100 books like Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star

By Heather Rigaud,

Here are 100 books that Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star fans have personally recommended if you like Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Sanctuary: Volume 1

Karen M. Cox Author Of 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited

From my list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times.

Why am I passionate about this?

Austen-inspired works are nothing new (think the movie Clueless or "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" vlog) but unless you’re walking around the Austen fan world, you might not realize just how many books are out there. I became immersed in that world around 2006, and since then, I’ve written four Austen retellings, one Austen-inspired original novel, and several short stories. I’ve read countless other works (both published and on the internet,) and now run a little website called Austen Through the Ages. Below I list 5 Pride & Prejudice-inspired novels that ring true for me—they bring Austen’s themes and characters into modern settings, each putting a unique spin on the classic tale. 

Karen's book list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times

Karen M. Cox Why did Karen love this book?

Sanctuary is an epic, three-volume-long ride of feels. As with many modern Austen variations, Pride & Prejudice is a jumping-off point, but Andrews puts her own spin on the tale. I love stories that develop the setting almost as another character, and Sanctuary does that with Maine. The essence of Elizabeth and Darcy is in the details, even though the modern world has had their way with the beloved characters. Darcy as a dad? *chef’s kiss*  

By Cat Andrews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sanctuary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Do you ever wish you had a second chance to meet someone again for the first time?”

When Elizabeth Bennet left her Massachusetts hometown two years ago and settled on Great Diamond Island, off the rocky coast of Maine, all she wanted was a fresh start, somewhere to forget a past full of heartbreak and trauma—a place that would allow her to rediscover herself and what it felt like to be happy. 

Will Darcy is ready to leave the family drama and noise of New York City behind. He moves to Great Diamond Island in an effort to build a…


Book cover of The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy: A Modern Pride & Prejudice

Karen M. Cox Author Of 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited

From my list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times.

Why am I passionate about this?

Austen-inspired works are nothing new (think the movie Clueless or "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" vlog) but unless you’re walking around the Austen fan world, you might not realize just how many books are out there. I became immersed in that world around 2006, and since then, I’ve written four Austen retellings, one Austen-inspired original novel, and several short stories. I’ve read countless other works (both published and on the internet,) and now run a little website called Austen Through the Ages. Below I list 5 Pride & Prejudice-inspired novels that ring true for me—they bring Austen’s themes and characters into modern settings, each putting a unique spin on the classic tale. 

Karen's book list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times

Karen M. Cox Why did Karen love this book?

One of the sexiest Darcys I’ve ever read: the change from dour judge in California to hot lord of the manor in England nearly gave me whiplash, but I loved the ride! Sorry (not sorry) for all the broken crystal and china in Darcy’s suite at the London Ritz. ;) They go through some real angsty times back in California, but all’s well that ends well.

By Sara Angelini,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A sexy, bold adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that re-paints favorite characters in twenty-first century colors
Judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, a legal expert on both sides of the Atlantic, is ready to hang up his black robe and return to the life of a country gentleman-until he meets Elizabeth Bennet, a fresh-faced attorney with a hectic schedule and no time for the sexy but haughty judge.
Tempers and sparks fly in Judge Darcy's courtroom- and outside, in a series of chance encounters that give each of them pause-as the two match wits and try to fight their overwhelming attraction.…


Book cover of Improvise

Karen M. Cox Author Of 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited

From my list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times.

Why am I passionate about this?

Austen-inspired works are nothing new (think the movie Clueless or "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" vlog) but unless you’re walking around the Austen fan world, you might not realize just how many books are out there. I became immersed in that world around 2006, and since then, I’ve written four Austen retellings, one Austen-inspired original novel, and several short stories. I’ve read countless other works (both published and on the internet,) and now run a little website called Austen Through the Ages. Below I list 5 Pride & Prejudice-inspired novels that ring true for me—they bring Austen’s themes and characters into modern settings, each putting a unique spin on the classic tale. 

Karen's book list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times

Karen M. Cox Why did Karen love this book?

Whereas Darcy caught more of my attention in the last book pick, a modern, resilient Elizabeth drew me into this story. This is the first of three volumes in a trilogy about ex-Marine, terrorism survivor, and cybersecurity expert Elizabeth and businessman Darcy. Not as much angst between the two principal characters, but plenty of action to be had in this one.

By Melanie Rachel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Improvise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Elizabeth Bennet never wanted to be a hero. She'll just have to deal with it.

A few months after teaming up with Major Richard Fitzwilliam to thwart a terrorist attack in Europe, USMC Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Bennet is back in the States as a civilian. Her training in cyber-security makes finding work easy, and she’s learning to fit into her new life. But there is lingering fallout both from the attack and her life before it that she's not yet prepared to face.

Complicating matters is the major’s handsome cousin.

Co-owner of Darcy Acquisitions, CEO of FORGE, and guardian to…


Book cover of All the Things I Know

Karen M. Cox Author Of 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited

From my list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times.

Why am I passionate about this?

Austen-inspired works are nothing new (think the movie Clueless or "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" vlog) but unless you’re walking around the Austen fan world, you might not realize just how many books are out there. I became immersed in that world around 2006, and since then, I’ve written four Austen retellings, one Austen-inspired original novel, and several short stories. I’ve read countless other works (both published and on the internet,) and now run a little website called Austen Through the Ages. Below I list 5 Pride & Prejudice-inspired novels that ring true for me—they bring Austen’s themes and characters into modern settings, each putting a unique spin on the classic tale. 

Karen's book list on that bring Jane Austen into modern times

Karen M. Cox Why did Karen love this book?

Audrey Ryan’s debut novel joyfully leaps off the page, shouting, “I wanna tell you a story about some Millennials!”—in all the best ways. I’m always up for a well-written coming-of-age story, and this one made me, a jaded GenXer, once again feel the bittersweet hope (and fear) of figuring out your life on your own terms. 

By Audrey Ryan, Zorylee Diaz-Lupitou (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All the Things I Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lizzie Venetidis is confident in her decisions. Moving to Seattle with her sister Jane after she graduated from Stanford, for instance, was a no‑brainer. Adult life, however, turns out to be more difficult to navigate than she expected.
What career should she pursue with a bachelor’s degree in art history and no marketable experience amongst a tech-heavy job market? How responsible is it to drink that fourth cocktail while out with friends? And what should she do about Darcy — the aloof yet captivating guy she met her first night in town?
"All the Things I Know" is a one-mistake-at-a-time…


Book cover of One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time

Peter Jones Author Of Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen

From my list on musicians and music from all genres.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have two major passions in life: music and writing. I started learning guitar aged 16, and my friends and I formed a band as soon as we possibly could. My first professional job was writing about pop music for a monthly magazine, and much later in life, I discovered jazz. Now I’m a bass-player, jazz singer, and composer who works with some of the finest jazz musicians in London, and I play regularly at Ronnie Scott’s club. As well as the Donald Fagen biography, I’ve also written biographies of the great jazz singers Mark Murphy (for me, the greatest of them all) and Jon Hendricks.

Peter's book list on musicians and music from all genres

Peter Jones Why did Peter love this book?

You thought you knew everything there was to know about The Beatles. I thought I did. I was wrong.

Craig Brown somehow manages to tell a very familiar story with details that either you never knew or had forgotten. He isn’t scraping the barrel: the book is full of excellent stories about the Fab Four, and sheds new light on where the band came from and where they ended up. It’s more than 600 pages long, and beautifully written, but a very easy read.

By Craig Brown,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One Two Three Four as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED for the Baillie Gifford Prize's 25th Anniversary Winner of Winners award

WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020

A Spectator Book of the Year * A Times Book of the Year * A Telegraph Book of the Year * A Sunday Times Book of the Year

From the award-winning author of Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret comes a fascinating, hilarious, kaleidoscopic biography of the Fab Four.

John Updike compared them to 'the sun coming out on an Easter morning'. Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. The Duchess of Windsor adored them. Noel Coward despised them. JRR Tolkien…


Book cover of Speechless

Tiffany Thomas Author Of The Sins of Their Fathers: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

From my list on Pride & Prejudice variations set in Regency Times.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell in love with Pride & Prejudice variations over a decade ago when I did a Google search for “Pride & Prejudice sequel” because I was desperate to read more of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands, of variations and fan fiction over the years. Last year, I finally developed the courage to start writing my own which (I flatter myself) has been well-received by readers of JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction). I write them in between running my blog, homeschooling my three children, recording my podcast, and surviving the hot Texas summers.

Tiffany's book list on Pride & Prejudice variations set in Regency Times

Tiffany Thomas Why did Tiffany love this book?

Another reason I love Pride & Prejudice variations is that the circumstances change, and we get to see the main characters struggle in other ways than the original story.

I fell in love with Speechless when I got to see Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy get stranded together at an inn. Darcy becomes badly injured and is unable to speak at all, so he and Elizabeth are forced to understand each other in less conventional ways.

The thing about this story that makes it so compelling are the humorous moments that entwine with the angst and pain.

By Jessie Lewis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Speechless as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If leaving this place meant never seeing her again, he wished the snow would never melt. Let it be winter forever.

COULD ANYTHING BE WORSE than to be trapped in a confined space with the woman you love, unable to speak to her?

Fitzwilliam Darcy knows his duty, and it does not involve succumbing to his fascination for a certain dark-eyed beauty from an unheard of family from Longbourn in Hertfordshire. He has run away from Elizabeth Bennet once already, yet fate has a wicked sense of humour and deals him a blow that not only throws him back into…


Book cover of Old Boots: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

Tiffany Thomas Author Of The Sins of Their Fathers: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

From my list on Pride & Prejudice variations set in Regency Times.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell in love with Pride & Prejudice variations over a decade ago when I did a Google search for “Pride & Prejudice sequel” because I was desperate to read more of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands, of variations and fan fiction over the years. Last year, I finally developed the courage to start writing my own which (I flatter myself) has been well-received by readers of JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction). I write them in between running my blog, homeschooling my three children, recording my podcast, and surviving the hot Texas summers.

Tiffany's book list on Pride & Prejudice variations set in Regency Times

Tiffany Thomas Why did Tiffany love this book?

One of the things I love most about Pride & Prejudice variations is that sometimes you get the characters acting out of character a bit!

In this hilarious version, Mr. Darcy decides he is fed up with being stoic and proper all of the time. He decides to bring back some of the mischievousnesses he enjoyed in his youth, with wonderfully different results! I laughed at the antics he and his dog get up to, and I know you will, too!

By Grace Gibson, Janet Taylor (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Old Boots as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Some form of devilry has come over Mr. Darcy.

Since his father’s death, Fitzwilliam Darcy has endeavored to be reliable, responsible, and restrained. But upon visiting Netherfield Park in Hertfordshire, he finds himself weary of the struggle to be so damnably well regulated and delights in a revival of the carefree mischief that characterized his younger days.

What brings on this sudden reversal? Perhaps it is a shocking incident that takes place upon his first entering the neighborhood when he rescues Miss Elizabeth Bennet from the raging current of a rain-swollen stream. The so-called “lady” does not prefer to be…


Book cover of Who Invented Heavy Metal?

Christopher Brett Bailey Author Of I Saw Satan at the 7-Eleven

From my list on for headbangers.

Why am I passionate about this?

My new book, I Saw Satan at the 7-Eleven, is among other things, a love letter to heavy metal. I am a lifelong music obsessive: a record collector, concertgoer, maker of mixtapes, sewer of patch jackets. When I’m not writing or reading I’m playing guitar with the amp turned all the way up. And I have the tinnitus to prove it. Some of the books on this list are about metal, others are simply imbued with its rebellious dionysian spirit. But every damn one of them goes to 11, I can assure you of that. Enjoy!

Christopher's book list on for headbangers

Christopher Brett Bailey Why did Christopher love this book?

If you don’t know Poppoff, you should. He’s a genial Canuck Youtuber who also happens to be the world’s most prolific music reviewer.

An inveterate headbanger with an unquenchable thirst for loudness. In thisthe book for which he’ll surely be rememberedPoppoff turns his eye on the whole prehistory of heavy metal, breaking the music down into component parts, and tracing those components backwards through time.

From psychedelia to early rock n roll, blues, jazz, classical music, all the way back to the Vikings, the Ancient Greeks, and the Battle of Jericho in 1250 BC. If there’s a better researched, more thorough, or more sweeping book about loud music on the planet Earth, I ain’t aware of it.  

By Martin Popoff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Who Invented Heavy Metal? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's one of the great debates in musicology and the answer is as complicated as it is hotly contested. Popoff's Who Invented Heavy Metal? provides the most detailed, well argued, reasonable, ridiculously complete, and most lively and readable telling of the early history of heavy metal yet, arming the argumentative headbanger with all the facts and figures one needs on hand to win those bar room bets around this provocative question.
Ultimately, Who Invented Heavy Metal? aims to be a book that doesn't limit itself to heavy metal fans. The book provides wide instructional scope of teachable moments through unfolding,…


Book cover of The Beatles Complete Scores

Rich Maloof Author Of Jim Marshall - The Father of Loud: The Story of the Man Behind the World's Most Famous Guitar Amplifiers

From my list on books by musicians, for musicians.

Why am I passionate about this?

My tenure as editor-in-chief of Guitar magazine is well behind me now, but it always lights me up to create content for musicians, and to absorb it. These are my people, you see, a community of curious, empathic, chronically late daydreamers and night owls, good listeners all. I’m not qualified to comment on Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory or Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music, but neither do I want to talk about rock-star memoirs or fawning fictionalizations. No fanfare here, thank you. Instead, these are five books in which musicians may recognize some element of their creative self and come away with a little more fuel for the fire.

Rich's book list on books by musicians, for musicians

Rich Maloof Why did Rich love this book?

That’s right; it’s an entire book of musical notation. Like I said, this list is for players, not civilians.

I love that every note on every original Beatles record is transcribed here, right down to Ringo’s drum fills on “You Won’t See Me” and the guy saying “number nine” a hundred times on “Revolution 9.”

I love sitting down with my kid, who plays guitar, and discovering exactly how to recreate the parts we can’t work out by ear. I love seeing how the Beatles fit the gears together to make the wheels turn on these songs and how they used chords and notes that I have on the piano at my house, too.

By The Beatles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Beatles Complete Scores as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

(Transcribed Score). A fitting tribute to possibly the greatest pop band ever - The Beatles. This outstanding edition features full scores and lyrics to all 210 titles recorded by The Beatles. Guitar and bass parts are in both standard notation and tablature. Also includes a full discography. Songs include: All You Need Is Love * And I Love Her * Baby You're a Rich Man * Back in the U.S.S.R. * The Ballad of John and Yoko * Blackbird * Can't Buy Me Love * Come Together * Drive My Car * Eleanor Rigby * From Me to You *…


Book cover of I Me Mine

Spencer Leigh Author Of Little Richard: Send Me Some Lovin'

From my list on the Beatles.

Why am I passionate about this?

We all know Little Richard’s great hits like "Long Tall, Sally", "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" and Little Richard’s life was as wild as his records. It’s excess all areas as Spencer Leigh tells the story of Little Richard in Send Me Some Lovin. It is a biography of someone who transformed popular music. Spencer Leigh was born in 1945 and hearing Little Richard for the first time in 1956 changed his life. He is a world expert on the Beatles and he has written a series of music-based biographies – Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel – all of which are full of facts and opinions.

Spencer's book list on the Beatles

Spencer Leigh Why did Spencer love this book?

I love seeing the scraps of paper on which George wrote his songs like "Something" or "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

I love seeing all his crossings-out and he offers some good commentary too. George comes over as a thoroughly nice person, but you do need strong wrists to read this book. (Gosh, I’m recommending heavy books!)

By George Harrison, Derek Taylor, Olivia Harrison (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Me Mine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"For me, the essence of this book is the lyrics and I believe they stand the test of time because they are written about man's eternal quest, dilemmas, joys and sorrows. George's lyrics were, in my opinion, the most spiritually conscious of our time" - Olivia Harrison

Cherished by fans and collectors, I Me Mine is the closest we will come to George Harrison's autobiography. This new volume has been significantly updated since the 1980 original. For the first time I Me Mine - The Extended Edition covers the full span of George Harrison's life and work, exploring his upbringing…


Book cover of Sanctuary: Volume 1
Book cover of The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy: A Modern Pride & Prejudice
Book cover of Improvise

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