Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books but I find it way too over-adapted. And the modern ones are some of the worst adoptions out there. Persuasion was a far better novel as far as writing and love story goes. Sense and Sensibility were full of plot twists. Northanger Abbey was Austen's way of poking fun of the popular gothic novel- something that is becoming popular again. Mansfield Park was her bestselling book when she was alive. And I think Lady Susan has never been produced because she didn't finish it. Emma is also over-produced as far as Jane Austen's stories go.

I'm a Regency living historian so I am a bit of a purist when it comes to Austen. As a writer I don't like to stump other people's creativity- but I also don't like to do the leg work for another writer. I struggle with coming up with plot ideas and I haven't really been able to write to my own satisfaction for a long time. I have a lot of friends who are writers and if any of them used any of my story ideas and profited from it, I'd be seriously hurt.

So I’m afraid I won’t help you on this. I'm sorry if that seems harsh or mean but I feel strongly on the matter and feel the need to say so.

I agree it has been over used in media, maybe another one of her books. I love emma

Hi Green Machine. Check out Romeo and Juliet the version with De Caprio. It has some good analogies for a modern twist.

On Pride and Predjudice. It has lots of sub plots and very well written characters so use that as your starting point. The letter that Elizabeth Bennett writes is a brilliant piece of writing. Keep to the sense and feeling of the book and characters and you should be ok. Don't try to invent things that didn't happen in the plot. You could change the scenes and words of the characters to make it modern but keep to the ideas and outcomes of the original.

I would probably make Lydia a giggling Barbie type. Mrs Bennett would be one of those women in a laundrette who knows everyones business and Wickham would be a hoodie. I'd probably make Darcy an aloof business man who has no time for only finance till he meets Elizabeth when his car breaks down and she fixes it. Elizabeth being the more practical of the Bennett sisters...Lol
Just my mind running off a bit....hope it gives you some ideas ;D
Good luck with bringing the story to a new audience.

How about a different character as the main character?
Speed dating instead of balls.

Bridget Jones's Diary uses the PP plot. Clueless uses the Emma plot. Also check out the Lost in Austen mini-series and The Jane Austen Book Club.

I love Austen and have several movie adaptations of each book and also a few of the sequels written by others.

Hope it helps

The beauty of Pride and Prejudice is in the dialogue. I think it would be very difficult to do a modern-feeling version with that dialogue, and more difficult to recreate the dialogue in modern English, but more power to your elbow for trying! I can see how the characters could evolve into modern times but modern English is sadly lacking as an expressive medium compared to Austins time

Check out Bride and Prejudice, it's a Bollywood/English cross over movie. It's been brought right up to date and keeps to the story very well as it keeps the feel of the characters and class structures.