Genre - Historical Fantasy Fiction, Retelling

For Pride and Prejudice fans who don’t clutch their pearls over retellings, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub is an entertaining and fun read. Don’t worry, Taub knows her source material well. Just when I thought I was getting just a tad too far from the world I knew of the Bennets, Taub dropped in just the perfect allusion to it. But, Lydia has a story to tell; she’d like to clear the record. She is not empty headed and she is not a fool; she is, in fact, a witch. And if she could just explain, you’d see the true Lydia Bennet and NOT the Pride and Prejudice Lydia. And if you are not a Pride and Prejudice fan (gasp!) The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch stands on its own and will be an engaging, adventure filled read. As a child and an inexperienced witch, Lydia makes a promise to a dragon demon Wormenheart that will haunt her future. When he comes to collect, Lydia must go to Brighton on a quest endangering both her precious “sister” Kitty and her new acquaintance Miss Maria Lambe. Nothing is as it seems, not even Wickham who is traveling right along beside her.

I just love how Taub captures the voice of Austen’s Lydia Bennet, right down to her exclamations, la! Since I was using the audiobook, I also had the privilege of hearing Amy Hoggart bring Taub’s created voice to life. Together, they created a sassy and quite believable Lydia. Lydia has the same flair for the dramatic as in the original source material, but as she fills in the details of her life as a witch our perceptions of her change. What I really like is how she still acts in much the same way - on instinct, often without thinking - but in the context of her new story, she grows and changes, perhaps even learning how to love and be loved. Seeing a secondary character expanded in such a creative way who will stand on her own is delightful, and yet Lydia remains recognizable to Pride and Prejudice readers. The setting remains similar but with the addition of the witchcraft and demon elements. Since watching “Bewitched” as a child I have been fascinated by witches (the good kind?). I have read of familiars before and the cleverness of Kitty as a familiar was so, so good. In that sense, Kitty gets an expanded role as well. Of course I have heard of hexes and spells, but the idea of sacrifice to make witchcraft work was new to me and oh so fascinating. The creation of the hierarchy based on location was interesting as well. The acceptance of witches and witchcraft in this time is perhaps illustrated most effectively through Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy. The form of the novel very much allows us to come to know Lydia best as we are hearing her own stories in her own words - not strictly epistolary but a version of it, much like the book itself. The balance between her present day and the history through her writing is just right for maintaining suspense.

Through Lydia, Taub gives us all hope that we can reinvent ourselves. Or at the very least tell our story in the way that we’d like instead of having it told by how others see us. Of course, I love that reminder as I reinvent my life in so many ways. Since I have loved the works of Austen for so long - I sure enjoyed getting such a message through a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I love how Taub values Lydia’s independence, stubbornness, and emotion - the very same things that Austen (whom I admire so very much) seems to criticize. Even for being ahead of her time (I think), a more modern perspective can add an intriguing and interesting twist to Austen’s work. To be clear, Pride and Prejudice will always be one of my favorite novels - as is. But I find joy in its use here to create a refreshing, suspenseful, fun walk in its original footprints. Join me in reading Melinda Taub’s The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennett, Witch.