This is a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, set in the American West during the pioneer days.
Williams doesn't make the mistake of trying to make it too exact a match. The American West isn't Regency England. There are wealthy ranchers and social-climbing mamas, but there isn't nobility, and a female marshal is certainly an outlier, but not an impossibility.
And Mr. Bennett as a leather goods shop owner is respectably middle class, not beneath notice as merely being "in trade."
Among my favorite changes to the characters and story are William and Charlotte Collins. In Austen's work, Mr. Collins is contemptible and only to be sniggered at, while Charlotte's decision to marry him is cast as pragmatically understandable, but really a clue to a serious character flaw. Those aren't the Collinses we meet here.
Both Liza and Janie have somewhat more complicated personal histories than in Austen's work, and I like it.
Overall, of course, the book doesn't rise to Austen's level, but it's both a fine homage, and enjoyable in its own right.
Recommended.
I borrowed this book from the local public library.
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