Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Pride and Perjury was a fun and charming read; twelve short stories set in the world crested by Jane Austen. Nine were connected to Pride and Prejudice; the other three to Emma. I loved that the language stayed true to the original and that many stories either retold original plot points from the perspective other characters or imaginatively fleshed out events that mostly happened off page.Others involved fun twists like bringing together characters from different books. The opening story was told from the perspective of Mrs Hill, the Bennett's housekeeper. It touched on all the main events from Pride and Prejudice, gave the servants' perspective on the Bennetts, and included details of the servants' love lives. The one between Mrs Hill and Mr Spencer, the new butler, and reminded me of Downton Abbey's romance between Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes. Mr Spencer's droll perceptive comments helped make this story one of my favourites. I also enjoyed McVeigh's take on how the events at Brighton might have played out, as well as the diary she created for Caroline Bingley, where she outlined her failed attempt to snare Mr Darcy. Occasionally, characters' actions and behaviours didn't align with how I perceived them based on Austen's writing. This isn't to say that these stories were bad, just that they didn't suit my preference, which is to hew close to the original. Overall, though, this book was a delightful dip into Austen's world, one that scratched my Austen itch without my needing to commit to a reread.

Many thanks to @netgalley, the author and publisher for my eARC.

I liked McVeigh's tone of voice and extensions to the plot as they were very well thought out. I am an absolute sucker for Heliotrope Ribbon and I liked how the author decided to show how Lydia ran away with Wickham from the point of view of Colonel Forster.

Wow! I adored this book.
Pride and Perjury is a collection of short stories written in the world of Pride and Prejudice. If you are missing Austens detailed portrayal of relationships and comedic characters, these stories expand on her works in an intricate yet entertaining way. You will not be disappointed with these stories!

This book was not for me. I felt like the stories were almost too true to the narrative, and I found them hard to enjoy. however, I did feel that the author put a great delivery search and time into the novel. Kudos to her!!

This was a fun collection of shorts that quenched my thirst for a Pride & Prejudice- adjacent read. I loved visiting with some of my favorite characters, and the way the stories overlapped with Austin’s actual work made it feel like an accurate glimpse behind the scenes. The chapters at the end of the book were a tease into the author’s Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation, and I immediately added that to my TBR. In addition, several stories introduced me to characters and story lines from Austin’s “Emma,” and I’m now ready to enjoy that classic!

I absolutely loved this collection of short stories taking us into Austen's world. Beautifully written, it absolutely captures Austen's voice in these stories behind the story using minor characters. I especially loved the twists and turns and the dialogue . I have already purchased Alice McVeigh's other books and can't wait to read them. I find her writing and creativity both engaging and compelling. I would strongly recommend this to lovers of Austen and those who haven't read Austen as the stories stand by themselves perfectly as well. Enjoy!

3.5 stars.

I wanted to like this more than I did. But the author is in an impossible position, we all want more Pride and Prejudice but likely are going to leave dissatisfied. It will never live up to the lofty expectations.

There are 12 short stories. Only 9 are based off Pride and Prejudice. The last 3 draw inspiration from Emma. Some follow interesting stories hinted at in the original novel, but some of them really didn't add anything to the narrative and were just retellings from another perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley and Warleigh Hall Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful collection of short stories. Love learning about these unique characters! I am quite impressed with the depth of character development, as well as the plot twists.

The writing isn't bad, it's easy to read. This is just not for me. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favourite stories, and I thought I would love this, but it felt cringey for me.

See Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in an entirely new light when retold through short stories from the points of view of various minor characters. Every story is introduced by a related Jane Austen quote, and each tale begins from there. The author endeavors to emulate Austen’s writing style as she reimagines the interactions and dialogue between the characters. This is a lighthearted return to the world of Pride and Prejudice, perfect for fans of Jane Austen’s work.

As a lover of Pride and Prejudice I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. The characters and their point of view of the story is very thought out and I like how each story linked to a chapter in Pride and Prejudice. The novel is beautifully written. My favourite short story is the diaries of Caroline Bingley. I do however feel that the stories could be broken up into short chapters instead of one story.

this selection of short stories is everything my Austen loving heart needed. I devoured them in one weekend and I will definitely revisit them again.

Pride and Perjury is a collection of 12 short stories, nine of them based on Pride and Prejudice and three on Emma. I loved the behind the scenes view Alice McVeigh gives us of our favorite characters’ lives as well as a more in-depth view of the side characters that populate Jane Austen’s novels.
The Housekeeper’s Tale and Lady Catherine Regrets were my two favorite stories. In the Housekeeper's Tale, Ms. McVeigh improved on the original story in the only way possible - by adding a Shakespeare-quoting character. Looking over Lady Catherine’s shoulder as she attempts to thwart the engagement of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy is fascinating (and a little heart-breaking).
Overall, this is an amazing collection of short stories that pays tribute to Jane Austen and her beloved novels. It makes me want to reread the originals then reread the short stories again.
Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me access to the ARC of this book.

Thank you to Warleigh Hall Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I’m always a sucker for Austen variations and Pride and Perjury did not disappoint. This is a collection of twelve short stories, largely set within the extended world of Pride and Prejudice but also featuring further glimpses into the characters of Emma, Love and Friendship and Northanger Abbey. McVeigh’s writing style feels very in tune with the original novels and her stories therefore feel like very plausible extensions to these well-loved plots. So if you’ve ever wondered how the elopement between Lydia and Mr Wickham really went down, how Mr Elton persuaded Miss Hawkins to marry him so quickly after Emma rejected him and what was going through Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s head when she burst into Longbourne to try to get Elizabeth Bennet away from her nephew, then this is the collection for you.

I (unfortunately) did not enjoy this one. I think the language threw me off because of the fact that it was very similar to Pride and Prejudice, and it was just too hard to decipher for me. May work for others who are more accustomed to classics though! It truly was just personal preference in the end.

This is a collection of short stories centered around characters from Jane Austen's novels, mostly Pride and Prejudice and Emma, but with a few cameo appearances from other novels.

I don't read a lot of P&P retellings/variations, so I'm probably not be the target audience for this collection. I think this would be a strong 4.5 or 5 star read for those readers. McVeigh does a fabulous job writing in the style of Austen and there were some very good stories here.

I especially loved "The Housekeeper's Tale," which did a beautiful job weaving the elements we already know into a new story, with a character we know but whose perspective we don't get to experience in the original novel. I also really enjoyed "One Good Sonnet" and "Valentine's Day at the Bennets'" which were both very funny and delightful. The rest of the stories I liked rather than loved, but it was great fun to spend time with these characters.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Alice McVeigh, Warleigh Hall Press, and NetGalley for generously providing an ARC for review!

This is a new kind of book for me. Pride and Perjury consists of 12 short stories that are inspired by Jane Austen. These stories borrow characters from Austen's own novels, and even twists some of her own plots. Alice McVeigh wonderfully adapted the writing style of Austen into her own, and as someone who loves Jane Austen's books highly appreciated this. Those that may be wary of Austen's style though, fear not as this book is very accessible to those who may not be familiar to books like Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Perjury was beautifully crafted and I believe read best after reading Pride and Prejudice (and maybe some of the other Austen masterpieces). It gives you different stories and perspectives, which is fun when Austen herself, much deceased, can no longer make books. I really enjoyed reading this book and being reminded just how much the themes of love and class are still present in our current society.

12 lovely short stories inspired by Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen. We see behind-the-scenes moments and hear the stories of minor characters, all remaining quite true to Austen’s original writings.

[+] I loved Hill’s perspective of Pride and Prejudice! I’m glad we got to see her personality and how the Bennet girls’ and their servants’ social lives overlapped. I loved the parallel between the two at the end!
[+] I loved the emotional depth added to Knightley’s character in “Mary Rose” and the backstory it gave to a certain character.
[+] There were just so many well-placed details and connections that blew my mind. McVeigh saw so many opportunities and took them, all with successful results.
[+] It’s clear that Austen’s works were heavily leaned upon for research in the writing of this collection. I’m not usually a fan of one author’s spin on another author’s work, but this remained so faithful that this didn’t bother me!
[+] Having the characters of Pride and Prejudice and Emma interact in “Pride and Perjury” was clever and the perfect conclusion to this collection!
[+] Overall, this was incredibly written and felt consistent with the language Austen used. I felt like these stories were truly parts of the original novels.

[-] A few characters (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet & Mr. Darcy) felt out of character at times. Mr. Bennet seemed more hateful and Mrs. Bennet more conceited than in the original story. Mr. Darcy actively scheming with the Bingley sisters to separate Charles and Jane just felt… off. (I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice in a few years, but I plan on rereading it later this year. I’ll keep this in mind and see if perhaps my memory served me wrong on my perceived characterizations!)
[-] I’m not crazy about Lydia or Kitty, so I didn’t 100% enjoy reading the stories that centered around them. That’s not to say that they aren’t well-written, Austen just did a great job of making me despise those two the first time around lol
[-] Some stories were told via diary entries and the formatting could’ve better reflected this. Of these stories, have dated entries while others utilize page breaks between entries. I tried to understand the reason for this decision, but ultimately couldn’t grasp it. Consistency would’ve made reading these stories less confusing for me— I kept forgetting that we were in a character’s diary— and the lack of it detracted from the intimacy this perspective allows.

TLDR: A well-crafted behind-the-scenes look at some dear stories and overlooked characters, with brilliant details scattered throughout. This isn’t something I’d readily pick up at this point in my reading journey, but I’m glad I did! I’d recommend this to any and every Austen fan.

Thank you Warleigh Hall Press and NetGalley for the digital copy!

No one is more suspicious of Jane Austen reimaginings and spin off that I am, however this was done with clear love and respect for the source material, and with a decent knowledge of the historical period. Overall more one for Austen fans but this was a lot of fun.