Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Today we're covering Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld! Aside from reading Austen, this is our first ever straight-up book review! Spoiler alert for Eligible. This adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is set in 2013 Cincinnati. The eldest Bennet sisters are approaching 40 and Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are country club parents who don’t care that they’re deep in debt. Jane and Liz end up back in Cincinnati when Mr. Bennet has a heart attack.

Topics discussed include our honest criticisms of the book, the success of the class commentary, the splitting of Wick/Ham, Darcy and Liz as fuck buddies, the Catherine de Bourgh-ification of Caroline Bingley, kissing your cousin, the charade of love and performance of courtship on reality TV, ace Mary, mortgages, and gender roles in the regency era vs. early 2010s.

Funniest quote: Surely, if Liz had learned that anybody in her social circle in New York had eloped with somebody transgender, she'd have greeted the news with support. She might even have felt that self-congratulatory pride that heterosexual white people are known to experience due to proximate diversity.

Questions: Do you agree with our criticisms? Have you read the other books in the Austen Project? How seriously did you take the book?

Who wins the book? GO HAM

Glossary of People, Places, and Things: The Austen Project, Romantic Comedy, Sarah Snook, Emily Gilmore

Next Episode: In Defense of Persuasion (2022)

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Our show art was created by Torrence Browne, and our audio is produced by Graham Cook. For bios and transcripts, check out our website at podandprejudice.com. Pod and Prejudice is transcribed by speechdocs.com. To support the show, check out our Patreon!

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