If I love Jane Austen, What should I read next?

[Julia]

Looking for recommendations please!

[Mary]

Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
George Eliot - Middlemarch or Daniel Deronda
Maria Edgeworth - Belinda

There are also quite a few Austen "sequels" out there.

[Ashley]

I recommend Love and Freindship if you haven't read it yet, it is pretty hilarious.

[Winnie]

A more in depth telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion was tackled by author Susan Kaye. Frederick Wentworth, Captain. Book 1, None But For You and Frederick Wentworth, Captain. Book 2, For You Alone.
I hope you like them as much as I do.

[Samantha]

I second Elizabeth Gaskell or any of the Bronte's!

[Marren]

How about Charles Dickens. Great Expectations? That what I read after one of Austen's novel. I really enjoyed it.

[Adriana]

If you're looking for Austen sequels, I second Winnie's recommendation of the Susan Kaye books. They're a retelling of Persuasion from Capt. Wentworth's perspective.

Also, Pamela Aidan has a trilogy which I really enjoyed retelling Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's perspective, and a prequel featuring a 12 year old Darcy.

I also highly recommend the lesser-known Bronte sister, Anne Bronte. She only has two novels, but they're both wonderful: Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

[D.M.]

You might like Henry James. Similar in sensitivity and conflicts he places his heroines in. Some more famous works:

(from wikipedia) Among James's masterpieces are Daisy Miller; in which the eponymous protagonist, the young and innocent American Daisy Miller, finds her values in conflict with European sophistication; and
The Portrait of a Lady, in which a young American woman finds that her upbringing has ill prepared her against two scheming American expatriates during her travels in Europe.
The Bostonians is set in the era of the rising feminist movement.
What Maisie Knew depicts a preadolescent girl who must choose between her parents and a motherly old governess.
In The Wings of the Dove an inheritance destroys the love of a young couple.
James considered The Ambassadors his most "perfect" work of art.
James's most famous novella is The Turn of the Screw, a ghost story in which the question of childhood corruption obsesses a governess.

[Gill]

Some great recommendations - you've got plenty to be going on with. In 20th century writing Olivia Manning's Fortunes of War trilogy is also good, set during WWII. Also try Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes. Samuel Pepys' diary is a hoot if you want to go back to the 17th century.

[Euraylie]

Yes to Middlemarch and all the Brontes, not just Charlotte.

Also, I normally don't like sequels to classics, but I loved Pamela Aiden's 'Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentlemen' trilogy. Good stuff.

[Katherine]

Anthony Trollope is sort of a male Jane Austen, in my opinion. He wrote in the second half of the 19th century, and his characters tend to be more urban and farther up the social scale than most of Austen's. He also has a fascination with politics that Jane certainly didn't share. But he is a keen and witty observer of the society of his time, and also a keen examiner of the human mind and heart. Some of his best are the Barsetshire Chronicles, starting with The Warden.

[Winnie]

A new author with two novels written in the Jane Austen spirit is Julianne Donaldson. Georgette Heyer wrote numerous regency novels.
I find that many of the Regency era novels that are written today are spin-offs of Jane Austen's work. No spin-offs from Ms. Donaldson or Ms. Heyer.
Enjoy!

[Joanna]

In addition to Elizabeth Gaskell for something more 'happy' I recommend anything by Louisa May Alcott she also writes books with a lot of character development that end happily.

[Jo Ann]

Julien - I would recommend any of Georgette Heyer's books, especially her Regency novels. I've read ALL of them multiple times. She's written 56 full length novels. My favorites are "Devil's Cub", "Venetia" & "Sylivester or the Wicked Uncle".

[[deleted user]]

Winnie wrote: "A new author with two novels written in the Jane Austen spirit is Julianne Donaldson. Georgette Heyer wrote numerous regency novels.
I find that many of the Regency era novels that are written tod..."

I agree! Julianne Donaldson and Georgette Heyer provide interesting plot lines for Austen fans!

[Panagiota]

Elizabeth Gaskell --> Wives and Daughters
Edith Wharton --> The Buccaneers
George Eliot --> Middlemarch
Elizabeth Gaskell --> North and South

[[deleted user]]

I would definitely recommend Jane Ayre. I read it when I was very young and it had a profound effect on me. I kind of identified with Jane and her isolation, (even then I used to shut myself away with my writing). I think I just loved her 'ordinariness' if there is such a word. Also try Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte, and The Woman in White-Wilkie Collins. Enjoy!