2023/127: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch — Melinda Taub

Not even my own family knows what I sacrificed and went through in Brighton -- what I'm still sacrificing! It's not fair!
Bother! I'm crying. I will have to leave off writing for a while. I'm almost out of ink, and if this page splotches I can't afford to rewrite it. [loc. 311]

Lydia Bennet -- I beg your pardon, Lydia Wickham -- is living in a garret in Newcastle with her husband, the deplorable Mr Wickham, when she --

Except that most of that sentence is untrue. Lydia does live in Newcastle, in poverty, with Wickham. She is writing a long letter to a mysterious correspondent: an account of the previous summer's events in Brighton, which involved the Long Man, the Jewel of Propriety, a 'Creole' heiress, and punch made with seawater. Lydia has many regrets, and she's painfully lonely until she encounters Miss Georgiana Darcy, who's swathed with protective spells. Lydia (who is, as per the book's title, a witch) undertakes to help Georgiana (who is attempting to solve a difficult mathematical problem, while beset by magical attacks) and is invited to stay (sans Wickham) at Pemberley...

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is darker and more complex than I'd expected, though there is plenty of fun and frothiness to balance the less pleasant aspects of the story. Lydia is very much the outspoken, flirtatious, impetuous younger sister from Pride and Prejudice, but there's more to her than that: loyalty, confidence and courage, and plenty of spirit. And Lydia does remind us, more than once, that she's not yet sixteen, which shows her 'elopement' and Wickham's behaviour -- not to mention her family's rejection -- in rather a different light.

But most of all, Lydia is a powerful witch, and has been since early childhood. ("It is a truth universally acknowledged that the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter must be a witch," is the novel's first line: within a few pages, we see how Lydia's power has affected the Bennets. Yes, the tally of sisters is also explained.) Her adventures with Great Powers, high society and aristocratic covens fit neatly into the familiar framework of Austen's novel, and the minor characters -- such as Mary King, Georgiana, Harriet Forster, and Mr Denny -- are fleshed out credibly and with respect for canon. There are original characters, too, including the splendid Miss Lambe, orphaned granddaughter of a South Seas planter.

Stylistically, I found Lydia's account well-paced and wholly in character: discursive, emotional, amusing. There were a couple of Americanisms ('last fall', 'bought on sale') but nothing that truly jarred. Overall, I liked this a great deal: there was so much more to it than I'd expected! It redeems Lydia, explains Kitty and even makes Wickham less objectionable. And it is tremendous fun.

Fulfils the ‘A Fashionable Character’ rubric of the 52 books in 2023 challenge.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this honest review: UK publication date is 03 OCT 2023.