Don’t know what “vlogging” is? Neither did I until I took a graduate course titled that worked with Jane Austen on Film. Vlogging is the same as blogging but with videos. Basically, all those Youtube streamers you like or know of? They basically vlogg.

As amazing as it sounds, I need to thank Jane Austen, writer and history maker, for introducing me to a twenty-first century piece of literature.

This series has the character, Lizzie Bennet, blogging to the world in a few short minutes each episode through videos. It loosely takes the original story and brings into the modern era. It is really amazing. One issue some might have is that not all the characters are there are the time: it is mainly Lizzie. Think of vlogging as a diary as the series title suggest. The others characters do appear and interact in the videos with her.

There are many modern issues that it addresses. For one, it talks about college and careers, and even financial status of low, middle-class families. I myself connect because I grew up on the lower end of middle-class myself.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was so popular when it was released that the creators/publishers expanded into side series with different characters and created an actual company. Pemberley Digital.The company even expanded and did different shows than just than just ones that come from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. There are shows based on Frankenstein, Sanditon, Little Women, and Emma. Three of these shows are based on Austen’s works, and two are not.

In the end, back to Lizzie, this series is a great modern twist on a cultural classic. At the time, Pride and Prejudice talked about modern cultural concerns. With a bit of adjustment, the tale is still relevant to this day.

Honestly? This is what I wanted to do when I was on track to be a teacher: I wanted to help students connect with literature. Secretly, I wanted to be the writer/creator of series like this. I want to make a difference in the scholarly and public field. Which is why I am so invested in this site. I want to keep up my research, want to keep up with my interests even when I am doing a different degree (MLIS) and busy elsewhere.