Your 2025 Summer beach reads for Jane Austen Fans

Photo by Jonathan Walters on Unsplash, person reading on a sun lounger

The parks are packed, trains are sweltering, and beach towel real-estate is at a premium. That's right - summer has arrived in Jane Austen's England. If you're lucky enough to be getting away this summer, or even if you've just got a couple of day's staycation, you're going to need a good book to go with it. Of course, we always vouch for a reread of Jane Austen's novels. Why not treat yourself to a new copy of your favourite?

If you simply must read something new, this one is for you. I have put together a list of my most highly recommended new releases for Jane Austen fans to crack open on the beach this summer.

For the classics reader

James by Percival Everett

If your love of Jane Austen is borne of your love to dig into a classic, then James by Percival Everett might be for you. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel retells Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. The twist is that Jim, here called James, is actually highly erudite, putting on a facade for the white plantation owners. In James, Everett transforms the whimsical world of Huck Finn into a dangerous satire, thrilling and horrifying by turns. After reading it you'll understand just how much it deserves all the accolades its been getting.

For the genre Janeite

Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull

If you're nervous to stray too far from the familiar comforts of Jane Austen, there are still plenty of choices. Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this enchanting series of novels which reimagine the author as a sleuth! After her beloved brother Georgy is accused of the murder of a milliner, Jane must clear his name. In Miss Austen Investigates, Bull takes Jane Austen's famous wit and incisive judge of character and puts it to unravelling a mystery.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch (Paperback)

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

Pride and Prejudice meets the world of fantasy? You have our attention. In this reimagining, the flighty and boisterous Lydia Bennet is full of secrets, including the fact that Kitty is an actual kitty cat, and Wickham isn't just a figurative demon, but a real one.

For the true romantic

The Elopement by Gill Hornby

The much-anticipated follow-up to Godmersham Park is finally here! When Jane Austen's niece Fanny Knight makes an excellent match with Sir Edward Knatchbull, she discovers her new responsibilities to look after his five children. She becomes particularly attached to young Mary Knatchbull, who has grown up with little to please or entertain her. However, as the Knight and Knatchbull families blend, she finds herself drawn to the eldest son and heir to Godmersham Park, Ned. When they declare their love, the family are outraged. They may have no choice but to elope...

For the fan of female friendships

The Eights by Joanna Miller

It's 1920 in the university town of Oxford and for the first time, the ancient university is admitting women. Four such young women find themselves neighbours on Corridor Eight and in their trepidation and determination, they find themselves unlikely friends. Though they have come from vastly different backgrounds, they must lean on each other to navigate the turbulent waters of misogyny on campus. Oh, and one of them has a secret.

What do you think of these recommendations? Will you be picking any of them up, or do you have your own reading plans? Let us know what your summer reading plans are!

Ellen White is editor of the Jane Austen Centre blog. By day, she also works in a school library, and has two literature degrees from the University of St Andrews. She would love to hear from you! Check out our Submission Guidelines and get in touch.