'Pride and Prejudice' meets the East End in 'Elizabeth of East Hampton'

What would happen if you plunked Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Austen’s spunky heroine from her classic "Pride and Prejudice," into today’s Hamptons scene? Ask Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding, who have done just that in her new novel "Elizabeth of East Hampton" (Gallery Books, $16.99).

Bellezza, who lives in New Jersey, and Harding, who is in Texas, recently spoke from their homes about the trick to modernizing some of the most loved romance novels of our time, the awkwardness of co-writing a love scene, and whether that crab shack and dive bar in their book are based on real places.

"Elizabeth of East Hampton" is your second in a series of books based on Jane Austen novels. How did the idea for co-writing this series come together?

Harding: We are friends who happen to work together. We lived in the city and worked in television for many years and during the pandemic we moved and found ourselves spending a lot of time texting and missing the city. We both love Jane Austen and in the hubris of a couple glasses of wine we decided to try writing a novel together. We found this project was a way for us to still work together and talk every day and relive our best and worst NYC memories of dating and other adventures and "Emma of 83rd Street" was born.

The first book in your series is based in Manhattan. How did you decide to set the second book in East Hampton?

Bellezza: My parents met in the Hamptons, so we used to vacation there in the summer when I was little. They used to bring us to Montauk — I have many family memories there. And my mother’s name is Elizabeth, so of course she thinks the book is about her! As soon as Emily and I started talking about it, we knew we wanted it to be a "Pride and Prejudice" retelling set in East Hampton.

Harding: Audrey’s mother is a beta reader for us and she has so much insight — she is a writer herself. As soon as she heard the idea she was like, "Yes! An upstairs-downstairs story! There is so much gray area between the locals and the people who go to the Hamptons for the weekend."

So much felt so spot on in the book, from the farmer’s markets to the characters, especially Elizabeth’s disdain and dependence upon what she calls the “cidiots.” How did you research the book?

Bellezza: We spent quite a few days out there visiting East Hampton, Springs and Montauk. A friend of mine lives in East Hampton and took us around to so many places, including the farmer’s market. We were able to meet so many people who helped us understand the dynamics between the locals, the weekend people who own homes there, and yes, the cidiots [idiots from the city]. We wanted to represent everybody and celebrate Long Island and the Hamptons as much as we could. We wanted to make sure the beauty of it came across, because no matter if you are a local or a weekender, you are there for the beauty.

Harding: Every character is based on someone’s stories or anecdotes, businesses that were once there and are now gone. The bakery, the crab shack and the Donato Lodge are all based on real places, but we wanted the story to be able to live independently. We hope it feels authentic, and if it does it is all due to the time and generosity of the locals who took us in and shared their love for their history and town.

This romantic comedy may be based on Austen’s work, but it is definitely modernized, especially in the romance department.

Harding: Writing sexy scenes as a team is lots of fun, but also awkward — where is his leg? Where is her arm? Romance leaves when logistics are involved.

Bellezza: Yes, the spicy scenes take a lot of conversations and rewriting. The romance in this book and the spicy scenes are earned. They are not gratuitous, so by the time these things happen, there is a lot of yearning.

In your retelling, Mrs. Bennet is an entrepreneur obsessed with promoting a line of leggings she dreamed up. How did you figure out the ways you wanted to modernize these characters?

Harding: Plopping Austen’s characters into modern times has actually been fairly easy. Reading both original Austen books, we realized Lizzie Bennet and Emma are the same age. And here is a harsh truth: Mrs. Bennet is only 42! In the original, Mrs. Bennet knows that the only way to make sure her daughters are financially secure is marriage. … Now, independence for a woman means something completely different, so we played with that goal. We looked at the motivations of characters stuck in time and thought about what Jane was saying about women back then and how to say that now.

Does a reader need to be well-versed in Jane Austen to enjoy your books?

Bellezza: No, you don’t need to have read Jane Austen or our first book to enjoy "Elizabeth of East Hampton." We just both love Jane Austen. Readers can also simply enjoy the book as a fun summer romance that takes place on the beach.