What comes to your mind when you first read the name “Jane Austen"? Probably Pride & Prejudice? or any other novel written by her? Jane Austen doesn’t need any introduction (at least to the bookworms I guess?). Austenistan is an anthology containing 7 different stories inspired by Jane Austen’s work and are set in modern Pakistan. Sounds fun, eh?

The book starts with a wonderful foreword by Caroline Jane Knight who is related to Jane Austen. This book has 7 different stories and most of these are based on P&P. Every story is written by different author and overall the book is edited by Laaleen Sukhera. At the starting of each story, there is a quote from the Jane Austen story that is being retold. So you get the idea instantly that a particular story is an adaptation of which one.

Each of the stories has the character names similar to Jane Austen characters, so it makes it easier to recognize them. I think the best way to review this anthology is to go into details about each story. So let’s talk about them story-wise.

The Fabulous Banker Boys by Mahila S Lone: This was a typical P&P story based on the similar storyline. I was so glad the first story itself was based on P&P and I was able to relate to it. This is a story about Jameela Baig and her daughters. Jameela Baig is a middle-aged woman who has four daughters. All she ever think is about marrying her daughters to suitable grooms. When she heard about the Mirza wedding, she was happy with the prospect of finding many eligible bachelors there. In the wedding, her second daughter Elisha met Mr. Dar (sounds familiar?