Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits by Mary Jane Hathaway is part of her ‘Austen Takes the South’ series. You will certainly get to read a lot of excerpts by Jane Austen while reading this book.
Shelby Roswell is a history professor in a small town university in the South. She is up for tenure when a book she wrote is heavily criticized by Ransom Fielding, a well known authority in the field. And her nemesis is now going to teach a class at her university! He slights her, she insults him in front of a hundred people, they get thrown together, and end up secretly liking each other. But before they can live happily ever after, Shelby’s world falls apart and her reputation is at stake.
Is every handsome man like Mr. Darcy? This is a good story even without the references to Austen’s classic. Every chapter begins with a quote from the book, but I’m not sure if it always relates to the contents of the chapter. The hero is portrayed as proud and successful, but we realize there are many layers to his personality. The book could have done without all the typos/ errors which are rampant throughout. In some places, even the quotes from the original Austen work have typos in them.
There is no mention of ‘cheese grits’ throughout the book, except a recipe for cooking them at the back along with a couple of other recipes. So if you expected an ode to this comforting gooey concoction, you might be disappointed. I suppose the word ‘cheese grits’ is used to symbolize the South (Southern United States) which is where the story takes place. This book is like a clever cocktail – a good story mixed with some classic references with a title that is sure to come up every time someone searches for the Austen classic. And there is something about God there too, making it a contender for the Religious Fiction category. The next book in this series is about Emma, another Jane Austen classic, and will be as popular as this one, I am sure.
Regardless of the editing errors, and my comments above, I loved reading Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits for the story. I am sure you will too.
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