Take the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys and relocate them to 21st-century Cincinnati, and you've got the idea behind Curtis Sittenfeld's latest,
Eligible. Chip Bingley is a Harvard-educated doctor starring in a reality show much like
The Bachelor. Jane is the eldest of the Bennet offspring, nearing 40 and unmarried. In Bingley, Jane's mother—desperate to ensure that at least one of her daughters leaves singledom behind—senses an opportunity. A barbecue (instead of a ball) is hastily planned as the venue for their introduction.
And Mr. Darcy? He's recast here as a snooty surgeon from California who shares his disdain for Midwesterners with a party guest. Liz Bennet overhears. Frenemies are born.
Of course we're talking a spin on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And while a purist might initially bristle at the interweaving of original plot lines with contemporary elements including transgender marriage and the tech boom, even the most ardent Austenite will soon find herself seduced. The fun is in anticipating how Sittenfeld will break up the romance between Jane and Bingley and then reunite them; how the silly sisters—Lydia and Kitty—will embarrass themselves on American soil; and what will finally prompt the proud and the prejudiced to get over themselves and marry each other already.
