Carole's Monday: Mrs: Wickham

Author: Sarah Page

Narrator: Jessie Buckley & Johnny Flynn

Title: Mrs Wickham

Genre: Historical Fiction, Novella, Short Story, Retelling 

Format: Audiobook

Published: September 8, 2022

Where I got It: Audible

Summary: 

Imagine if you made one little mistake when you were young and were punished for it for the rest of your life. Well, that’s what happened to Lydia (yes, that Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice), and she’s here to set the record straight. Hold on to your teacups and get ready for sophisticated (and a little bit naughty) hot takes and witty banter that’ll make you laugh—and think.

We meet Lydia just as she is denounced by her family, exiled miles from home, and married to the rogue George Wickham, who seems to love all women...except his own wife. She must learn to summon great bravery to carve out a place for herself in the society that has brutally rejected her.

Lydia isn’t the traditional Austen heroine, and this isn’t a traditional, polite period drama. Lydia is a badass. A trailblazer. She’s fierce and fiercely funny. And she might inhabit the Regency period, but she’s fighting the same battle many of us are today—having to defend the decisions she’s made and the person she chooses to love, to shut out the 'trolls' and gossips, to hold her head high in a world that will judge her for any mistake she makes.

Review:

Randomly stumbled upon this in Audible. Seemed a perfect listen for the mood I was in! Please I can't remember the last time I read/listened to a P&P variation.

Here we follow Lydia. She made a bad decision and it is being held against her. She is denounced by her family and exiled miles from home. She realizes George is a rogue and never truly loved her. He spends all his money on women and booze. Instead of just accepting this fate, she picks herself up and carves out a place for herself among society. 

Go, Lydia! Yayy! 

I will admit I found her annoying and bratty and selfish....but I never hated her. I felt pity for her because she ended up with a Wickham. That is not a prize anyone should want. It was nice to see her get a story to explain herself and learn and grow. She certainly did learn and grow A LOT here. You will find yourself, like me, cheering for her to succeed and find some sort of happiness. 

I honestly loved all this. I do go back and forth on how I feel about the ending. It makes sense that people can change and people can come back from terrible, horrible decisions. BUUUUUT it is not easy. I won't spoil anything....but yes, I have mixed feelings about the ending. 

Oooooo the narration team-up was fantastic. We have two here and they worked well together. Perfection. There was even sound effects and etc and that worked well too. 

In the end, I highly enjoyed this. If you like PP I recommend this for sure. It is inspiring, fun, and will make you look at Lydia (and even George) in a different light. 4 stars from me. 

Challenge(s):
- #43 for Audiobook challenge