Post-Jane Austen: Are There Similar Books Out There?

By Beaver_Epilogue

I’ve been re-reading Jane Austen for more than 20 years now, and after my last pass through *Sense and Sensibility* I thought I’d finally try something different. I knew there was a BBC adaptation floating around, but instead I tracked down the most well-known “continuation” of *Sanditon* by “Another Lady,” and read that. It didn’t really match what I expected. Then I saw reviews saying it felt kind of like Georgette Heyer, so I figured I’d give one of hers a shot. I grabbed *Frederica* kind of at random and I’m a bit more than halfway through. Heyer is good for sure, but it doesn’t seem all that close to Austen to me. I don’t want to go on and on about the comparisons (I’m late to the whole discussion anyway), but I’m still wondering: is there anyone out there who can at least copy the vibe—Austen’s setting and the surface-level sort of things—if not the exact wit? I’m not looking for people who can do Austen-level sharpness or polish, I just want something that feels similar. I’m also not really interested in the gothic romance stuff that Austen was reacting to (like what gets mentioned in *Northanger Abbey*). What I want is a pretty straightforward, believable marriage-plot novel in Austen’s world—Revolutionary Wars/Regency period—and I mainly want the heroine’s perspective. That’s part of why I haven’t loved Heyer so far; it feels like it keeps pulling attention toward the male lead. Sorry if this is an over-asked question, but I’ve actually found some great reading recommendations before, so I figured it was worth asking.