Reimagining the Romantic Comedy

As mother and daughter, we’ve done a lot together: first days of school, dance concerts, family vacations. And also days on set, movie premieres and film festivals. But in August of 2020, six months into Melbourne’s covid-19 lockdown, we decided to do something we’d done separately, but never together: write.

Over the next four months, we formulated our grand plan: to write an updated version of Pride and Prejudice for young readers. That summer, we retreated to our lovely beach house to write our first novel, Stuck Up and Stupid. Elizabeth Bennett became Lily, an eighteen-year-old high school graduate who is trying to enjoy her last summer before she decides what to do with her life. The small English village in Hertfordshire became Pippi Beach, a sunny, sandy, idyllic place where you can leave your worries (and your shoes) behind. And Mr Darcy became Dorian Khan, a Hollywood movie star who arrives at Pippi looking for a reclusive summer vacation, only to find himself entangled in local parties and beach games, and he can’t get local girl Lily out of his head.

Pride and Prejudice is the blueprint for the modern romantic comedy. In Stuck Up and Stupid, we wanted to capture all that has made Pride and Prejudice so timeless: embarrassing families, nosy neighbours, close-knit female friendships, awkward encounters with your crush, and the courage it takes to admit you were wrong.We also wanted to explore the idea of legacy. What is different, two hundred years later, and what is the same? Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our mothers, our grandmothers, and our ancestors even further back? We wanted to show family history repeating itself, while also showing what has changed since 1819, and what we can hope for in the future. These days, women have much more agency, the bad guys get away with much less, and the right man won’t save you: you have to do it yourself.

Stuck Up and Stupid is a story about mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, best friends, crushes, and first love. We hope you love our Lily, Dorian, and Pippi Beach

– Angourie Rice and Kate Rice