Article contributed by Charlotte Phillips
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve devoured the books or seen Keira Knightley running through a field, sporting a bonnet and petticoats or not—everyone knows something about or at least has heard of Jane Austen. Her literature can be seen in modern adaptations, such as Clueless (1995) or parodied in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), there are tours of the homes she lived in, theories over her love life, and her face is even on the ten-pound note. Since her death, Austen has become a character in herself. So, in our modern times of technology, socially acceptable showing of the ankles, and Harry Styles, who is our new “Jane Austen”?
Well, the name of this article is misleading because simply there cannot be another Jane Austen as her cultural impact remains her own and there can never be someone whose career and life align perfectly with her. We will never have another Austen, just as we will never have another Shakespeare or Chaucer, however, that does not mean we will not have ground-breaking romance and contemporary novelists following in the steps of our beloved writer. Brilliant in their own right, we’ve rounded up just a few stellar authors!
EMILY HENRY
Do you want friends to lovers? Or is enemies to lovers more of your cup of tea? Do you love fiction about people that also love fiction? Emily Henry is your gal. The queen of the summer romance novel, Henry keeps delivering bangers of a novel time and time again. The stories she continuously creates and has you devouring will undoubtedly leave you smiling and giddy. Henry has currently written three novels, Book Lovers (2022), Beach Read (2020), and People We Meet on Vacation (2021). Her newest book Happy Place released in April.
SALLY ROONEY
Now if you’re looking for something that has the intimacy of an Austen novel and the societal observations of an Austen novel, but without the required happily ever after, Sally Rooney is the author for you. Rooney rocketed to authorial fame through her novel Normal People, which looked at the lives of two teenagers and how society and class identities get in the way of their love for one another. Think, Marianne in Sense and Sensibility without the charming Colonel Brandon to come and eclipse her love John Willoughby. Rooney has three published novels under her belt, two of which have been turned into TV shows of the same name—Normal People (2018), Conversations with Friends (2017) and Beautiful World, Where are You (2021).
TAYLOR JENKINS REID
This is a must-read author for cinema and TV fans with multiple of her works currently being adapted for screen and TV. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a powerhouse, who is constantly working on mastering different types of genres—all under the umbrella of contemporary fiction. If you’re looking for some heartwrenching romance, Reid has books such as One True Loves (2016), which has just been released starring the magnificent Phillipa Soo, and Forever Interrupted (2013). Or if you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac and all the drama that went into the fabric of their music, you should try Daisy Jones and the Six (2019), which released earlier this year on Prime Video.
It would take an entire article to go through all of Reid’s wonderful novels, but the one that prompted the Taylor Jenkins Reid fan frenzy was the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017), also in production to be become a film. Evelyn Hugo will leave you believing in love again and crushed to the core, Mr Darcy is nothing compared to Cecilia St. James, but he’s a whole lot better than Mick Riva.
TIA WILLIAMS
As many an literature teachers will tell you, Austen’s characters were complex. You just needed to look at the details of what they did and spoke. Tia William’s takes these romantic, flawed, three dimensional characters and gives them space to express themselves beyond implications and connotations. Williams has written and published six books, her two most famous books being Seven Days in June (2021) and The Perfect Find (2016), which is being turned into a movie. Her beautiful work gives romance to the everyday person. She does not gloss over the character’s issues and she does not make that a reason for them not to deserve a happy ending because, after all, everyone deserves a happy ending.
HOLLY BOURNE
One aspect of Austen’s novels that are often ignored is the female sisterhood that is promoted. Think of Anne Elliot in Persuasion, who is always there for her sister Mary and shows no hostility towards Louisa and Henrietta whilst they flirt with the man she loves. Holly Bourne takes this sisterhood and focus on female friendships and turns it up to the max. In her novels we have the romantic love story, but what really shines in Bourne’s writing is the platonic friendships and their importance in our lives. She brings to centre stage the beauty that is friendship and celebrates all its iniquities. Plus, her books are wonderfully and promotingly feminist, an extra bonus. The Spinster Club Trilogy is a brilliant place to start when reading Bourne’s work as you follow a trio making their way through college and discovering themselves in the least cliché ways imaginable.
SARA DESAI
Another aspect of Austen’s novels which literature teachers will sing about is that her novels are funny. Yes, some of her jokes do not translate as well in modern day and often they fall flat in comparison to the works of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Romesh Ranganathan, but she is funny. A brilliant romance author, who prioritises the comedic aspects of her novel with the intimate moments of her novel is Sara Desai. Sara Desai’s most popular works are The Dating Plan (2021), The Marriage Game (2020) and The Singles Table (2021). Desai gives us funny, sexy female protagonists that make us laugh and leaves us applauding when they get their man. She also constantly provides a fun, enjoyable family dynamic that helps push the story forward and creates a more enjoyable reading experience.
So, here are six wonderful female identifying authors who are taking the romance genre by storm. They may not be Austen, they are their own magnificent selves and have done and will do amazing things within the genre or whatever genres they decide to explore next. And just remember, if anyone tries to shame you for reading romance novels, remember people once did the same to the original readers of Austen’s work. Look who’s laughing now!
