Publication
Center Point (2014), Edition: Large Print
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction H
Physical description
399 p.; 23 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"This hilarious Southern retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice tells the story of two hard-headed Civil war historians who find that first impressions can be deceiving. Shelby Roswell, a Civil War historian and professor, is on the fast track to tenure--that is, until her new book is roasted by the famous historian Ransom Fielding in a national review. With her career stalled by a man she's never met, Shelby struggles to maintain her composure when she discovers that Fielding has taken a visiting professorship at her small Southern college. Ransom Fielding is still struggling with his role in his wife's accidental death six years ago and is hoping that a year at Shelby's small college near his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, will be a respite from the pressures of Ivy League academia. He never bargained for falling in love with the one woman whose career--and pride--he injured, and who would do anything to make him leave. When these two hot-headed southerners find themselves fighting over the centuries-old history of local battles and antebellum mansions, their small college is about to become a battlefield of Civil War proportions. With familiar and relatable characters and wit to spare, Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits shows you that love can conquer all...especially when pride, prejudice, love, and cheese grits are involved!"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member dd196406
Clever story, interweaving the plot elements from Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a contemporary romance between college professors. Very enjoyable!
LibraryThing member MillieHennessy
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think it's obvious from the title that this is a Pride and Prejudice retelling. The summary found on Netgalley reads: "Shelby Roswell, a Civil War historian and professor, is on the fast track to tenure—that
What I liked:
Despite my intense love for Pride and Prejudice, I haven't ventured far into the world of retellings and inspirations based on Austen's book - I have one short story collection inspired by Pride and Prejudice and I also own a copy of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. I know there are a lot of "sequels" out there and I'm sure they're very clever, but I'm hesitant to read any because I feel they have a lot to live up to. A retelling felt like a nice place to start, as it wasn't something written to continue the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, but rather tell it anew. Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits was a cute summer read, something I could see myself reading on the beach. The chapters were short, so it was easy to read several at a time. Each chapter starts with a quote from Austen's work that essentially describes the events or tone of the chapter. It's fairly light-hearted (though not without its darker moments) and Shelby was a fun main character. It was easy to see her similarities to Elizabeth Bennet, but with a Southern flair and a bit of religion thrown in. Shelby does pray pretty frequently and there are a few short discussions about religion between her and Ransom, and it made me realize how few books I read that mention any organized religion. For me, these parts stood out - simply because it's content that I'm not used to - but they didn't feel heavy-handed or preachy. It was simply something that I accepted as being part of who Shelby was. I suppose you could consider this to be a romance (with some cheesy comedy moments thrown in), but it's not a bodice-ripper or anything. It's definitely a love story centering primarily around two characters (as anyone who has read the original will be familiar with) but there aren't any erotic scenes. Hathaway also included two recipes at the end - for Bayou Pie and Cheese Grits - and I thought that was a cute touch!
What I didn't like:
I quickly tired of the constant reference to how attractive Shelby and Ransom found each other, along with Shelby's fluttering heartbeat and the "electricity" that passed between the two whenever they were near each other. All the times where Shelby was thinking about how frustrating, yet maddeningly handsome Ransom was made me roll my eyes. I get it! But I also understand that this book has a different tone than the original, so I tried not to focus too much on that. Rebecca, Shelby's roommate and best friend, was the resident "Austen expert" and also happened to be obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. While this was a cute idea, I think Hathaway overdid it with the references - Rebecca was constantly comparing Ransom to Darcy so that it was annoyingly obvious he was supposed to be Hathaway's version of Darcy - I wish there had been a little bit more left for the reader to figure out. I also felt that Ransom's decisions to talk about his difficult past were so randomly placed that I couldn't understand his motivation for wanting to talk about them and they felt almost inappropriate.
This book took me a little longer to get through than I expected, despite the short chapters. While I enjoyed what I was reading, it wasn't gripping enough to keep me glued to my Kindle. But like I said, it's fun, and you certainly don't have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy it!
I think it's obvious from the title that this is a Pride and Prejudice retelling. The summary found on Netgalley reads: "Shelby Roswell, a Civil War historian and professor, is on the fast track to tenure—that
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is, until her new book is roasted by the famous historian Ransom Fielding in a national review. With her career stalled by a man she’s never met, Shelby struggles to maintain her composure when she discovers that Fielding has taken a visiting professorship at her small Southern college."What I liked:
Despite my intense love for Pride and Prejudice, I haven't ventured far into the world of retellings and inspirations based on Austen's book - I have one short story collection inspired by Pride and Prejudice and I also own a copy of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. I know there are a lot of "sequels" out there and I'm sure they're very clever, but I'm hesitant to read any because I feel they have a lot to live up to. A retelling felt like a nice place to start, as it wasn't something written to continue the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, but rather tell it anew. Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits was a cute summer read, something I could see myself reading on the beach. The chapters were short, so it was easy to read several at a time. Each chapter starts with a quote from Austen's work that essentially describes the events or tone of the chapter. It's fairly light-hearted (though not without its darker moments) and Shelby was a fun main character. It was easy to see her similarities to Elizabeth Bennet, but with a Southern flair and a bit of religion thrown in. Shelby does pray pretty frequently and there are a few short discussions about religion between her and Ransom, and it made me realize how few books I read that mention any organized religion. For me, these parts stood out - simply because it's content that I'm not used to - but they didn't feel heavy-handed or preachy. It was simply something that I accepted as being part of who Shelby was. I suppose you could consider this to be a romance (with some cheesy comedy moments thrown in), but it's not a bodice-ripper or anything. It's definitely a love story centering primarily around two characters (as anyone who has read the original will be familiar with) but there aren't any erotic scenes. Hathaway also included two recipes at the end - for Bayou Pie and Cheese Grits - and I thought that was a cute touch!
What I didn't like:
I quickly tired of the constant reference to how attractive Shelby and Ransom found each other, along with Shelby's fluttering heartbeat and the "electricity" that passed between the two whenever they were near each other. All the times where Shelby was thinking about how frustrating, yet maddeningly handsome Ransom was made me roll my eyes. I get it! But I also understand that this book has a different tone than the original, so I tried not to focus too much on that. Rebecca, Shelby's roommate and best friend, was the resident "Austen expert" and also happened to be obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. While this was a cute idea, I think Hathaway overdid it with the references - Rebecca was constantly comparing Ransom to Darcy so that it was annoyingly obvious he was supposed to be Hathaway's version of Darcy - I wish there had been a little bit more left for the reader to figure out. I also felt that Ransom's decisions to talk about his difficult past were so randomly placed that I couldn't understand his motivation for wanting to talk about them and they felt almost inappropriate.
This book took me a little longer to get through than I expected, despite the short chapters. While I enjoyed what I was reading, it wasn't gripping enough to keep me glued to my Kindle. But like I said, it's fun, and you certainly don't have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy it!
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LibraryThing member lostinavalonOR
Book Description: "Shelby Roswell, a Civil War historian and professor, is on the fast track to tenure--that is, until her new book is roasted by the famous historian Ransom Fielding in a national review. With her career stalled by a man she's never met, Shelby struggles to maintain her composure
This book was laugh-out-loud funny! Totally loved it. This is the second by this author that I've read and I just love how she has a way of making me want to jump ahead. I very rarely feel the urge to prematurely find out how it all ends, but Hathaway is excellent at building anticipation. I regularly felt my breath caught in my chest.
"Cheese Grits" is an excellent modern-day retelling of Austen's, Pride and Prejudice. It was so hard not to put Kiera Knightley's and Matthew MacFadyen's faces on the characters of Shelby and Ransom. Yes, I know, everyone thinks the BBC version is better---but MacFadyen completely makes the Hollywood version. Swoon!
This is one of those rare books that is so fun to read that you don't want to put it down. I love how she makes some characters so hateable. She has a way with dialogue that really develop her characters' strong personalities and her humor is just awesome. The turkey plucking story on page 268 TOTALLY cracked me up!
I've been getting to know the author on Facebook as we found out we used to live just minutes from one another in Oregon. The more I get to know her, the more I can hear her voice in this story. It's so fun to read books by people you know. Can't wait for more!
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when she discovers that Fielding has taken a visiting professorship at her small Southern college. Ransom Fielding is still struggling with his role in his wife's accidental death six years ago and is hoping that a year at Shelby's small college near his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, will be a respite from the pressures of Ivy League academia. He never bargained for falling in love with the one woman whose career--and pride--he injured, and who would do anything to make him leave. When these two hotheaded Southerners find themselves fighting over the centuries-old history of local battles and antebellum mansions, their small college is about to become a battlefield of Civil War proportions. With familiar and relatable characters and wit to spare, this book shows you that love can conquer all...especially when pride, prejudice, love and cheese grits are involved!"This book was laugh-out-loud funny! Totally loved it. This is the second by this author that I've read and I just love how she has a way of making me want to jump ahead. I very rarely feel the urge to prematurely find out how it all ends, but Hathaway is excellent at building anticipation. I regularly felt my breath caught in my chest.
"Cheese Grits" is an excellent modern-day retelling of Austen's, Pride and Prejudice. It was so hard not to put Kiera Knightley's and Matthew MacFadyen's faces on the characters of Shelby and Ransom. Yes, I know, everyone thinks the BBC version is better---but MacFadyen completely makes the Hollywood version. Swoon!
This is one of those rare books that is so fun to read that you don't want to put it down. I love how she makes some characters so hateable. She has a way with dialogue that really develop her characters' strong personalities and her humor is just awesome. The turkey plucking story on page 268 TOTALLY cracked me up!
I've been getting to know the author on Facebook as we found out we used to live just minutes from one another in Oregon. The more I get to know her, the more I can hear her voice in this story. It's so fun to read books by people you know. Can't wait for more!
Show Less
LibraryThing member JalenV
The title of Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits got my attention when I was perusing the new large type books at my local library. The description on the back cover sounded amusing, so I checked it out. It wasn't until I added the book to this site that I realized I'd failed to notice its lack of
I'm glad I did. I ignored the increasingly persistent call of nature because I didn't want to put the book down. The characters were engaging and so was the plot. The quotations from Pride and Prejudice at the head of each chapter were icing on the cake. Loved how the heroine's cat got her name and the grandfather's story about the turkeys and the bad peaches. Shelby's difficulties with trying to live up to her Christian ideals was something I can certainly understand.
Now I'm hoping my library will get Emma, Mr. Knightley and Chili-Slaw Dogs, the next book in the author's 'Jane Austen Takes the South' series.
The two recipes included are 'Cheese Grits' and 'Bayou Pie'.
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the label my library uses to denote a mystery. Oh, horrors! It's a romance (feel free to add your own accents of loathing to that word). Unless it's mixed with history, social satire, science fiction/fantasy, or mystery, romance is a genre I prefer to avoid. Still, I decided to give this one a chance.I'm glad I did. I ignored the increasingly persistent call of nature because I didn't want to put the book down. The characters were engaging and so was the plot. The quotations from Pride and Prejudice at the head of each chapter were icing on the cake. Loved how the heroine's cat got her name and the grandfather's story about the turkeys and the bad peaches. Shelby's difficulties with trying to live up to her Christian ideals was something I can certainly understand.
Now I'm hoping my library will get Emma, Mr. Knightley and Chili-Slaw Dogs, the next book in the author's 'Jane Austen Takes the South' series.
The two recipes included are 'Cheese Grits' and 'Bayou Pie'.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-01-14
ISBN
9781628992304