A family crisis calls 30-something magazine writer Liz back to her crumbling Tudor childhood home in Ohio where mom frets over finding her girls husbands, preferably before the eldest, yoga instructor Jane, turns 40. Sound familiar? Author Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep, American Wife) shares with us her love of Jane Austen as well as who and what are most changed in this classic-yet-newly-told tale.

British Heritage Magazine: The Austen Project approached you to re-imagine Pride and Prejudice, right? Were you already a fan before writing this book?

Curtis Sittenfeld: I've been a fan of Austen in general and Pride and Prejudice specifically since I was about sixteen.

BHT: How do today's anxieties about marriage, money, security and love compare to the early 19th century?

CS: Those anxieties are all alive and well! The biggest difference seems to me that women have more agency and are less reliant on marriage to have a secure future. But there are still many unknowns for many people, which can feel excitingly suspenseful and also just plain stressful.

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BHT: Can you hint at which character is most altered?

CS: My version of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is dramatically different from Austen's--instead of being a nasty elitist who tries to thwart Liz, in mine, "Kathy" de Bourgh is an 80-year-old feminist activist and icon (based on a real person, though I'll let readers figure out whom). Rather than being a nemesis to Liz, she shares her wisdom about marriage and life.

BHT: Your Bennet sisters are a little older. Austen's Lizzie was 20; yours is turning 40. Can you explain why?

I believe that pressure to marry still exists, especially for women, but it exists at a much later age. I aged the sisters to reflect this reality.

BHT: Instead of an imaginary village in Hertfordshire, your Bennets reside in Cincinnati. Why did you choose a big city?

CS: I see the characters in Pride and Prejudice as living in a place not necessarily considered that interesting by outsiders, but their own lives feel rich and complex to them. The same could be said of Cincinnati, which happens to be where I grew up. It's located in the Midwest, which is sometimes derogatorily referred to by Americans who live on the coasts as "flyover country." But drama can unfold anywhere. I also enjoyed describing Liz Bennet's confusion about how snobby to be about her hometown when she returns there after twenty years in New York.

BHT: Have you visited the UK? Have a favorite spot?

CS: I've been several times, never for long enough. I'd love to return to Scotland, especially the rural northern parts, as I was mostly just in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

BHT: What's your favorite part of Austen's work?

CS: There are so many things Austen does well--dialogue, character development, plot, tension (romantic and otherwise), and language. And all of her skills come together pretty much perfectly in Pride and Prejudice. It's entertaining, it's funny, it's swoony, and it has sharp insights about class--what more could any reader possibly hope for?! I definitely see Eligible as an act of homage and admiration and not an attempt to improve upon the original, which needs no improving.

Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice goes on sale April 19. For more information, click here or visit the author's website.