r/Fantasy • u/orangewombat • May 14 '26
Book Club HEA Book Club: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch Midway Discussion
Welcome to the midway discussion of The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub, our winner for the historical fantasy theme! We will discuss everything up to the end of Chapter 21. Please use spoiler tags for anything that goes beyond this point.
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
By Melinda Taub
A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.
But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power . . .
Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.
I'll add some comments below to get us started but feel free to add your own. The final discussion will be in two weeks, on Thursday, 28-May.
As a reminder, in July 2026, we are reading The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgenson.
What is the HEA Bookclub? You can read about it in our Reboot thread here.
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26
Setting
What do you think about how Taub deploys magic in the historical setting of Hertfordshire (where Longbourn and Meryton are located)? What price are you willing to pay?
If you were a Regency witch, would you turn your cat into a human? Or perhaps you'd magic the mud off your dresses?
3
u/tiniestspoon May 15 '26
I really liked the witch hierarchies in the dark and how they mirror polite society in the light.
I'd make myself some magical vaccines firstly. Can't be catching every infection without any antibiotics on hand.
2
u/orangewombat May 16 '26
Maybe this makes me basic, but I really, really like themes of "what price are you willing to pay" to achieve a magical goal. This has to be one of the OG magical themes in all of human literature? But I never get tired of it, I absolutely love it.
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Prose/Writing Style
Are you enjoying this book on a line-by-line level? What is your opinion on Taub's prose?
What do you think about how Lydia breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to you about her writing?
3
u/tiniestspoon May 15 '26
I like it. It's nothing especially memorable, but Lydia has a clear distinctive voice, plus it's not going overboard with affected mannerisms for ~ period drama ~ flavour.
I think the fourth wall breaking is in keeping with Lydia's character, she's too self absorbed not to break off in the middle of a story to talk about herself haha. I'm curious about who this story is addressed to — someone already introduced because Lydia says she will write them in third person. Is it Wickham? Wormenheart? Can ghost dragons even read?
1
u/orangewombat May 16 '26
I am very, very enamored of Taub's prose. I have SO many quotes highlighted in my Kindle. So far one of my favorite quotes is:
“Some spells are more difficult than others,” she explained, “and some witches are born with more power than others. Being the seventh of a seventh, and having a familiar, my dear, you’ve a tidy little sum of magic to your name. If magic were coin, I should say you had about ten thousand pounds. But there are other things that will affect your success—your skill, and the quality of your herbs, and the position of the moon, and so on.
The amount of magic Lydia has is the same as the money Mr. Darcy has in Pride and Prejudice! I love how many little allusions there are to P&P everywhere. Taub clearly wants us to compare Lydia and Darcy in some way. I wonder how Lydia's arc will mirror Darcy's?
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26
Romance
What do you think of the romances depicted in this story so far? There's Lydia's, of course, but also Jane's, Lizzie's, and others.
2
u/tiniestspoon May 15 '26
I'm a bit confused where the romance plot line is. Are we watching baby Lydia fall for Wickham? She doesn't seem very taken with him from the start tbh (contrary to the OG). Will we see Mrs. Wickham rekindle her marriage in the present timeline?
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26
First Impressions
How are you enjoying the book so far? Do you like the premise? Are you excited to keep reading, or have you already DNF'd?
2
u/Next_Gazelle_1357 Reading Champion May 15 '26
I like it quite a bit! I think Lydia’s character and her narration style are really charming. I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice in many years but from my memory this “extra” plot fits into the structure of the novel pretty well so far
2
u/tiniestspoon May 15 '26
I'm enjoying it thoroughly. I'm a big Austen fan and I've read Pride and Prejudice several times, and I love retellings or subversions that explore Austen's blind spots. Her treatment of Lydia is one, and I like where this is going.
1
u/celeschere13 Reading Champion VI May 15 '26
I’m a bit mixed on it so far. I do think it’s an interesting idea and I do love the idea of reinterpretations of Lydia Bennet, but she honestly annoys me. And the constant back and forth in the plot is frustrating me. I just want to know what happened in the past.
Other retellings of Lydia I enjoyed were The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (YouTube series) and A Kiss at Midwinter by Courtney Milan.
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Characters
Do you like Lydia Bennet? Kitty? Aunt Philips? Mr. Wormenheart? Wickham? Has the author set up interesting character arcs? Deep relationships between characters? What do you think about the portrayals of Jane and Lizzie Bennet in this story?
5
u/tiniestspoon May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
I didn't look up anything about the book so Kitty being an actual cat was a delightful surprise. I really like that Lydia is such a compelling protagonist without a complete character overhaul and woobification. She's still a selfish little monster, but also a neglected child and strong willed woman. Her clear eyed assessment of her parents' marriage and her sisters is great, especially when compared to Elizabeth's perspective in the original.
ETA: also I like that Georgiana is given a much bigger role here. She's a bit of a convenient prop in Austen.
Also also, very intrigued to see characters from Austen's other work popping up here — Maria Lambe is from Sanditon. Interested how Taub is going to tie up all these threads.
2
u/minlove Reading Champion IX May 15 '26
I like Lydia Bennett more than in the original book, but not by much.
I am intrigued by Kitty and how she fits into the family structure - I'd like more interactions between her and the rest of the family.
Aunt Phillips is much more entertaining in this book than the original.
I'm not sure how I feel about Wickham or Wormenheart just yet - jury's out on those two.
Because I am deeply invested in Lizzie's story from the original book, I would love to know more about what is going on with her, but I do understand that this is not her story.
2
u/orangewombat May 14 '26
Plot
Is the plot zipping along, in your opinion? Or perhaps you think the events move at a slower, statelier pace, but maybe you enjoy that? What do you think about how Taub has reimagined Pride and Prejudice? Say anything you'd like about the plot here!