We dive into the dynamics of Elizabeth and Darcy's enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers arc, their emotional role reversals, and the highlight of Lord Saye being hilariously terrifying at the opera. It’s chaotic, it’s cathartic, and it might just be your new favorite forced marriage variation!
 
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter

Such Persuasions as These - By Emilia Stratford

Before there’s love, there’s friendship, and in Such Persuasions as These by Emilia Stratford, that friendship is genuine, unexpected, and exactly what Mr. Darcy didn’t know he needed.
In this week’s episode, Emilie Davis is joined by guest co-host Sharon Cortez to discuss a variation where Elizabeth leads with kindness, not combat, and finds herself at the center of Darcy’s slow, sweet transformation.
When Elizabeth claims to be engaged to a certain Captain Wentworth (yes, that Captain Wentworth), she unintentionally clears the emotional runway for something rare in Pride and Prejudice retellings: a sincere and supportive friendship between our beloved leads. Emilie and Sharon dive into why this works so well, what makes this Darcy especially lovable, and how friendship-first stories offer something different than slow-burn romance alone.
They also swap personal stories about “fake engagements,” adult friendship struggles, and the sitcom-style friend groups they’ve longed for or found along the way. 
If you’ve ever wished for more time with Darcy and Elizabeth simply getting to know one another, this one’s for you!
 
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!

An Interview With Narrator Stevie Zimmerman

If you’ve ever found yourself lingering in the car just to finish an audiobook chapter, there’s a good chance Stevie Zimmerman had something to do with it. In this special episode, we sit down with the incredibly talented Stevie Zimmerman, an audiobook narrator with over 340 titles on Audible and a voice many of our Book Clubbers will instantly recognize.
Stevie shares how she found her way into narration, what it’s really like behind the mic, and which kinds of stories she loves to bring to life. (Spoiler: Jane Austen may come up once or twice…) From home recording setups to character accents and everything in between, this is a fascinating peek into a world most of us only hear (but rarely see).
 
🎵 Music Credit:Pride & Prejudice Book Club Theme composed, performed, and arranged by Megan Mason.
📚 Curious what we will be reading next? See a list of upcoming books at prideandprejudicebookclub.com!
➡️ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at https://www.prideandprejudicebookclub.com/newsletter!