The Bad Miss Bennet

A Novel

By: Jean Burnett

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Lydia was never the most upstanding of the Bennet sisters, but who ever said that moral rectitude was fun? At least she bested her elder sisters and was the first to get married. She never could understand what all the fuss was about after she left Brighton with her gallant. It is a shame, though, that Mr. Wickham turned out to be a disappointing husband in so many aspects, the most notable being his early demise on the battlefields of Waterloo. And so Lydia, still not yet 20 and full of enterprising spirit, is in urgent need of a wealthy replacement.

A lesser woman, without Lydia’s natural ability to flirt uproariously on the dance floor and cheat seamlessly at the card table, would swoon in the wake of a dashing highwayman, a corrupt banker, and even an amorous Prince Regent. But on the hunt for a marriage that will make her rich, there’s nothing that Lydia won’t turn her hand to. In the meantime, she has no qualms about imposing on her sister Elizabeth’s hospitality at Pemberley. After all, what is the point of having all that fine fortune if not to aid a poor, newly widowed younger sister?

While Lydia rattles around the continent from Paris to Venice and to the home of the disgraced Princess of Wales in Italy and back again to Darbyshire, you, dear listener, will be greatly diverted by the new adventures of Jane Austen’s consummate and incorrigible anti-heroine, who never ceases to delight.

©2012 Jean Burnett. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGO

What an adventure.

A lovely diary and journey of a young widow trying to navigate her way in life. It was a fun audiobook.

Great fun

Jane Austin is responsible for a lot of popular literature. I've read several versions of "what happened" after the wedding bells ring in Pride and Prejudice. And, I've read at least three takes on the fate of Lydia. This is, in my humble opinion, the best.

It is a joy watching Lydia maneuvering through country life, London life, and life abroad to her advantage. She brushes through adventures with history, repeats her mistakes with aplomb, finds love (or, at least, lust) with the typical wrong man. Her enthusiasm for life remains undiminished and her friends agree.

At least I got through it.

So much potential but it went off the rails with the insane kidnapper brainwashing and using children then murdering them at puberty.

Enjoyed Lydia's Misadventures

I really loved the idea of this book. I still really love the idea of this book. Lydia is such a fun character to explore. Jean Burnett did a really lovely job here. My biggest gripe is that I failed to care about most of the characters in the book. The book covers a wide timespan, which in hindsight I think would make for a great series. I wish I could give it a higher rating but I just didn't get into it as much as I was hoping.

Davina Porter was brilliant as always.

Loved this book.

Loved the this side of Lydia. So funny. Wish there were more adventures of Widow Lydia Wickham.

Sounded like an older women.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Like others, I did not find this to be about Austen's Lydia. The character is supposed to be 19, but the narrator sounds like a middle-aged woman. I found this very disconcerting and I just couldn't get past it. Might be a good read, but a terrible book to listen to.

so like Lydia

Very clever, fun and enjoyable. Loved it! Looking forward to a sequel. The plot faithfully embodied the delightfully self-centered characteristics of the Lydia of Austen's original creation.

I like this Lydia

Any book narrated by Davina porter is sure to be a title I will enjoy. Because of her fantastic characterizations, I found myself laughing quite a lot while I listened.
I can’t think of Lydia Bennett as being a character that I like, she wasn’t written to be liked.This book created a Lydia that I found fascinating. She is duplicitous, funny, and a keen observer, through her own crazily warped lens for the world.
The story line tends to be a little bit mad cap, and for a while I felt like it was wandering around, but it was still enjoyable, I found the characters interesting and it didn’t languish too long without switching to the next escapade. That was fun.

Not really a romance

For those enthralled by the romance in Pride and Prejudice this work will be disappointing. However in a modern context it’s good to see the bad miss Bennett’s misadventures and how she continual makes the best of dire situations managing to forever land or her feet like a proverbial cat- in heat.

Liked it!

I laughed out loud several times. The humor was very low-key. But you could definitely sense the authors sense of humor. Ha ha