Read-alikes
Books Like Pride and Prejudice
Wit, pride, misjudgment and the slow business of changing your mind about someone.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Pride and Prejudice readers want wit, a sparring couple and a romance that grows out of misjudgment. Persuasion is the Austen to read next, North and South the Victorian novel with the same spark, and Eligible and Longbourn the best retellings. For a modern version, The Hating Game.
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How we picked
Each pick names which element it matches: the wit, the enemies-to-lovers couple, the world of the Bennets, or a modern equivalent. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  PersuasionJane Austen · 268 pagesThe Austen to read next | they want more Austen | |
| 2 |  North and SouthElizabeth Gaskell · 452 pagesMatches the sparring couple | they loved Elizabeth and Darcy's clashes | |
| 3 |  A Room with a ViewE. M. Forster · 204 pagesMatches the wit | they want a light, funny classic | |
| 4 |  Jane EyreCharlotte Brontë · 480 pagesThe darker classic | they want a heroine with the same spirit | |
| 5 |  EligibleCurtis Sittenfeld · 528 pagesThe modern retelling | they want Pride and Prejudice in the present day | |
| 6 |  LongbournJo Baker · 364 pagesBelow stairs | they want the same world from a new angle | |
| 7 |  The Murder of Mr. WickhamClaudia GrayThe Austen mystery | they love Austen's characters and a puzzle | |
| 8 |  The Hating GameSally Thorne · 379 pagesThe modern enemies-to-lovers | they want the same dynamic in an office |
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Eight, by which element they match
1. The Austen to read next
Persuasion
Jane Austen
Give this ifthey want more Austen
Eight years after being persuaded to break off her engagement, a woman meets the naval captain she refused, now rich and still unmarried. Quieter and more grown-up than Pride and Prejudice, and to some readers the better book.
- Print length
- 268 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. Matches the sparring couple
North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell
Give this ifthey loved Elizabeth and Darcy's clashes
A clergyman's daughter moves from the south of England to an industrial northern town and clashes with a mill owner. Pride, prejudice and a great romance, with a social conscience.
- Print length
- 452 pages
- First published
- 1855
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. Matches the wit
A Room with a View
E. M. Forster
Give this ifthey want a light, funny classic
A young Englishwoman on a trip to Florence meets an unconventional young man who does not fit her family's plans. Short, witty and romantic.
- Print length
- 204 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. The darker classic
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Give this ifthey want a heroine with the same spirit
An orphaned governess falls in love with her employer and discovers what his house is hiding. More gothic, but Jane's independence will be familiar to anyone who loved Elizabeth.
- Print length
- 480 pages
- First published
- 1847
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. The modern retelling
Eligible
Curtis Sittenfeld
Give this ifthey want Pride and Prejudice in the present day
Pride and Prejudice retold in modern Cincinnati, with the Bennet sisters, a reality-TV doctor and a neurosurgeon named Darcy. Funny, and faithful in all the right places.
- Print length
- 528 pages
- First published
- 2016
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. Below stairs
Longbourn
Jo Baker
Give this ifthey want the same world from a new angle
The story of Pride and Prejudice's household as told by the servants below stairs. A clever companion that makes a reader see the original differently.
- Print length
- 364 pages
- First published
- 2013
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The Austen mystery
The Murder of Mr. Wickham
Claudia Gray
Give this ifthey love Austen's characters and a puzzle
Characters from across Jane Austen's novels gather at a country house party, and the despised Mr. Wickham turns up dead. Affectionate and very funny for anyone who knows the originals.
- First published
- 2022
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The modern enemies-to-lovers
The Hating Game
Sally Thorne
Give this ifthey want the same dynamic in an office
Two executive assistants who loathe each other compete for the same promotion. Pure enemies-to-lovers, the shape Pride and Prejudice made famous.
One caveat: Open door.
- Print length
- 379 pages
- First published
- 2016
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
What makes Pride and Prejudice work
Pride and Prejudice is a romance, a comedy of manners and a portrait of a family, and readers attach to different parts of it.
- The couple: North and South or The Hating Game.
- The wit: A Room with a View or Persuasion.
- The world: Longbourn, Eligible or The Murder of Mr. Wickham.
Where this fits
Historical romance treats Pride and Prejudice as the origin of the whole shelf, enemies-to-lovers romance follows its most famous trope, and classic audiobooks includes a well-known recording of it. The subscription panel on this page explains who audio suits.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Sequels written by other authors
There are many continuations of Pride and Prejudice, and most cannot match Austen's wit. The retellings on this list work because they reimagine rather than extend. If a reader wants more of the original characters, Longbourn or The Murder of Mr. Wickham are the ones that earn it.
Questions people ask
What should I read after Pride and Prejudice?
Persuasion for more Austen, North and South for a Victorian romance with the same spark, or Eligible for a modern retelling.
Which Jane Austen book should I read next?
Persuasion, then Emma. Persuasion is quieter and more mature; Emma is the funniest.
Are there modern retellings of Pride and Prejudice?
Eligible sets it in present-day Cincinnati, and The Hating Game borrows its enemies-to-lovers shape for an office romance.
Is there a Pride and Prejudice mystery?
The Murder of Mr. Wickham gathers Austen's characters at a country house and kills off her most despised villain.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
- What to Read Next
Read-alike lists that name the element they match, plus the how-to-choose framework.
- Best Historical Romance Novels
Eight historical romances from Regency London to the Highlands, with the heat level noted.
- Best Enemies to Lovers Books
Eight enemies-to-lovers books where the hostility has a real cause, heat level stated on each.
- Best Classic Audiobooks
Eight classic novels that are easier to love heard aloud, and how to choose between recordings.
- Best Book Gifts for Her
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