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Elna Holst
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Lucas Kindle Edition

by Elna Holst (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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I thought ease would come, here, tucked away in the safe uneventfulness of Hunsford. It would seem I was mistaken.

In 1813, upon her marriage to Mr Collins, the rector of Hunsford Parsonage, Charlotte Collins née Lucas left her childhood home in Hertfordshire for Kent, where she is set to live out her life as the parson’s wife, in an endless procession of dinners at Rosings Park, household chores, correspondence, and minding her poultry. But Mrs Collins carries with her a secret, a peculiar preference, which is destined to turn all her carefully laid plans on their head.

Lucas is a queer romance, a mock-epistolary novel, and a retelling and continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, teeming with Regency references and Sturm und Drang. It is an homage to English literature—and a brazen, revisionist fan fiction. But, first and foremost, it is a love story. Read it as you will.
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  1. Print length
    249 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 13, 2020
  5. File size
    1772 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B086WQQ3Y8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NineStar Press (April 13, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 13, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1772 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 249 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

About the author

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Elna Holst

Elna Holst

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Leslie Shaip
5.0 out of 5 stars The queer, revisionist literature I didn't know I needed
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
I was super excited with Elna Holst reached out to me with news of this book’s publication and the offer to read a copy.

“I am sick of interposing these superfluous men between us.”

Lucas is a book I never knew I needed, but now that I’ve read it, I’ll never look at Pride and Prejudice the same way again, in the best kind of way.

Largely to save her friend from a loveless marriage to a boring man, Charlotte Lucas married William Collins in 1813. In this story, after a stillborn birth and a pretty joyless life as a rector’s wife, Miss Ailsa Reid shows up and changes her entire life. Charlotte has always held a peculiar preference, one that Ailsa brings to the surface, but it’s the early 1800s, and what chance do two women have to find happiness? This revisionist fiction dares to explore the untold queer story of one of the most important friends in Austen history.

For the past two(ish) weeks, all I’ve wanted to do is sit down and read this book, and I’ve stolen a few letters here and there at the end of each long day, but this morning, I finally had a solid hour and a half to sit down and finish it. I was on the edge of my seat for a good 50% of the book. Well versed in not only queer literature, but film, television, and culture, I know the odds of a happy ending for most lesbians, much less those in historical fiction, but I had faith that perhaps Charlotte “Lucas” and Ailsa might find some way to be together.

I love re-tellings and revisionist fiction, particularly when it involves queer characters, and Holst, I felt, stayed true to the original story and characters while giving me more incentive to care about them. Let’s be honest, all you have to do is tell me there are lesbians, and I’m all in, but I loved the life that Holst gave to Charlotte. Dear, sweet Charlotte who only wanted a comfortable home and was more than willing to sacrifice a chance at happiness so that Lizzie need not live a life of misery.

Nine Star Press never fails to deliver for me, and this latest publication is no different. If you’re an Austen fan and need something to hold your interest in these weird ass times that make it hard to concentrate, you’ll enjoy a quick escape back into the world of Austen with new perspectives.
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V.S. Holmes
4.0 out of 5 stars The perfect Austen retelling to sink into!
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Lucas, by Elna Holst, is a delightful re-imagining of Jane Austen's world, following the story of Charlotte Collins, Elizabeth Bennet's childhood friend. While Charlotte writes to the Lizzy we all know and love, this story is told in a second, secret set of correspondence Charlotte can never send to her friend, detailing her affection for women and her unexpected fall into infatuation and love--not with her husband, the rector of Rosings Park in Kent, but her physician's cousin, the delightfully unorthodox Miss Ailsa Reid. Ms. Holst paints a wonderful historic picture from the gardens and simplicity of Kent to the finery and excitement of a winter vacation Bath. Despite the fun and adrenaline of new, forbidden love, the more serious aspects of womanhood in Regency England were dealt with honestly and with respect.

Throughout the tale, Charlotte becomes increasingly akin to her imagined penpal, torn into two versions of herself: one, the demure, sensible Mrs Collins, rector's wife, the other swooning, secretive Charly Lucas, lover to the beguiling Ailsa. While the epistolary nature of the book made for a bit less world-building and richness than I would have liked, everything I love about Austen's world is here, from the longing and drama, to the exquisite clothes and races across the countryside for someone's honor and safety. I was hooked as Charlotte had to choose between her family's reputation and her own happiness.
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customer 007
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020
This is 249 pages of beautiful writing. It’s structure and form are opulently crafted. Its text is written so elegantly, it nearly sings. This is art, plain and simple. This is not light reading, to be gobbled up quickly. This is a book to be savored and enjoyed with every turn of the page. This is a book for people who love to read, especially those who love the classics.

Lucas is a reimagining, if you will, of the beloved classic Pride and Prejudice. It is very much in keeping with the Georgian Era and includes many of the familiar names and places we know from Jane Austen’s novel. Holst’s version, however, turns things on its head in quite a delightful way.

The story is primarily told from letters penned by Charlotte Lucas. She is married to William Collins, the rector of Hunsford Parsonage. She dutifully fulfills her role as a rector’s wife, pragmatically tending to the obligations that are required of her. However, she is anything but fulfilled by her station as a parson’s wife. She writes letters that she can never send to her friend Elizabeth, detailing her inner thoughts and utmost complacency. The theme of those letters, however, begins to change once Ailsa Reid, cousin of the local doctor, arrives on the scene. The two are immediately drawn to one another, and this is where the real story begins.

This retelling of Austen’s classic is nothing short of a beautiful love story. Charlotte and Ailsa’s passion is intense and consuming. Unfortunately, it must be concealed from the world with such care to survive. Holst’s heart rendering tale of their love captures your heart and tugs on it in very wonderful ways. This is a book that resonates and reverberates long after its close. Charlotte and Alisa’s story of love and triumph is one you will want to revisit. A book like this needs to be appreciated again and again.

If you love re-tellings of classic fiction, then Lucas will hit the mark with you. It is well written and engaging from start to finish. I enthusiastically recommend this book. It is a gem.
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