On the pages of Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, ten popular Austenesque authors sketch Elizabeth Bennet's character through a collection of romantic re-imaginings, sequels, and prequels of Pride & Prejudice, set in the Regency through contemporary times. With timeless verve, our Elizabeth Bennet bares her most intimate thoughts, all the while offering biting social commentary about life’s absurdities. She overcomes the obstacles of others’ opinions, not to mention her own flaws, to find a love truly worthy of her—all with humor and sparkling charm.
Stories by: Elizabeth Adams, Christina Boyd, Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D'Orazio, Leigh Dreyer, Jenetta James, Christina Morland, Beau North, and Joana Starnes.
Foreword by New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Tessa Dare.
"In the foreword, Tessa Dare paraphrased Jennifer Lunn Barnes when she said “Readers are drawn to characters who feel ‘Just like us but awesome.'” I’ve never really thought about it before, but I agree 100% with that statement. It explains why I love Lizzy and it explains why this book is so awesome. It’s a collection of short stories all about Elizabeth. How could I not love it?"
“How might Elizabeth and Darcy have argued after their engagement? What if Elizabeth had once considered going full Charlotte Lucas? Would Lizzy and Jane flourish if transported to a life of estates, hunts, and motor cars, or to Golden Age Hollywood, or to a university campus in the 1980s? What would Elizabeth want to teach her own grandchildren about love and marriage? These are some of the provocative questions that the fine Austenesque authors assembled in Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl set out to explore. The Quill Ink has done it again, in a splendid anthology of new stories reimagining the most delightful creatureto appear in print.” –Devoney Looeser, writer, editor, Guggenheim Fellow
"Austen fans, you are in for a treat. ... A highly recommended addition to the Jane Austen Fan Fiction world and a delightful read for all lovers of romance."~Marilyn Brant, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of According to Jane and The Knight Before Christmas
"A wonderful collection for Elizabeth Bennet admirers everywhere.” –Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author
"Edited by Christina Boyd, Elizabeth, Obstinate Headstrong Girl is an endearing and spunky anthology of short stories by a group of fine writers whose understanding of Elizabeth shines. Readers will fall in love with our obstinate, headstrong girl in all her many avatars including suffragette, a football expert and speech pathologist in training, a stage actress breaking into films at Pemberley Pictures, a teenage Elizabeth looking for love in the wrong places as well as much older and wiser Elizabeth who muses on the love of her life, Mr. Darcy. A cozy and heartwarming read, Elizabeth, Obstinate Headstrong Girl is a worthy companion to Boyd’s earlier anthology The Darcy Monologues." --Soniah Kamal, award winning author of the novel Unmarriageable, Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan
Congratulations are due to Christina Boyd and her team authors for another shining gem of an anthology! Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl is contemplative, compelling, and like Elizabeth Bennet, “uniformly charming!”
"The writing sparkles throughout the entire book. It elicits chuckles and tears, head shakes and nods, groans and cheers, and maybe a few swoons..."--Deborah Brown, Austenprose
“Was Elizabeth Bennet an obstinate, headstrong girl, or ‘as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print’? Find out by immersing yourself in this delightful concoction of short stories from ten very talented Austenesque authors, and enjoy following one of Jane Austen’s favourite heroines as she is superbly portrayed across a selection of tales set from the Regency era to the present day.”—Cass Grafton
"Although I am very fond of Mr Darcy, the character that made me love the book more than any other was Elizabeth. Reading the Austenesque genre, where Austen's characters (most often the ones from P&P) take different paths and are put into different scenarios, the ones I like best are the ones that keep the characters as true to Austen's creations as possible. This means that I don't like a perfect Elizabeth, who is super-talented, and a Mary-Sue paragon of all the virtues. I like an Elizabeth who I can relate to and who I would have wanted to be friends with. The title of this book highlights what the Elizabeths of these short stories all have in common - they are obstinate, headstrong girls, and as long as this characteristic is not taken to excess, that is no bad thing!..."
Elizabeth Grace narrates the audiobook with warmth and charm, when called for, altering pitch and delivery for character dialogue. Well paced, with lovely diction and an even lovelier accent, this is an audiobook performance that I could listen to again and again.
"This has been one of my favourite books this year, and I believe all readers will find something to love in it too. I highly recommend it...."
Editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Laurel Ann Nattress, recommends "Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl for its pluck and amusingly decided opinions."
This just in! InD’Tale Magazine awarded a Crowned Heart for Excellence to Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, and if I am reading it right, this leads to RONE (Reward of Novel Excellence) Award Nomination. Read the review if you don't believe me!
Wish us luck! The anthology series has been a labor of love, and I am over the moon when industry leaders give us their nod of approval. Congratulations to our multi-talented voice actor Elizabeth Grace and all outstanding anthology contributors. #OmgItsOHG
"The audio narration performed by Elizabeth Grace is as diverse as the characters, using varied vocal accents, pitches, and inflections. I actually verified that, indeed, only one actor performed all ten stories and the characters within."
"So I really loved and enjoyed all these stories! Especially how each author took the theme of 'obstinate headstrong girl' and worked it to create five very different stories that still kept the heart of Jane Austen and the fire plus wit of Elizabeth."
"I LOVE IT!"
"... my two favorite parts were actually the beginning and the end. Tessa Dare’s foreward is insightful and really sets the pace for the stories to follow. Christina Boyd’s story, which wraps up the collection, is powerful, thought-provoking, and tear-inducing. I found myself wiping away tears as though Elizabeth and Darcy had been life-long friends and I had been with them every step of the way. In one little story, Christina effortlessly shows why we keep wanting more of these stories -Because they are OUR Elizabeth and Darcy."
"It isn’t Jane Austen and hardcore Austen fans might not appreciate some of the liberties that were taken with the personalities and time periods, but less picky readers will appreciate and enjoy Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl for what it is: a fun and interesting collection of stories that take a different look at characters we all know and love."
"...over the last few weeks, I've realized that Elizabeth: OHG — and other strong anthologies like it, and really, the entire genre of retellings/fanfiction — are important."--Misty, The Book Rat
"It’s time to welcome Sophia Rose to the blog for a guest review. Today she has a delightful anthology: Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl. Fans of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and Austen fans gather round…."--Sophia Rose
Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl ties The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner for Best Book in Fiction at Savvy Verse & Wit blog.
"Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl edited by Christina Boyd is a collection of short stories that skillfully depict the inner thoughts and character of Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet in a variety of modern and historical periods and situations. These stories hit it “out of the park with a range of angst, love, prejudice, and pride.”
"I bring you a collection of stories and novellas edited by Christina Boyd, from The Quill Collective, whose works I have reviewed before, and here they revisit one of my favourite Austen characters. Perhaps because she’s headstrong as obstinate, and so am I. Oh, I’m participating in the blog tour for the release of the book, so apart from my review, there’s also a feature by one of the authors, J. Marie Croft, and a giveaway. Don’t miss them!"
"I've talked about Christina Boyd (The Quill Ink)'s Pride & Prejudice anthologies here on the blog before, mostly for Austen in August (surprise, surprise). Christina normally curates and edits these collections — which are stellar, might I add — but with the latest entry in the lineup, Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, she's not only wearing her editor hat, but is making her debut as one of the featured authors as well...."
Check out the video reading by British actor Elizabeth Grace!
"Hi dear readers!! Who else has been patiently waiting for the next anthology from The Quill Collective?!? As you might remember, we are ardent admirers of all 4 previously released anthologies from The Quill Collective. If you don’t, see HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. But even though the multi-talented Christina Boyd has gifted Austenesque readers 4 fantastic collections of brilliant short stories, I tell ya friends, 4 is not enough! I am so glad Christina is here to share the beautiful cover for her 5th Austenesque anthology!!" (see link for full article)
Austenprose’s named Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl Best Austenesque & Historical Books of 2020, Short Story Anthology.
"From the author feature for Beau North and her 'Love in Limelight' story from ELIZABETH: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl: As for what inspired my story, 'Love in Limelight', I owe a great portion of it to my favorite podcast, The Secret History of Hollywood. In his 'Bullets and Blood' series, host Adam Roche details the lives of the Warner family and the life of actor James Cagney. The Warner family fled Cossack-occupied Poland and would revolutionize cinema with the invention of the talking picture. It was the story of Sam Warner and his wife—Ziegfeld Girl Lina Basquette—that really captured my heart, and the long struggle that Lina endures after Sam’s tragic demise...."
"I’ve always had this idea that the story of Pride & Prejudice, cadence, tensions, characters, all, can be picked up and plopped down in a number of different time periods (even places) to great effect. It works especially well when the period in question was one of stringent social stratification but also subject to the pressures on oncoming change. ..."
Books & Benches: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to listeners what they want?
Elizabeth Grace: I find it so important for audiobooks that while you input your own style, that it isn’t too jarring for the listeners. My job is to bring the story to life in an authentic way so listeners can switch off and enjoy what they are hearing....
"Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl is dedicated to “the Elizabeth Bennet in all of us” because I’d like to think she resides in our hearts, even if but a little spark of courage, wit, loyalty–and whether we reveal her to the outside world or not, she is there inspiring us to find our own felicity and dignity."
"I can’t even tell you all how much I love the title of this book; it’s such a near, and dear quote to my heart — literally! I have this quote tattooed on my ribs with a peacock quill above it!" said Drunk Austen's admin R.
Hi friends! Do you remember that fabulous anthology titled Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl that came out earlier in 2020? Feels so long ago, right? Well, guess what! You can soon enjoy the brilliant short stories written by authors we adore via Audible Audiobook! Woot woot! This anthology is narrated by Elizabeth Grace, and today we have a lovely video of her reading an excerpt from Christina Morland’s story “Atmospheric Disturbances.” ...
Austenesque Reviews names Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl FAVORITE Austenesque Anthology for 2020 and also voted Readers' Favorite! #iLoveBestOfListSeason "This anthology beautifully pays to tribute to all that we love about Elizabeth Bennet."
Babblings of a Bookworm named Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl as a Top Pick for 2020. #ILoveBestOfListSeason "Given that my concentration wasn’t up to much in 2020, the anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl made for nice, small reading chunks. This anthology brought together short stories from some of my favourite Austenesque authors, edited by Christina Boyd. They were all inspired by the heroine of P&P. Some explored variations on Austen’s story, others took Elizabeth to another time."
At last! The audiobook of Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl is live at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! And available via Whispersync. We are so excited for you to hear it. Our British voice actress Elizabeth Grace is brilliant!
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Elizabeth-Obstinate-Headstrong-Girl-Audiobook/B08FCRQPDL
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Obstinate-Headstrong-Quill-Collective/dp/B08FCSJ33D/
At last! The audiobook of Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl is live at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! And available via Whispersync. We are so excited for you to hear it. Our British voice actress Elizabeth Grace is brilliant!
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Elizabeth-Obstinate-Headstrong-Girl-Audiobook/B08FCRQPDL
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Obstinate-Headstrong-Quill-Collective/dp/B08FCSJ33D/
Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl is 2020 Favorite Read at From Milton to Pemberley
"What I loved about it – The diversity, I loved all the many different Elizabeth’s in so many different settings and stages of life found in this anthology."
Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl as Best of 2020 for Classical Literature After Canon as well as naming Elizabeth Grace as BEST AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR for the anthology at Jorie Loves a Story blog.
"It was wonderful to be part of Christina’s Dream Team again (thanks for asking me, Christina!) and the theme was just as irresistible. Our favourite obstinate, headstrong girl – it’s such a delight to write about her! As for short stories, they’re ever so rewarding to write. It’s very satisfying to imagine our dear couple moving swiftly towards their HEA, even if cutting to the chase brings its own challenges...."
...
The audiobook will be narrated by Elizabeth Grace, a narrator I didn’t know before, but whose talent captivated me. I haven’t heard the narration yet, but Elizabeth Grace read Christina Moreland’s “Atmospheric Disturbance” short story for the blog tour and I loved seeing the video of this narration.
Today she is reading the second 15 minutes of “Atmospheric Disturbance”, and I hope you like listening to her beautiful voice, but before watching this video, I suggest checking out the first post of the blog tour at Austenesque Reviews to listen to the first 15 minutes of this story. If you do, you’ll be able listen to the entire story....
I am glad to be able to present the upcoming audiobook of “Elizabeth; Obstinate, headstrong Girl” Since I read it in the spring, I have only looked forward to hearing it in audio, and now here it is! ...Pre-order for audiobook, introduces voice actress Elizabeth Grace, and shares author Joana Starnes' excerpt in audiobook and text from short story "The Uncommonlu Busy Lane to Longbourn"...
"One of those stories is Leigh Dreyer’s 'The Last Blind Date,' a modern-day story that imagines Elizabeth as a grad student/waitress and Darcy as a soon-to-be oil company CEO. It’s set in Oklahoma, where (from what I gathered from the story) football is life (my husband would agree), and takes our dear couple on a blind date to a college football game. ..."
"Today I'm spotlighting the anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl and featuring an excerpt from Elizabeth Adams's story, 'Something Like Regret'."
"My story in Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl is titled 'Resistive Currents'—it’s the story of Beth Bennet, a 1980’s college student in what was (and still continues to be, although not to the degree it used to) an unusual field of study for women. My Beth is a student studying electrical engineering at fictional Fordyce University. ..."
Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth stop of Elizabeth Obstinate Headstrong Girl Audiobook Blog Tour. I'm glad to share with you an interview with Elizabeth Grace, the actress narrating the ten stories inspired to Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice. You'll also find a sample of the audiobook and a giveaway. Time to start scrolling down now. Enjoy and good luck...
Check out the SoundCloud audio sample as narrated by Elizabeth Grace of The House Party, the 1910 suffragette story written by author Jenetta James.
"Antología de Elizabeth Bennet, una joven obstinada y decidida"
Audiobook Spoltight plus audio snippet from Christina Boyd's "A Mate for Life", 1855 Victorian era short story, as read by British voice actor Elizabeth Grace.
"Once, at a dinner party—perhaps I’d had more than my usual half-glass of wine—I told the man sitting next to me that I write Austenesque fiction. This I considered an act of some bravery, for I’m uncomfortable talking to anyone, much less strangers, about my writing. Just ask my husband, or my mom, or my cats; when they ask me how writing’s going, I usually make a face and say, 'You know…'” #OmgItsOHG
