Simply Austen

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries leading ladies Gentle readers, I have something pretty special to share with you all today. Four words: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries . I discovered the series my freshmen year of college when one of my friends (ahem, Veronica) told me that I had to watch it if I liked Pride and Prejudice . I was mildly intrigued, and started watching the first couple of episodes on YouTube here .  Then I was hooked.  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern day multimedia storytelling of Pride and Prejudice . They posted new three to six minute episodes every Monday and Thursday for a year, so the characters and story were developed in real time. All of the characters had active twitter accounts as well, and they interacted with each other and the fans. Mondays became one of my favorite days of the week simply because I knew whenever I got back from my 11a.m. class, there would be an update from Lizzie Bennet of what had happened to her over the weeken...

As a rule, I generally don't like period Jane Austen fan fiction, sequels, what ifs, etc. However, that doesn't mean I won't ever read or watch them; I'm just selective. I feel like the characters belong to the author and therefore should be treated with the utmost care. I suppose I am a bit of a purist. Consequently, I wasn't expecting to like Death Comes to Pemberley , a sequel to Pride and Prejudice . When I saw the TV series would be on PBS last fall, I was skeptical but willing to give it a try. I never could say no to a period costume drama. Here is a short synopsis *without spoilers* of the plot for those of you who need it: Elizabeth and Darcy are happily married at Pemberley six years after the events of  Pride and Prejudice .   They are planning to host a ball, but everything is disrupted when a murder is committed in the Pemberley woods, and the notorious Wickham is discovered at the scene of the crime, claiming he is innocent. Darcy and Elizabe...