Vanity and Vexation A Novel of Pride and Prejudice

A clever and cunning modern-day retelling of the beloved Jane Austen novel When the BBC invades York to film the latest version of Pride and Prejudice, impoverished novelist Llew Bevan bemusedly watches as the glamorous invaders combine the filming of Jane Austen's romantic classic with the much less decorous pursuit of real-life romances with the locals.

After Oxford, Kate Fenton was employed as a researcher at the House of Commons, by a MP, and played piano on the side. She later worked for the BBC, first as a researcher, then as a features and documentary producer, in Radio Wales, the World Service, and finally Radio 4 in London. She and her husband, actor Ian Carmichael, live with two spaniels in North Yorkshire where she writes her novels. This is her first novel published in the United States.

"When I read the concept for this one, I shuddered: It'll never work. Pride and Prejudice updated to the 21st century, with the roles reversed? The Mr. Darcy role taken by a woman, and Elizabeth by a man? English novelist Kate Fenton's witty Vanity and Vexation, however, not only works splendidly, but is consistently inventive and entertaining.... Fenton's adroit use of dialogue and her clever characterization place this one a cut above the usual Pride and Prejudice spinoffs." -The Seattle Times

"You don’t have to have read Pride and Prejudice—much less remember it—to enjoy the rewrite. It works beautifully in its own right. If you do know Austen’s novel, you get double the fun.... The tone is witty, the pace quick and the emotions true to the contemporary characters. Austen’s original has great bones, and so does Vanity and Vexation.” -The Washington Post

"The result is brisk and entertaining, a good choice for readers looking for something clever, with an English accent." -Booklist

"A must for any Jane Austen fan!" - Melissa Nathan, author of Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field : A Novel

"An amusing, gender-reversing, media savvy, but still very British update of P&P."
-Paula Marantz Cohen, author of Jane Austen in Boca

"A sparkling, frothy tale... There are neat inversions of Austen's plot, lively characters, intelligent writing and a fun love affair." - Elizabeth Buchan, bestselling author of Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
"Exciting, sexy, funny... This fresh optimistic tale is the perfect summer read... A witty and clever love story that will keep you gripped until the end - guaranteed to get even the most cynical of readers heaving a deep sigh of contentment." - Company [UK]

"Frothy, humorous and slick." - Daily Express [UK]