Anyone who sat through an AP English class in high school had to read at least some of the famous classic novels.  Lucky for me, I actually found most of them enjoyable—all but Heart of Darkness, yuck—and a few of the books from our required reading lists have become some of my favorites. But even if the classics in their original forms don’t appeal to you, we all love at least one of their modern-day adaptations. Who hasn’t laughed out loud at Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man (Twelfth Night) or at Emma Stone in Easy A–which actually made The Scarlet Letter enjoyable? Some of your favorite movies may even be retellings without you knowing, like The Lion King (Hamlet) or Pretty Woman (Pygmalion). Also, modern-day adaptations have a way of bringing our literary crushes to life. Who can resist Heath Ledger in Ten Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew), or Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet?
However, I think my favorite modern-day adaptations have been those based on the works of Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Clueless, Bride and Prejudice—all of them breathe new life into the old stories, and are just as lovable and entertaining as the original books they were based on. And recently, I have discovered what may be my favorite retelling of all—“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.” This Emmy-winning web series is totally different in an amazing way. It’s told from the perspective of Lizzie, a grad student studying communications, who is vlogging about her life with her sisters and her overbearing mother, who wants Jane to get married to the new neighbor, a med student named Bing Lee. Lizzie, of course, is thrown together with his rich, pretentious, hipster friend—you guessed it—William Darcy, who she really doesn’t like. We all know the story, but “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” tells in in a fresh new way that’s funny, clever, and makes you feel for the characters. At only five minutes an episode, it’s easy to watch a couple before class, during a study break, or on the treadmill at the gym (but also just as easy to keep hitting the next button until you realize it’s 3:30 a.m. and you have class in a mere five hours).
If you liked Pride and Prejudice, or even if you didn’t, give “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” a chance. And for those of you who are fans of Mr. Darcy, the Darcy of “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” is great, too–even if he is a hipster.