It’s Townies vs Gownies in Elizabeth of East Hampton, New Beach Novel

I never thought of myself as a “cidiot” but live and learn.

I was introduced to the term by the new summer read, Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding, who in their last joint venture co-authored Emma of 83rd Street. So I guess it makes sense that the Manhattan-centric women high tailed it to the Hamptons for their new beach read novel which just hit shelves on Aug. 6.

The novel’s lead character Lizzy Bennet, whose family owns the town’s bakery, explains the slight to a citified character: “The Hamptons is where you visit. The rest of us live on Long Island.”

By the way, if the character’s name sounds familiar, it’s because the book is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice (complete with its own finance bro version of Mr. Darcy) where the main plot revolves around the townies v. the gownies, which makes this book, like the original, more than your basic guy/girl-hate-each-other-‘til-they-love-each-other rom-com.

Like many Manhattanites, I head to the east end as soon as Memorial Day hits. For the past 40 years, I’ve known that the locals—using a tone—referred to us as “the summer people.” And I get it. To Lizzy’s point, I’ve seen my share of those who roll up to the East End like J.Lo, acting as though they own the place. But I think most of us are grateful for the break from the city and respectful of whatever town between West Hampton and Montauk we temporarily reside in.

One of the things I liked about Elizabeth of East Hampton, aside from the whip-smart writing and page-turning storytelling, is that the Bennet family—Lizzy, her four sisters, her ailing dad, and her mother who comes up with entrepreneurial schemes worthy of Lucy Ricardo—are not down on their luck and in jeopardy of being taken over by a city slicker who represents a New York conglomerate, a la a Hallmark movie.

Although of modest means, they run a successful bake shop renowned for its cherry muffins. In fact, when Lizzy meets Will Darcy, a name partner at his big city mergers & acquisition firm, she levels the playing field by making it clear that her name’s on the door of her business as well.

Despite that and their mutual love of surfing and beach life, Lizzy and Will just can’t get past the whole rubbing each the wrong way thing, until a shared frenemy tries to pull a con on the town reminiscent of the 2017 Fyre Festival.

Straus Media spoke with Emily Harding who teamed up with Audrey Bellezza to write the novel and chat about emulating a classic, why the 19th-century story is still relevant, and the healing power of writing with a partner.

Why Jane Austen?

Emily Harding: Jane Austen was really the first to write about women in the space where they existed, which was the home. At the time, it was about marriage and falling in love. She validated that even though people looked down upon it. It’s interesting and kind of sad that we haven’t evolved past that. It was interesting for us to revisit and honor her, thinking we should fight to validate it now.

How is the class distinction of the original still relevant today?

EH: One of the themes in Pride and Prejudice is that the main character, Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters have no money. In the early 19th century, [women] had no education and they could not have a job. Their only way of having a future was by marrying well. We thought going to the Hamptons for the story, whether it’s about marrying well or not, was valid because the class division is very evident, especially in the summer. It proves what Jane Austen was talking about, how it’s very hard to cross those divisions.

How did your partnership with Audrey Harding come about?

EH: Audrey and I met 15 years ago working in television in New York City and became best friends very quickly. When the pandemic hit, the industry shut down so we decided to write a book. We used our favorite—Emma—as source material, and it let us revisit our best years in Manhattan. As a joke at the end of Emma of 83rd Street, we wrote that Mr. Darcy, who’s the character in Pride and Prejudice, was friends with one of the main characters. We got a literary agent and after the book was published, its fanbase started asking where the Mr. Darcy’s book was?

Just as Emma of 83rd Street worked so well because [Audrey and I] love New York City, Elizabeth of East Hampton works because it’s all the best parts of Pride and Prejudice plus the Hamptons thanks to the locals who are so proud of their community and shared their stories. It’s now a series under the banner: For the Love of Austen. The third book is in the very early stages.

Whether or not you have the time to sit for four hours on the Jitney or the money to fly out east in 15 minutes via Blade, you can get to the Hamptons this weekend. Elizabeth of East Hampton will take you to its lavish parties and dive bars, beaches and Main Street, all thanks to the intertwining lives of locals and summer people.

What kind of “cidiot” would pass up an opportunity like that?