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Eligible

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About this listen

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘This is Pride and Prejudice 2.0 and I must confess, I liked it more than the original’ STYLIST

‘Bold and brilliant’ GLAMOUR

'Sheer joy… Giddy and glam and a hearty update of Pride and PrejudiceJESSIE BURTON, author of The Miniaturist

Liz and Jane Bennet are good daughters. They’ve come home to suburban Cincinnati to get their mother to stop feeding their father steak as he recovers from heart surgery, to tidy up the crumbling Tudor-style family home, and to wrench their three sisters from their various states of arrested development.

Once they are under the same roof, old patterns return fast. Soon they are being berated for their single status – and for two successful women in their late thirties, it really is too much to bear. That is, until the Lucas family’s BBQ throws them in the way of some eligible single men . . .

In this dazzling, heart-warming read, the much-loved classic Pride and Prejudice is catapulted into our modern world, singing out with hilarity and truth.
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Praise for ELIGIBLE:

‘If there exists a more perfect pairing than Curtis Sittenfeld and Jane Austen, we dare you to find it’ Elle

‘These days, if Curtis Sittenfeld writes it, I read it’ Judy Blume

Eligible has all the charm, wit and romance of Pride & Prejudice…an absolute delight’ Red

‘Dazzling’ Woman and Home

‘Such a feast of a book’ Nigella Lawson

‘Not since “Clueless,” has Austen been so delightedly interpreted’ New York Times

Contemporary Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Comedy Funny Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Praise for ELIGIBLE:

‘If there exists a more perfect pairing than Curtis Sittenfeld and Jane Austen, we dare you to find it’ Elle

‘Bold and brilliant’ Glamour

‘Eligible has all the charm, wit and romance of Pride & Prejudice and also takes these characters who are such a stalwart feature of our literary landscape and treats them with such affection and humour, that I defy anyone not to find Eligible an absolute delight’ Red

‘Dazzling’ Woman and Home

‘Fizzy’ and ‘Funny’ Psychologies

‘Such a feast of a book’ Nigella Lawson

‘Three cheers for Curtis Sittenfeld and her astute, sharp and ebullient anthropological interest in the human condition… not since “Clueless,” which transported Emma to Beverly Hills, has Austen been so delightedly interpreted’ The New York Times

‘An enjoyably light-hearted romp’ Financial Times

‘Hilarious and endearing family drama’ Kirkus Reviews

‘Effortlessly entertaining and delightfully readable’ The National

‘A delightful romp for not only Austen devotees but also lovers of romantic comedies and sly satire, as well . . . Bestselling Sittenfeld plus Jane Austen? What more could mainstream fiction readers ask for?’ Booklist

‘Sittenfeld adeptly updates and channels Austen’s narrative voice—the book is full of smart observations on gender and money. . . . A clever retelling of an old-fashioned favourite’ Publishers Weekly

Praise for CURTIS SITTENFELD:

‘Novelists get called master storytellers all the time, but Sittenfeld really is one’ Maggie Shipstead

‘Sittenfeld has an astonishing gift for creating characters that take up in residence in reader’s heads’ Washington Post

‘When it comes to tearing apart contemporary American family life, Sittenfeld is up there in a class of her own’ Guardian

‘Curtis Sittenfeld shares with Salinger a knack of capturing, in effortless prose, a teenager mindset…It feels important…Most vitally of all, it feels like adolescence’ The Times

‘Sittenfeld is a pin-sharp observer’ Independent on Sunday

All stars
Most relevant
had flavours of Austen. well read by narrator and pacey. loved the modern twists on this tale.

most enjoyable!

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I loved it.

I’ve got to write 12 more words for this review to count.

Barking mad

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It was interesting to see how the author modernised each character and situation/plot line. Most 'changes' were done well but I thought the Lydia plot line was just an excuse to bring in a topic that is current but just felt clumsy and unnecessary with so much else going on- the Wickam character became two people and I felt Lydia's Wickam was only done for shock value. Other than that is was quite clever. Would see this book as a holiday or beach read/listen type of book. Did find American accent annoying to listen to first as I tended to listen to it at night but I got used to the vocal quality pretty quickly. Recommend for easy listen and nothing too intense. If you are an Austen purist you won't like this a bit but as a general Austen fan or not it is worth a listen.

Easy listening and entertaining

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A modern take on P&P and one I think even Jane Austin would given stamp of approval.

Sittenfield has remarkable ability to capture the whole tone of family life and lives, in such a way that you invest in the characters quickly, whether you like them or not. Enjoyable romp (was P&P the original Rom Com?) through a classic tale wittily updated for our modern times. Highly recommend for a way to distract yourself from 2020 hellishness.

Wonderful update on an old favourite

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If you have a brilliant story like Pride and Prejudice and want to convert it to present day America, fine, but do the characters have to become so awful. I wanted it to be over, and although we all know the story, stuck with it to the bitter end. Could have been so much better, leave our Jane Austen alone!

Should have been better

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