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Being Elizabeth Bennett - Create your own Jane Austen adventure
Elizabeth Bennet is the wittiest and most attractive heroine in English literature. And for the first time, in "Being Elizabeth Bennet", you are given the opportunity to star in the most popular novel in the English language: "Pride and Prejudice". You will be faced throughout this book with delicate challenges and dangerous choices. Whether you're accepting Mr Darcy the first time he professes his attachment, deciding to elope with Mr Wickham or avoiding a murderous Lady Catherine de Bourgh, this is a chance to rewrite Austen's most famous book. You decide who to marry and when. And if you have always preferred Mr Knightley's sophistication or have a sneaking admiration for the odious Mr Elliot then you can marry them instead. However, make choices with caution: "Being Elizabeth Bennet" is packed with characters and plot twists to thwart your happy union with Pemberly's most eligible bachelor. You must complete five stages - and successfully negotiate your way through Austen's five other novels - before can choose to accept Mr Darcy. But if the outcome does not suit, simply return to page 1 and create a new Jane Austen adventure.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2007
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4904 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 659 reviews
August 8, 2007
I died. Not the ending I was hoping for. It was a really good book until I died.
November 12, 2008
This book is a great experience for a P&P junkie like myself! Before I get to my spoilery endings, I gotta say that the best part of this book is the choices. I didn't read much of it - just skimmed it because I knew the story so well. It's the choices (especially the bad ones) that are so entertaining and allow you to explore the "what ifs" that the movies and books don't explain.
There's MANY different endings, happy and sad and most of them incredibly humourous! I did not explore even half of them, I would guess!
***Okay, now for the semi-spoilery part.***
So far I've had the following endings:
1) I was attacked by gypsies on my way to Netherfield to take care of my sick sister Jane. I was so disfigured that I will never attract a husband. The book reproaches me with: "That didn't take you long, did it? You have failed to complete your mission. You didn't even get NEAR completing it, in fact. You deserve to be disfigured. Be ashamed." Ouch.
2) Not that I wasn't trying before, but I try to make the decisions that will lead me to Mr. Darcy - I refuse Mr. Collins, I am interested in Mr. Wickham, I go to Hunsford to visit the new Mrs. Collins . . . BUT this time I accept Mr. Darcy's proposal. Why not? I've always been curious what would have happened in that scenario. Um, I end up having an affair with the one of the gardeners at Pemberely and we are banished from polite society to live in poverty for the rest of our sinful lives.
3) Okay, so clearly I need to refuse Mr. Darcy when he first proposes at Hunsford. But this time, I also refuse to read his letter of explanation about my accusations of his treatment of Wickham. Then I run into Colonel Fitzwilliam, who ALSO proposes to me. He's cute and nice, so yeah, I accept. When Mr. Darcy finds out, he challenges his cousin to a duel. Lady Catherine will have nothing to do with me marrying either of her nephews, but they still insist on the duel. Guns in hand, the count down begins, but before it is finished Lady Catherine shoots ME! Darcy runs to my aid and then shoots his aunt. Then, waving off the Colonel who can't possibly love me as much as he does, he shoots the Colonel dead in a jealous rage. Then he turns the gun on himself and shoots himself. I can't blame him - I wouldn't want to live without me either! ;)
4) Okay, this time I'm trying again. I make all the right "Elizabeth Bennett" decisions. This time I have another mistaken choice such as in ending #1 where I am not sure which direction to go. I choose the wrong direction (and so do not unexpectedly meet up with Darcy on his way home to Pemberley) and end up getting run over in a carriage by Caroline Bingley who is jealous of me and wants Darcy for herself. Ouch.
5) SUCCESS! I finally get Mr. Darcy. We marry and are happy forever and ever! Aren't you all jealous??
There's MANY different endings, happy and sad and most of them incredibly humourous! I did not explore even half of them, I would guess!
***Okay, now for the semi-spoilery part.***
So far I've had the following endings:
1) I was attacked by gypsies on my way to Netherfield to take care of my sick sister Jane. I was so disfigured that I will never attract a husband. The book reproaches me with: "That didn't take you long, did it? You have failed to complete your mission. You didn't even get NEAR completing it, in fact. You deserve to be disfigured. Be ashamed." Ouch.
2) Not that I wasn't trying before, but I try to make the decisions that will lead me to Mr. Darcy - I refuse Mr. Collins, I am interested in Mr. Wickham, I go to Hunsford to visit the new Mrs. Collins . . . BUT this time I accept Mr. Darcy's proposal. Why not? I've always been curious what would have happened in that scenario. Um, I end up having an affair with the one of the gardeners at Pemberely and we are banished from polite society to live in poverty for the rest of our sinful lives.
3) Okay, so clearly I need to refuse Mr. Darcy when he first proposes at Hunsford. But this time, I also refuse to read his letter of explanation about my accusations of his treatment of Wickham. Then I run into Colonel Fitzwilliam, who ALSO proposes to me. He's cute and nice, so yeah, I accept. When Mr. Darcy finds out, he challenges his cousin to a duel. Lady Catherine will have nothing to do with me marrying either of her nephews, but they still insist on the duel. Guns in hand, the count down begins, but before it is finished Lady Catherine shoots ME! Darcy runs to my aid and then shoots his aunt. Then, waving off the Colonel who can't possibly love me as much as he does, he shoots the Colonel dead in a jealous rage. Then he turns the gun on himself and shoots himself. I can't blame him - I wouldn't want to live without me either! ;)
4) Okay, this time I'm trying again. I make all the right "Elizabeth Bennett" decisions. This time I have another mistaken choice such as in ending #1 where I am not sure which direction to go. I choose the wrong direction (and so do not unexpectedly meet up with Darcy on his way home to Pemberley) and end up getting run over in a carriage by Caroline Bingley who is jealous of me and wants Darcy for herself. Ouch.
5) SUCCESS! I finally get Mr. Darcy. We marry and are happy forever and ever! Aren't you all jealous??
November 4, 2017
I spotted this fun 'choose your own adventure' style story based mostly on Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (all the novels and Austen's life are represented).
The reader is given a mission and can then start tracking points earned or deducted on a separate sheet as they go along. There are places where the reader chooses the path or where responses to quiz questions determine the path. There are dead ends- game over, there are lesser choices (leading to a snarky lecture and less points) and best choices (where the snarky remarks are still there, but not so pointed).
Yes, I am saying this is meant to be light and fun as you go.
I personally hit three dead ends and was forced to backtrack, but I did finish the game with some points in the positive which had me crowing a bit.
While I wouldn't say its riveting, it is most certainly diverting and I could see myself whiling away some time taking another go at the book game at a later point.
It does tend to favor those who have a fairly good knowledge of Austen's works, but common sense and a sense of humor will get pretty much anyone through to the finish. I could see this being a fun gift for an Austen-lover with a sense of humor.
The reader is given a mission and can then start tracking points earned or deducted on a separate sheet as they go along. There are places where the reader chooses the path or where responses to quiz questions determine the path. There are dead ends- game over, there are lesser choices (leading to a snarky lecture and less points) and best choices (where the snarky remarks are still there, but not so pointed).
Yes, I am saying this is meant to be light and fun as you go.
I personally hit three dead ends and was forced to backtrack, but I did finish the game with some points in the positive which had me crowing a bit.
While I wouldn't say its riveting, it is most certainly diverting and I could see myself whiling away some time taking another go at the book game at a later point.
It does tend to favor those who have a fairly good knowledge of Austen's works, but common sense and a sense of humor will get pretty much anyone through to the finish. I could see this being a fun gift for an Austen-lover with a sense of humor.
March 25, 2012
I'll admit to not finishing this book completely, but I think I've died often enough to be able to add it on here.
In this book you 'play' as Elizabeth Bennet, and you get the mission to marry. How to go about this is sort of up to the reader. To totally get into the fun, the reader is encouraged to keep lists of things like Fortune Points, Failings and Superior/Inferior Connections. It stuck with me, because it seems like within no time you have no fortune points left, your list of failings is exceedingly long and you only seem to know inferior people.
The book itself was random. It's basically Pride & Prejudice retold with facepalmy comments thrown in. Occasionally you will be asked to make choices (this is where the "create your own Jane Austen adventure!"-bit comes in) but they don't seem to have real relevance to the plot, mostly. The book kind of forces you to stick to the actual Pride & Prejudice plot, and the other storylines are either:
a) awkward, because the P&P plot gets mixed with the other Jane Austen novels and it's not very well done;
b) plainly annoying, as in every non-related P&P or other Jane Austen plotline you are either killed off or the story is otherwise brought to a quick end .
But overall this wasn't exciting, very predictable and though it did make me laugh a few times, that definitely could not make up for all the facepalming that was going on.
In this book you 'play' as Elizabeth Bennet, and you get the mission to marry. How to go about this is sort of up to the reader. To totally get into the fun, the reader is encouraged to keep lists of things like Fortune Points, Failings and Superior/Inferior Connections. It stuck with me, because it seems like within no time you have no fortune points left, your list of failings is exceedingly long and you only seem to know inferior people.
The book itself was random. It's basically Pride & Prejudice retold with facepalmy comments thrown in. Occasionally you will be asked to make choices (this is where the "create your own Jane Austen adventure!"-bit comes in) but they don't seem to have real relevance to the plot, mostly. The book kind of forces you to stick to the actual Pride & Prejudice plot, and the other storylines are either:
a) awkward, because the P&P plot gets mixed with the other Jane Austen novels and it's not very well done;
b) plainly annoying, as in every non-related P&P or other Jane Austen plotline you are either killed off or the story is otherwise brought to a quick end .
But overall this wasn't exciting, very predictable and though it did make me laugh a few times, that definitely could not make up for all the facepalming that was going on.
May 16, 2016
absolutely loved it .
August 17, 2009
I know, I know. A Choose Your Own Adventure book set within Pride and Prejudice: sounds too good to be true! This really was an amusing diversion, and I stayed up WAY too late last night trying to complete the mission of a fortuitous and loving marriage. First I was disfigured by gypsies. Then I eloped with Mr. Wickam and had to join a traveling troupe of actors. Then I was murdered by Caroline Bingley. Then I married Captain Wentworth (from Persuasion). But after lots of cheating, I won (married Mr. Darcy) in the end.
I thought this was such a clever idea, and I loved the way that the author wove in characters and plot lines from multiple novels. I also liked the questions about regency-era life. It was really very well done, and one can tell that Emma Campbell Webster is a true Austen scholar. But I tired quickly of keeping score, and then was really annoyed when it turned out that you weren't supposed to go below zero (not explained in the instructions) and my scores were all screwed up anyway.
I bristled at the author's implication, in the end, that the only intelligent thing to do is to abandon Darcy and not marry at all. Come ON. It was obviously her own, modern idea, and it just didn't fit. I also really hated the ultra stylized illustrations. Call me a purist, but I wanted something a little more period-accurate.
All in all, though, really fun. I'd definitely recommend this to Austen fans. Actually, I think maybe it would be more enjoyable to somebody who didn't know the novels very well; sometimes it was too easy for me to make the right choices, since I knew who the good guys were and who were the bad'uns.
I thought this was such a clever idea, and I loved the way that the author wove in characters and plot lines from multiple novels. I also liked the questions about regency-era life. It was really very well done, and one can tell that Emma Campbell Webster is a true Austen scholar. But I tired quickly of keeping score, and then was really annoyed when it turned out that you weren't supposed to go below zero (not explained in the instructions) and my scores were all screwed up anyway.
I bristled at the author's implication, in the end, that the only intelligent thing to do is to abandon Darcy and not marry at all. Come ON. It was obviously her own, modern idea, and it just didn't fit. I also really hated the ultra stylized illustrations. Call me a purist, but I wanted something a little more period-accurate.
All in all, though, really fun. I'd definitely recommend this to Austen fans. Actually, I think maybe it would be more enjoyable to somebody who didn't know the novels very well; sometimes it was too easy for me to make the right choices, since I knew who the good guys were and who were the bad'uns.
February 6, 2025
I was MURDERED
January 19, 2013
La mia esperienza di gioco
Dopo aver percorso le linee di Orgoglio e pregiudizio (e aver rischiato di rimanere uccisa da Miss Bingley!) con brevi sprazzi di Mansfield Park, ho deviato dalla retta via non appena mi si è presentata l'opportunità di entrare nel mio romanzo preferito, Persuasion. Qui mi sono ritrovata confusa, molto confusa: ero innamorata contemporaneamente di 4 uomini diversi (!!!). Mr Darcy, naturalmente, poi il Capitano Benwick, il Capitano Wentworth e Mr Bennet (l'alter ego di Mr Elliot in un fritto misto di parentele poco plausibili - l'autrice doveva aver dimenticato l'esistenza di Mr Collins come erede più prossimo a Mr Bennet in linea maschile!) Insomma, mi sono sentita Brooke di Beautiful, o anche peggio, altro che Lizzie, e mi sono vergognata profondamente di una tale leggerezza! Ma sono riuscita a concludere il mio percorso con successo (forse!) e giocare e ridere con le altre Lizzies è stato impagabile!
Per scoprire tutto, ma proprio tutto sull'esperienza delle Lizzies con questo libro-game, leggete QUI
Dopo aver percorso le linee di Orgoglio e pregiudizio (e aver rischiato di rimanere uccisa da Miss Bingley!) con brevi sprazzi di Mansfield Park, ho deviato dalla retta via non appena mi si è presentata l'opportunità di entrare nel mio romanzo preferito, Persuasion. Qui mi sono ritrovata confusa, molto confusa: ero innamorata contemporaneamente di 4 uomini diversi (!!!). Mr Darcy, naturalmente, poi il Capitano Benwick, il Capitano Wentworth e Mr Bennet (l'alter ego di Mr Elliot in un fritto misto di parentele poco plausibili - l'autrice doveva aver dimenticato l'esistenza di Mr Collins come erede più prossimo a Mr Bennet in linea maschile!) Insomma, mi sono sentita Brooke di Beautiful, o anche peggio, altro che Lizzie, e mi sono vergognata profondamente di una tale leggerezza! Ma sono riuscita a concludere il mio percorso con successo (forse!) e giocare e ridere con le altre Lizzies è stato impagabile!
Per scoprire tutto, ma proprio tutto sull'esperienza delle Lizzies con questo libro-game, leggete QUI
April 3, 2018
It only took me a few days but I finished my mission and was married to Mr.Darcy!
This was a fun book with some very interesting twists and cameos by Austen's other characters make it such a treat.
Through my various attempts of failure, which there was not shortage of, I was led astray, attacked by gypsies, got lost, felt into puppy love with Henry Tillney, kidnapped by Fanny Price, called idiotic more times than I can count, lost and gained everything but I laughed and giggled along my choices and the patch they took.
Overall a fun read!
This was a fun book with some very interesting twists and cameos by Austen's other characters make it such a treat.
Through my various attempts of failure, which there was not shortage of, I was led astray, attacked by gypsies, got lost, felt into puppy love with Henry Tillney, kidnapped by Fanny Price, called idiotic more times than I can count, lost and gained everything but I laughed and giggled along my choices and the patch they took.
Overall a fun read!
Read
November 1, 2011Amusing, but not quite as fun as I expected. Some of the wilder endings are silly (couldn't she have borrowed more from the juvenilia if she wanted to go nuts?), when you/Elizabeth Bennett are put into Northanger Abbey you/she still act(s) like Catherine Morland, and, as other reviewers noted, sometimes a modern viewpoint seems privileged over Austen's own time (especially in the uber-ending, which nearly wrecked the book for me, but I pretty much ignored it. If I'd been in my twenties I might have neatly ripped out the pages). The snark also occasionally gets out of hand, and it's a good thing Webster designed the book so you don't have to keep track of scoring, because I am unsuited to do so both in basic cussedness and because I have a horrible case of the flu and can barely spell my own name right now. But this book was fun enough to entertain me while terribly sick and light enough it wasn't a strain to read, and sometimes do we really ask more of books than that? As Sir Walter Scott wrote of Ann Radcliffe,
Perhaps the perusal of such works may, without injustice, be compared with the use of opiates, baneful, when habitually and constantly resorted to, but of the most blessed power in those moments of pain and languor, when the whole head is sore, and the whole heart sick. If those who rail indiscriminately at this species of composition, were to consider the quantity of actual pleasure which it produces, and the much greater proportion of real sorrow and distress which it alleviates, their philanthropy ought to moderate their critical pride, or religious intolerance.
Oh I forgot, it's not a GoodReads review without pictures.
Perhaps the perusal of such works may, without injustice, be compared with the use of opiates, baneful, when habitually and constantly resorted to, but of the most blessed power in those moments of pain and languor, when the whole head is sore, and the whole heart sick. If those who rail indiscriminately at this species of composition, were to consider the quantity of actual pleasure which it produces, and the much greater proportion of real sorrow and distress which it alleviates, their philanthropy ought to moderate their critical pride, or religious intolerance.
Oh I forgot, it's not a GoodReads review without pictures.
February 14, 2014
Ho ucciso Mr. Elton!!
Mi sono divertita tantissimo nel leggere e giocare (ma soprattutto giocare) con questo libro.
Ecco la mia avventura.
Inizialmente catapultata in Orgoglio e Pregiudizio nei patti di Elizabeth, ho leggermente deviato strada quando, preoccupata per la salute della mia adorata Jane, mi sono attardata qualche giorno in più in casa di Mr. Bingley dove ho potuto conoscere Mr. Crawford (direttamente da Mansfield Park) che, dopo aver corteggiato spudoratamente Mrs Hurst (sì, donna sposata!) e contemporaneamente Miss Bingley (quale sfacciataggine!!), pensa bene di corteggiare me e di farmi la proposta… Ma chi si crede di essere?? Un no secco è d’obbligo!
Arrivo a casa e chi mi vuole affibbiare mia madre? Ovviamente Mr. Collins che, altrettanto ovviamente e prontamente, viene rifiutato.
Improvvisamente devio e mi ritrovo in Emma, dove acquisisco alcuni difetti, ma anche alcune nuove conoscenze, tra cui Mr. Knightley.
Ahimè, faccio una scelta sbagliata e decido di partecipare ad una festa dove, nonostante tutti i miei buoni propositi per piacere ad Emma, finisco accanto all’odioso Mr. Elton, che sfortunatamente e accidentalmente finisce sotto i cavalli della mia carrozza.
Volendo evitare di passare i migliori anni della mia vita in prigione, faccio qualche passo indietro e ricevo la proposta da Mr. Knightley… Sarebbe perfetto, ma il mio cuore batte per un altro e così anche lui viene rifiutato..
Dopo questa parentesi finalmente ritorno nel mio amato Orgoglio e Pregiudizio e ripercorro la fine del romanzo fino all’epilogo… Evviva!! Mr Darcy è mioo!!
Questo libro è stato davvero un divertimento. Mi ha fatto sorridere moltissimo sia per le illustrazioni davvero simpatiche che per gli avvenimenti davvero improbabili (ho riso tantissimo quando ho ucciso Mr. Elton!!)
Questa è stata la mia esperienza di gioco-lettura, e la vostra?
Buon divertimento!
Mi sono divertita tantissimo nel leggere e giocare (ma soprattutto giocare) con questo libro.
Ecco la mia avventura.
Inizialmente catapultata in Orgoglio e Pregiudizio nei patti di Elizabeth, ho leggermente deviato strada quando, preoccupata per la salute della mia adorata Jane, mi sono attardata qualche giorno in più in casa di Mr. Bingley dove ho potuto conoscere Mr. Crawford (direttamente da Mansfield Park) che, dopo aver corteggiato spudoratamente Mrs Hurst (sì, donna sposata!) e contemporaneamente Miss Bingley (quale sfacciataggine!!), pensa bene di corteggiare me e di farmi la proposta… Ma chi si crede di essere?? Un no secco è d’obbligo!
Arrivo a casa e chi mi vuole affibbiare mia madre? Ovviamente Mr. Collins che, altrettanto ovviamente e prontamente, viene rifiutato.
Improvvisamente devio e mi ritrovo in Emma, dove acquisisco alcuni difetti, ma anche alcune nuove conoscenze, tra cui Mr. Knightley.
Ahimè, faccio una scelta sbagliata e decido di partecipare ad una festa dove, nonostante tutti i miei buoni propositi per piacere ad Emma, finisco accanto all’odioso Mr. Elton, che sfortunatamente e accidentalmente finisce sotto i cavalli della mia carrozza.
Volendo evitare di passare i migliori anni della mia vita in prigione, faccio qualche passo indietro e ricevo la proposta da Mr. Knightley… Sarebbe perfetto, ma il mio cuore batte per un altro e così anche lui viene rifiutato..
Dopo questa parentesi finalmente ritorno nel mio amato Orgoglio e Pregiudizio e ripercorro la fine del romanzo fino all’epilogo… Evviva!! Mr Darcy è mioo!!
Questo libro è stato davvero un divertimento. Mi ha fatto sorridere moltissimo sia per le illustrazioni davvero simpatiche che per gli avvenimenti davvero improbabili (ho riso tantissimo quando ho ucciso Mr. Elton!!)
Questa è stata la mia esperienza di gioco-lettura, e la vostra?
Buon divertimento!
October 30, 2014
Good silly fun. The first time I tried, I ended up getting into Marianne's plot from Sense and Sensibility, then, after coming back to Pride and Prejudice, slipping on some ice and breaking my neck. The second time I ended up marrying Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park, which the book does not allow to be a happy ending, but I went into it with my eyes open. After that, I stopped following the (hilariously complicated) rules, and just flipped through trying to check out the different possible stories.
You quickly learn how it works: basically, if you fail to stick to P+P's plot, you either digress into a different Austen novel (or, in one case, into Austen's biography), or you meet some terrible disaster. The only exception is . There's also an ongoing, chatty/snarky commentary on your (that is, Elizabeth Bennett's) behavior; I didn't always share the author's view of the novels, but an idiosyncratically opinionated tone is still much more fun than a conventional one.
Of course, trying to stick Elizabeth Bennett into other Austen novels never works perfectly (e.g., she's too young for a long-ago engagement with Wentworth to make very much sense); and I was disappointed that there wasn't more room for really weird developments, farther from the familiar plots. Also, there's no way of getting to Sanditon, which seems like a real missed opportunity.
You quickly learn how it works: basically, if you fail to stick to P+P's plot, you either digress into a different Austen novel (or, in one case, into Austen's biography), or you meet some terrible disaster. The only exception is . There's also an ongoing, chatty/snarky commentary on your (that is, Elizabeth Bennett's) behavior; I didn't always share the author's view of the novels, but an idiosyncratically opinionated tone is still much more fun than a conventional one.
Of course, trying to stick Elizabeth Bennett into other Austen novels never works perfectly (e.g., she's too young for a long-ago engagement with Wentworth to make very much sense); and I was disappointed that there wasn't more room for really weird developments, farther from the familiar plots. Also, there's no way of getting to Sanditon, which seems like a real missed opportunity.
July 1, 2012
I first saw this book at work in the bookstore and just the concept of a Choose Your Own Adventure brought back fond memories of library time in grade school. Plus, couple that with Austen, and I was sold on this book.
It is a cute premise, but as you get further into the book, it ends up rather disappointing. Rather than creating Austen-inspired original situations, the book just follows "Pride and Prejudice" with a bit of "Emma" thrown in. As long as you've read P&P and know it by heart, you'll be able to pick the right choices and get the happy ending. If you pick the wrong choices, there's weird endings, such as getting accosted by gypsies for money and your face ends up mutilated due to their excessive pressing on you; another weird one is accepting Col. Fitzwilliam instead of Darcy, the men prepare to duel it out but Lady Catherine shoots you because she hates the idea of you marrying ANYONE in her family, Darcy shoots Lady Catherine then Fitzwilliam and you die of your gunshot wound.
Some choices aren't so straightforward as "Go to page 144" or whatever. Some actually ask questions like "What is the difference between a piano and pianoforte?", and then whatever answer you pick you turn to the page that goes with it.
In all, this book was a bit disappointing and predictable if you know your Austen very well.
It is a cute premise, but as you get further into the book, it ends up rather disappointing. Rather than creating Austen-inspired original situations, the book just follows "Pride and Prejudice" with a bit of "Emma" thrown in. As long as you've read P&P and know it by heart, you'll be able to pick the right choices and get the happy ending. If you pick the wrong choices, there's weird endings, such as getting accosted by gypsies for money and your face ends up mutilated due to their excessive pressing on you; another weird one is accepting Col. Fitzwilliam instead of Darcy, the men prepare to duel it out but Lady Catherine shoots you because she hates the idea of you marrying ANYONE in her family, Darcy shoots Lady Catherine then Fitzwilliam and you die of your gunshot wound.
Some choices aren't so straightforward as "Go to page 144" or whatever. Some actually ask questions like "What is the difference between a piano and pianoforte?", and then whatever answer you pick you turn to the page that goes with it.
In all, this book was a bit disappointing and predictable if you know your Austen very well.
January 15, 2010
This book was SO MUCH FUN! It got me through a very bad day with strep throat.
It's just like the choose-your-own-adventure books from your youth (or your children's youths), except you get to be Elizabeth Bennett. Depending on your choices, you'll see characters from all of Jane Austen's works as well as people she knew herself. Everything is expertly woven together and so many times I found myself laughing out loud, especially when my carriage ran over Mr. Elton (from Emma) in his effort to stop it to make his affection for me known. The book also has a points system by which you can judge your progress on marrying for love and not ending up in the poor house. It made things extra funny for me. I highly recommend you keep track of your points.
Anyway, this was really well put together and very enjoyable.
It's just like the choose-your-own-adventure books from your youth (or your children's youths), except you get to be Elizabeth Bennett. Depending on your choices, you'll see characters from all of Jane Austen's works as well as people she knew herself. Everything is expertly woven together and so many times I found myself laughing out loud, especially when my carriage ran over Mr. Elton (from Emma) in his effort to stop it to make his affection for me known. The book also has a points system by which you can judge your progress on marrying for love and not ending up in the poor house. It made things extra funny for me. I highly recommend you keep track of your points.
Anyway, this was really well put together and very enjoyable.
November 27, 2019
This book was amusing. If you are a fan of Jane Austen's novels, and the author assumes that the reader is going to identify with Elizabeth Bennet in particular, the thought has probably crossed your mind that it would be fun to imagine yourself progressing through the plot of Pride & Prejudice and other Austen novels. This book is one of the more obvious ways that this itch can be scratched and it has at least some re-read value, I must admit, although it can take a bit of effort to keep up with the major and minor connections as well as the fortune, intelligence, and confidence scores as well as the failings and accomplishments and how they affect the ending one reaches. As someone who is a fan of choose your adventure books [1], this volume was definitely one that I found appealing and I managed to read most of it while I was getting my car tuned up a bit, which is always something that is enjoyable to do. This is a book that is easy to enjoy and appreciate and should have a lot of fans of Jane Austen enjoying it.
What happens when one is lost in Austen? Well, most of the book uses the plot of Pride & Prejudice and divides the material into five parts, and the choices made along the way can drastically affect one's fate in very dangerous ways. Periodically there are choices that have to be made that will push the reader into one sort of relationship or another, that will plunge the character into the depths of despair or grant new friends and enemies as well as an understanding of the social world of Austen's novels. Throughout the book there are also quizzes that give the character new skills and abilities that will make the adventure more successful, while some disasters will lead to a life of spinsterhood or a gruesome death or even a lifetime in prison as I found out in one of the choices I made. Obviously, most readers will have one or two endings in mind that they want to achieve, but it is not always as easy to reach this desired ending as one may hope and it can take a bit of rereading and retracing one's path to get away from some of the more disastrous conclusions that this novel can take, so readers should be prepared to face up to some truly serious and weighty decisions being made in what seem like very trivial choices. The world of Jane Austen was one where single jokes and comments and even the choice of a lane or a way to spend the evening could have drastic effects on one's fate.
The author has clearly done her research in making this book a compelling look at the social context in which Jane Austen's novels take place. And there are certainly elements of several of Jane Austen's novels that blend together wonderfully here, as the author views all of Austen's novels as being in a shared universe where one can reject a marriage proposal from multiple heroes of Austen novels and step out of Pride & Prejudice to enter Emma and Mansfield Park over the course of one's adventure as I did while reading this book. The more one has read and appreciated Jane Austen the more this book is easy to enjoy and succeed at. Will your heroine end up being killed by highwaymen or stuck in a loveless marriage or end up jilting half of the heroes of Austen's novels and leaving them heartbroken and lifelong bachelors? Only you can decide, so choose wisely.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2019...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
What happens when one is lost in Austen? Well, most of the book uses the plot of Pride & Prejudice and divides the material into five parts, and the choices made along the way can drastically affect one's fate in very dangerous ways. Periodically there are choices that have to be made that will push the reader into one sort of relationship or another, that will plunge the character into the depths of despair or grant new friends and enemies as well as an understanding of the social world of Austen's novels. Throughout the book there are also quizzes that give the character new skills and abilities that will make the adventure more successful, while some disasters will lead to a life of spinsterhood or a gruesome death or even a lifetime in prison as I found out in one of the choices I made. Obviously, most readers will have one or two endings in mind that they want to achieve, but it is not always as easy to reach this desired ending as one may hope and it can take a bit of rereading and retracing one's path to get away from some of the more disastrous conclusions that this novel can take, so readers should be prepared to face up to some truly serious and weighty decisions being made in what seem like very trivial choices. The world of Jane Austen was one where single jokes and comments and even the choice of a lane or a way to spend the evening could have drastic effects on one's fate.
The author has clearly done her research in making this book a compelling look at the social context in which Jane Austen's novels take place. And there are certainly elements of several of Jane Austen's novels that blend together wonderfully here, as the author views all of Austen's novels as being in a shared universe where one can reject a marriage proposal from multiple heroes of Austen novels and step out of Pride & Prejudice to enter Emma and Mansfield Park over the course of one's adventure as I did while reading this book. The more one has read and appreciated Jane Austen the more this book is easy to enjoy and succeed at. Will your heroine end up being killed by highwaymen or stuck in a loveless marriage or end up jilting half of the heroes of Austen's novels and leaving them heartbroken and lifelong bachelors? Only you can decide, so choose wisely.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2019...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
October 25, 2014
La verdad es que el libro ha estado gracioso, sobre todo por los finales inesperados. Nada más empezar una panda de gitanos me dio una paliza que me desfiguró la cara, evitando así que me pudiera casar nunca con nadie. Los libros de aventuras siempre suelo empezarlos así, a lo grande, con palizas y muerte.
He estado a punto de casarme mínimo seis veces por lo menos. Unas veces podía seguir con la historia y otras moría solterona o me pasaba alguna desgracia, aunque casi que peor era casarse...
Lo malo de este libro es que la autora considera que o te casas con el señor Darcy o no vas a ser feliz en tu vida, y en muchos finales alternativos en los que te casas con otros personajes de otras novelas, te daba un toque agridulce. ¿Y si ese era el final que yo quería? ¿Por qué me tiene que tocar las narices con eso?
También me reventaba tener que estar apuntado cada dos por tres puntos y mierdas cuando luego la mitad no hace falta para las elecciones (como lo de la lista de "Accompliments/Failings" o la de "Connections"... sólo sirven si acaso para el final del señor Darcy, porque el resto de la partida no influyen para nada en los resultados). También me reventaban los comentarios en los que básicamente la autora te llama subnormal.
Lo mejor son los momentos en los que tienes que elegir o pasar un test para saber si tendrás los puntos suficientes para seguir con la historia que tú quieres. Cuando se dedica a resumir la trama de cualquier novela de Jane Austen pero en inglés moderno, se llega a hacer pesado... Sobre todo si te sabes la trama de memoria.
Pero en general un libro muy entretenido. Me ha hecho mucha gracia morir en un accidente de carruaje provocado por la señorita Bingley XDDDDDDDD Eso y suicidarme porque mi matrimonio con Darcy no era feliz, jajajajaja.
He estado a punto de casarme mínimo seis veces por lo menos. Unas veces podía seguir con la historia y otras moría solterona o me pasaba alguna desgracia, aunque casi que peor era casarse...
Lo malo de este libro es que la autora considera que o te casas con el señor Darcy o no vas a ser feliz en tu vida, y en muchos finales alternativos en los que te casas con otros personajes de otras novelas, te daba un toque agridulce. ¿Y si ese era el final que yo quería? ¿Por qué me tiene que tocar las narices con eso?
También me reventaba tener que estar apuntado cada dos por tres puntos y mierdas cuando luego la mitad no hace falta para las elecciones (como lo de la lista de "Accompliments/Failings" o la de "Connections"... sólo sirven si acaso para el final del señor Darcy, porque el resto de la partida no influyen para nada en los resultados). También me reventaban los comentarios en los que básicamente la autora te llama subnormal.
Lo mejor son los momentos en los que tienes que elegir o pasar un test para saber si tendrás los puntos suficientes para seguir con la historia que tú quieres. Cuando se dedica a resumir la trama de cualquier novela de Jane Austen pero en inglés moderno, se llega a hacer pesado... Sobre todo si te sabes la trama de memoria.
Pero en general un libro muy entretenido. Me ha hecho mucha gracia morir en un accidente de carruaje provocado por la señorita Bingley XDDDDDDDD Eso y suicidarme porque mi matrimonio con Darcy no era feliz, jajajajaja.
Read
September 4, 2011I was intrigued when I spotted this book at Goodwill. I mean a Jane Austen smash-up with the Choose Your Own Adventure books? How could I resist?
While a thoroughly interesting concept this book is a little underwhelming. The reader is reading the book as if they are playing a game in the role of Elizabeth Bennett. The book starts with the storyline of Pride and Prejudice and offers the reader choices. Unfortunately in most circumstances, if you make a choice that doesn't follow merge with what Elizabeth did you end up in another one of Austen's stories. Good right? Nope. If you diverge from the path of Elizabeth Bennett you quickly fail at your quest at landing a rich husband. Occasionally, you spectacularly fail with such as with Mr. Darcy and his cousin dying in a duel over you. At other times your perspective suitor may be crushed to death under the hooves of your horses, leaving you disgraced and to die alone.
I'm really disappointed that there was so little fluidity between the novels. I also didn't really get the point of the point system.
Summary: Good idea, poor execution.
While a thoroughly interesting concept this book is a little underwhelming. The reader is reading the book as if they are playing a game in the role of Elizabeth Bennett. The book starts with the storyline of Pride and Prejudice and offers the reader choices. Unfortunately in most circumstances, if you make a choice that doesn't follow merge with what Elizabeth did you end up in another one of Austen's stories. Good right? Nope. If you diverge from the path of Elizabeth Bennett you quickly fail at your quest at landing a rich husband. Occasionally, you spectacularly fail with such as with Mr. Darcy and his cousin dying in a duel over you. At other times your perspective suitor may be crushed to death under the hooves of your horses, leaving you disgraced and to die alone.
I'm really disappointed that there was so little fluidity between the novels. I also didn't really get the point of the point system.
Summary: Good idea, poor execution.
October 3, 2009
Choose Your Own Adventure, but with Jane Austen. And just like with Choose Your Own Adventure, you die a lot. This book was fun, and of course I took the Pride and Prejudice route, but it was SO EASY to cheat. I kind of wish the author had made it a little more difficult. I also think the dying thing was a bit excessive.
September 9, 2021
I married Darcy. Cheating may or may not have been involved. I'm satisfied.
August 8, 2023
I've read this once before but ages ago. This time I did a buddy read with two of my friends, and a buddy read plus a choose your own adventure novel is very fun and ridiculous! The book itself is kind of silly at times and some of the author commentary is annoying at other times. But generally speaking, it's good fun and a hilarious concept. Choose wisely, though! You'd be surprised at how quickly your points can be taken away if you make a wrong decision.
January 16, 2021
Obviously, I haven't fully read the book, but I've set out on a few adventures and have enjoyed each road I travelled! I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid, getting the chance to go on an Austen related one is a delight. Now, if someone can lay out the path to get me to Wentworth, I would be much obliged.
dnf-or-pause
July 27, 2024This was the first time I tried a 'choose your own adventure'. I thought it might be fun, but it is not for me. Maybe I would have liked it better if I had read some as a child. And maybe also it didn't work so wel because I was reading it on my ereader. Either way, it was too disjointed and I impossible to get into.
May 24, 2021
This book is a fabulous concept for an Austen fan, but the execution was just a bit drawn out. I wish it had been a bit looser of an adaptation, just to change it up a bit. Either way it was still fun!
July 21, 2022
SO MUCH FUN!
July 31, 2024
This is the worst thing I’ve ever read or had to endure, it was beyond torturous
January 25, 2023
I ended up tricked into marrying Mr. Wickham and then dying from a broken heart. I guess it could've gone better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2020
This was a fun re telling of Pride and Prejudice I enjoyed reading it but I died a few times and poor Elizabeth never got to marry Mr. Darcy for me.
I took a few different paths to see if I could get to the end we all know and love but alias I failed 😂 it literally tells you when you fail at the mission.
I took a few different paths to see if I could get to the end we all know and love but alias I failed 😂 it literally tells you when you fail at the mission.
October 31, 2008
I didn't actually read through every last bit of this book, but I did read through as much of it as I ever will (and I did reach a few different endings, which is making me feel better about marking it "read").
As a fan of both Choose Your Own Adventure books and Jane Austen, I expected this book to be a light, fun, interactive escape into the world of Elizabeth Bennet. What went wrong?
A lot. First of all, you are asked to draw up a list with several columns for keeping track of various points and skills that you will need to reference later. (While you are told this is optional, it seems to be a big part of the "fun" of the book.) The problem I have with this is that a lot of changes to your list happen with absolutely no action from you. You read along, then a bold section tells you to add or subtract or write things down. What?!? I suppose that's interactive, but it's not really giving me a choice, now, is it?
I kept reading, waiting for my chance to make a real decision that would impact the story. And what did my choices amount to? Once it was a random guess of which direction to go. Other times, I got quizzed about some historical trivia. My choice is to guess how many couples are in a certain dance? Why can't I chose something to say or do or avoid? Unless the author was trying to make a point that women in this time had few choices (which I think would be giving way too much credit here) that is just missing the point of a CYOA entirely.
The writing irritated me, too. Much of it amounted to summarizing large portions of Pride and Prejudice. So the plot was directly stolen and condensed while removing the charm of Jane Austen's writing. Not everything was a direct lift, but the parts that were original were too modern in tone and therefore felt jarring. For example, I got an ending where I (inadvertently) killed Mr. Collins. While this was slightly amusing, it was also pretty ridiculous. The humor just didn't fit. You can't have it both ways -- either go for the funny parody or stay true to the tone of the original throughout.
In the end, I made the best choice I could with this book. I put it down. There's a choice still open to you: Skip the book entirely.
As a fan of both Choose Your Own Adventure books and Jane Austen, I expected this book to be a light, fun, interactive escape into the world of Elizabeth Bennet. What went wrong?
A lot. First of all, you are asked to draw up a list with several columns for keeping track of various points and skills that you will need to reference later. (While you are told this is optional, it seems to be a big part of the "fun" of the book.) The problem I have with this is that a lot of changes to your list happen with absolutely no action from you. You read along, then a bold section tells you to add or subtract or write things down. What?!? I suppose that's interactive, but it's not really giving me a choice, now, is it?
I kept reading, waiting for my chance to make a real decision that would impact the story. And what did my choices amount to? Once it was a random guess of which direction to go. Other times, I got quizzed about some historical trivia. My choice is to guess how many couples are in a certain dance? Why can't I chose something to say or do or avoid? Unless the author was trying to make a point that women in this time had few choices (which I think would be giving way too much credit here) that is just missing the point of a CYOA entirely.
The writing irritated me, too. Much of it amounted to summarizing large portions of Pride and Prejudice. So the plot was directly stolen and condensed while removing the charm of Jane Austen's writing. Not everything was a direct lift, but the parts that were original were too modern in tone and therefore felt jarring. For example, I got an ending where I (inadvertently) killed Mr. Collins. While this was slightly amusing, it was also pretty ridiculous. The humor just didn't fit. You can't have it both ways -- either go for the funny parody or stay true to the tone of the original throughout.
In the end, I made the best choice I could with this book. I put it down. There's a choice still open to you: Skip the book entirely.
November 22, 2009
I found the concept of this book intriguing, so I picked it up. It was a pretty fun to read as a fan of Austen, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I suppose I was hoping for a little more decision-making instead of basically reading summaries of the entire plots of most of Austen's books. However, I found it extremely clever how the author worked other books into the the plot of Pride and Prejudice. By the end, my version of Elizabeth had basically been wooed by every heroine's multiple suitors from most of Austen's books! (Quite a popular young lady, apparently.) But that was only after a few random diversions lead to death, scandal, and failure.
Some of it also seemed to have a little too much modernism interjected into it. Like, I thought I was making the right choice as far as an Austen-era lady would make, but would be punished in favor of what a modern woman would choose. Also, tallying the points was fun, but listing all the accomplishments, failures, and connections was utterly pointless. Plus a lot of the points for intelligence, confidence, and fortune were awarded or taken away during the plot summary without me having any impact on the story and the events that led to the points.
That said, I guess I can't picture a choose-your-own adventure book through Austen's world done much better. Perhaps becoming a completely unique heroine to begin with and not Elizabeth Bennet?
Some of it also seemed to have a little too much modernism interjected into it. Like, I thought I was making the right choice as far as an Austen-era lady would make, but would be punished in favor of what a modern woman would choose. Also, tallying the points was fun, but listing all the accomplishments, failures, and connections was utterly pointless. Plus a lot of the points for intelligence, confidence, and fortune were awarded or taken away during the plot summary without me having any impact on the story and the events that led to the points.
That said, I guess I can't picture a choose-your-own adventure book through Austen's world done much better. Perhaps becoming a completely unique heroine to begin with and not Elizabeth Bennet?
November 17, 2013
I didn't actually finish the whole book, as in I didn't get married to Mr Darcy. I want to leave it alone for a while and play again with it later, without spoiling all the endings.
Basically, in Regency England, whatever you do, you fail. You have to be careful because the only good outcome is marrying Darcy. That's my main problem with the book (which is otherwise very funny): I thought you could make actual choices, for instance deciding to pull a Charlotte Lucas and marry Mr Collins. But if you try, you end up ruined, broke, dead, or all of the above. I tried as hard as I could to marry Mr Tilney, but I couldn't. The insertions of characters from other novels would've worked better if, instead of them being only diversions, Elizabeth could stray from the Pride & Prejudice road. If she actually had agency. Of course this would've made the writing of the book more complicated, but it would've given the reader/player a real feeling of being a character in a book, as opposed to a pawn who cannot make mistakes or choose for herself (e.g.: SPOILER ALERT: if you don't tease Darcy while dancing with him, you break your neck later in the evening).
I also would've liked to be able not to marry or run off with anybody without being punished for it. To me Jane Austen's novels are, more than anything else, stories of self-discovery, not minefields where you have to be careful not to displease the men you come across, lest they not marry you.
Basically, in Regency England, whatever you do, you fail. You have to be careful because the only good outcome is marrying Darcy. That's my main problem with the book (which is otherwise very funny): I thought you could make actual choices, for instance deciding to pull a Charlotte Lucas and marry Mr Collins. But if you try, you end up ruined, broke, dead, or all of the above. I tried as hard as I could to marry Mr Tilney, but I couldn't. The insertions of characters from other novels would've worked better if, instead of them being only diversions, Elizabeth could stray from the Pride & Prejudice road. If she actually had agency. Of course this would've made the writing of the book more complicated, but it would've given the reader/player a real feeling of being a character in a book, as opposed to a pawn who cannot make mistakes or choose for herself (e.g.: SPOILER ALERT: if you don't tease Darcy while dancing with him, you break your neck later in the evening).
I also would've liked to be able not to marry or run off with anybody without being punished for it. To me Jane Austen's novels are, more than anything else, stories of self-discovery, not minefields where you have to be careful not to displease the men you come across, lest they not marry you.
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