World literature is full of great love stories but there are few that make it through the
centuries and are as well-known and loved today as they were decades ago. One of those stories
that have the ability to leave an everlasting impression is Jane Austen s best-known and
probably most famous novel Pride and Prejudice (1813). Its appeal to literary posteriority lies
in the astonishing emotional impact of a seemingly simple story: A clever girl and a mysterious
man destined for one another loathe each other from the very beginning because of wrong first
impression and bad influence from others. They gradually have to overcome these obstacles in
order to recognise the nobility of each other s characters and find happiness together. From
Austen s contemporary writing and its scarce possibilities for women writers on to the
emancipation of the female author up until the possibilities for women novelists in the lately
developing genre labelled chick lit Pride and Prejudice still continues to fascinate readers
and writers alike. This book sets out to examine how Austen s formula was put to use to yield
three contemporary works of British fiction Kate Fenton s Lions and Liquorice (1995) Helen
Fielding s Bridget Jones s Diary (1996) and Melissa Nathan s Pride Prejudice and Jasmin Field
(2000) and what transformations it has experienced in the process.
