Bonnets at the ready, with 2025 marking two and a half centuries since Jane Austen’s birth, does «bad lad» Mr Darcy still do it for Gen Z? From erotic audio books to one-woman comedy shows, an Austen invasion is under way this year with various reinterpretations of her work being offered up from those savvy enough to spot a marketing opportunity.
Many promise their own modern twists on classics like Pride & Prejudice but does Austen’s work really need updating to appeal to modern tastes? Nichi Hodgson – whose book The Curious History Of Dating: From Jane Austen To Tinder compares Regency romance to now – understands how the «rituals of the era» can sometimes be «a stumbling block for people that want to read the stories».
«But if you do read the books it really is about the emotions and characters,» she insists. «Mr Darcy… at the beginning, he’s kind of a bad lad. The key tenants of the connection… wanting to kiss all night, you know, that’s still appealing to people.» Of course, what you won’t find in Austen’s classics are any explicit sex scenes. As Hodgson explains: «People didn’t really have sex before marriage, it was completely frowned upon. «Skip forward to the Victorian era and actually one-in-three working class brides were already pregnant on their wedding day… but in Jane Austen’s era, it wasn’t the done thing.»
But for modern readers who prefer taking a story that’s a little spicier to bed, audio erotica platform Bloom Stories has just released its version of Pride & Prejudice. Listeners get to hear 14 hours of their steamy reimagining of Austen’s iconic love story. Hannah Albertshauser, Bloom Stories’ chief executive, admits they «created it because people have been daydreaming about Mr Darcy for generations». «Sexual desire undoubtedly existed in Austen’s time, but it was rarely expressed openly in literature. «With this adaptation, we wanted to celebrate sexual empowerment by giving voice to the desires that were once left unsaid and of course, highlight female agency and pleasure.»
The fact that people are still reimagining Austen’s work today is arguably testament to her solid plots… but is it patronising to assume younger readers would only pick up Pride & Prejudice with a sexier rewrite? Australian playwright Matthew Semple says the original is «absolutely a story for and of and by young people». «Jane Austen wasn’t much older than many Gen Z’s today when she wrote it.»
Transferring to London from a sellout run in Australia, his show Plied And Prejudice plays the classic novel for laughs. Five actors scramble to play twenty characters in a chaotic retelling of Elizabeth Bennet and Mister Darcy’s love story. «After we opened it in Brisbane…we had to add about a month’s worth of shows because it just popped off,» he says. And while there’s plenty for his audiences to find funny, «a lot of the cultural aspects», he insists, are still as relevant today when it comes to «the way we view gender politics».
Young stand-up comedian Rosalie Minnitt agrees: «We’re still all wrestling with this idea of love that came from that period of history.» Minnitt is currently on tour with her Austen-inspired one-woman show after her character Lady Clementine proved to be one of the stand-out hits at the Edinburgh Fringe. «We’re in quite an interesting space with genders, men and women not really understanding each other, people struggling with dating, and it feels as though the show has taken on a really interesting new energy,» she admits. While the world of dating has changed wildly from Austen’s times, Minnit – whose show is all about her character’s hunt for «the one» – believes plus can change.
«So much of her work was about poking fun at the world she lived in… being let down by men, being pressured by your mum, these are all things that I think that modern women are still dealing with.» Plied And Prejudice runs at The Vaults, Waterloo until 27 April. Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine is touring the UK including at London’s Soho Theatre on 9 and 10 May. Nichi Hodgson’s book The Curious History Of Dating: From Jane Austen To Tinder is available to order online.
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