The Bad Miss Bennet

Lydia was never the most upstanding of the Bennet sisters, but who ever said that moral rectitude was fun? Mr Wickham turned out to be a disappointing husband in many aspects, the most notable of which being his early demise on the battlefields of Waterloo. And so Lydia Wickham, née Bennet, not yet twenty and full of enterprising spirit, is in urgent need of a wealthy replacement. A lesser woman, without Lydia’s natural ability to flirt uproariously on the dance floor and cheat seamlessly at the card table, would swoon in the wake of a dashing highwayman, a corrupt banker, and even an amorous Prince Regent. But on the hunt for a marriage that will make her rich, there’s nothing that Lydia won’t turn her hand to. While Mrs Wickham rattles around the continent from Paris to Venice and to the home of the disgraced Princess of Wales in Italy, you, dear reader, will be greatly diverted.

Jean Burnett studied at Exeter University and has a Masters degree from Cardiff, University of Wales. She has worked at the University of Bristol and has taught creative writing and written for a variety of agencies and magazines. Jean lives near Bath, England.

ISBN: 9781605985053
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: October 16, 2013

In her debut novel, Burnett picks up the story of Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth’s frivolous and shallow sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Between gambling, toying with a wealthy, married banker, and dalliances with a disreputable but charming highwayman, Lydia always lands on the wrong side of fortune. Burnett captures the essence of Lydia, and Austen fans will enjoy seeing her world from a new vantage point. —Publishers Weekly