Mrs Wickham by Sarah Page

5 Stars Jun 03, 2024

My review

5/5 stars

This was a very quick listen for me on Audible. The experience being as enjoyable as it was caught me by surprise. The content was in my wheelhouse - Pride and Prejudice spin-off of sorts - but the execution was much better than I expected it to be.

This story picks up with Lydia Wickham, exploring what happened to her during and after the original setting of Pride and Prejudice. What I enjoyed most about this version of things was how realistic it felt. By that, I don't mean that it necessarily felt akin to its source material (because it does have a VERY different feel), but that it married up to real life more. Lydia very quickly has the rose-tinted glasses removed and realises the error of her ways in choosing her life parter, she struggles emotionally, socially and financially - I could believe that if she were a real person, her life would have looked a lot like what was written.

I also appreciated that she was given a new life with this story. We got to see a maturing, determined version of Lydia, instead of just the silly, simpering teenager. She was able to exhibit some of the qualities that her other fictional sisters are loved for, and it suited the story and her character.

The dramatisation of it all was highly entertaining. The multi-talent cast, the ambience, the performances. As a side note, while the story was rightfully focused on Lydia, the characterisation of those around her was brilliantly done. It was a wonderful audiobook adventure.

Book blurb

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.

Starring Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley (Fargo, The Lost Daughter) and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick, Stardust), this hilarious and timely listen is for fans of classics with a twist. Writer and creator playwright Sarah Page says that she wrote Mrs. Wickham to 'entertain people with a romantic, optimistic, and seductive comedy,' but that there’s also a 'message held at its heart to treat each other with kindness.'

If you binged Bridgerton, this one’s for you.