The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
This historical fantasy is a variation on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in which the youngest Bennet sister is transformed into a witch. Nor is she the only one to undergo change. Several minor characters in the original are also witches, including Lydia’s Aunt Philips; her sister Kitty, her familiar, is originally a barn cat; and Wickham is a demon. Instead of a comedy of manners, the story becomes a conflict between those who make use of their supernatural abilities largely for benevolent purposes and those who seek to accumulate power for themselves.
Lydia remains a headstrong and self-centered teenager, but her motivations shift. Rather than merely thoughtless, she also displays courage and loyalty to her friends, whom she endeavours to protect from danger despite great personal risk. She offers some amusing observations about her family’s conduct; and Miss Georgiana Darcy’s transformation into a math prodigy by day and an owl by night is entertaining; but the primary focus shifts to the conflict between magic-users. As this widens, it grows increasingly confusing, but the warning against the temptation to misuse power becomes ever more forceful. I doubt Jane Austen would approve.
