The Secret Diary of Lydia Bennet

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 8, 2017

Review

Enter the world of "Pride and Prejudice" through the diary and spirited escapades of Lydia Bennet, the youngest of the five sisters. True to Austen's original, the characters and the melodrama are all there. Lydia, who receives the diary as a birthday present on her fifteenth birthday, explores the various rejections the sisters relay on their suitors and twisted feelings she has toward the militia man Wickham. Middle grade readers will learn about all the tedious steps that a lady must endure to go swimming in a 1800's bathing machine whilst summering in Brighton, as well as, the fashion statements of the times and the influence that Mr. Darcy plays in Lydia s resulting happiness.

Overall Book Score: very good