Explain Why Pride and Prejudice is your favourite Regency romance

Hello Mehsi and readers, thank you so much for having me on your blog for the book tour of The Cherry Trees of Rosings! I absolutely love the vibe of Twirling Book Princess and am excited to gab a bit about my own fangirl obsession with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the next few minutes.

For those who do not know me, I am Morgan Blake and I write Austenesque romance that’s set in the vibrant world of Jane Austen’s classics with reimagined plotlines, character arcs, and sometimes steamy bits that Miss Austen left out (for obvious reasons related to her historical period).

Though—for the record—no one who has read a Jane Austen book would ever complain about the lack of steam! She was simply masterful at bringing out emotions through the subtleties and the unspoken.

With my debut novel The Cherry Trees of Rosings, I have tried to capture some of that Austenesque brilliance in a slightly paranormal (but mostly comical!) plot where we find Mr. Darcy haunting Elizabeth Bennet while she is in Hunsford, visiting the Collinses.

This, of course, leads to much drama and intrigue. And readers will find themselves endlessly entertained by the petty villainy of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her forever sycophant parson, Mr. Collins, while also shedding tears at the more emotional aspects of the story.

A happy ever after and some fiery kisses are guaranteed. But in general The Cherry Trees of Rosings is a sweet and clean variation of Pride and Prejudice that was written to fulfill every Austen obsessed reader’s wish to have more Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet!

This brings us to the question Mehsi asked me: Why is Pride and Prejudice my favourite Regency romance?
The short answer is… because it just is!

I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation (Pride and Prejudice fans, see what I did there?), but after my fifth reading of the book, I had to admit that I was very much obsessed with this particular offering by Jane Austen.

It’s such a quintessential satire about life in the Regency times. Complete with marriage-minded mothers pushing daughters at every wealthy gentleman they had access to (which includes Lady Catherine de Bourgh, lol), overly verbose neighbours, gossip, word spreading through letters, and of course, a scandalous elopement with a scoundrel!

Is it any wonder that Pride and Prejudice’s opening line is the most famous first line ever written in history? Let me quote it here: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The irony of it becomes obvious to first-time readers almost immediately.

This book is simply one of Miss Austen’s most brilliant works. And after 200 years and many movie and TV adaptations (including that amazing YouTube experiment called ‘The Lizzy Bennet Diaries’), we can safely say that Pride and Prejudice has a charm and enduring quality to it that just cannot be explained but must be experienced.

Of course, to readers of Twirling Book Princess who may not have read P&P yet but are thinking of doing so now, I would recommend being a little patient when you go in.

Jane Austen’s language is of a time long gone by. And the pacing is not what we are used to in the 21st century. But keen readers are always astonished by how relevant the storyline of Pride and Prejudice is even to this day, 200 years later. Especially how she describes mansplaining red pill guys like Mr. Collins and their ✨audacity✨!

But, of course, you may dip your toes in Austenesque waters with my book The Cherry Trees of Rosings.

It will introduce you to some of the most well-known characters of Pride and Prejudice. And there’s a ton of social comedy and absurdity to keep you entertained! …even as you follow along Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as they try to figure out the mystery of his ghostly presence.

The Cherry Trees of Rosings is available to read on Kindle Unlimited.