Other "versions" and published fanfic

Fanfic for 18-19th century british literature may not be the most common fandom to write fic for, but I know that there are many published works. And also revisits to classics.

For example, Heathcliff by Haire-sargeant is about the missing years in Wuthering Heights where Heathcliff disappeared for while. And I'm sure most of us are familar with the numerous "sequels" to Jane Austen books.

For revisions there is Jenna Starborn which is Jane Eyre set in a sci-fi world.

Any other examples you can think of?

The Flashman books are literally nothing but Tom Brown's Schooldays fanfic.

Wide Sargasso Sea is a 'prequel' to Jane Eyre, as well as an excellent novel in its own right. And while The Eyre Affair is a separate novel it wouldn't work half so well without the reader's knowledge of Jane Eyre. These textual interventions are extremely good, but there are a lot of lesser ones out there. Numerous 'sequels' to Jane Austen novels, for instance.

The only Austen spinoff I've read was Darcy's Story, which I found stiff, unimaginative, and just generally not that good. Has anyone read any better ones?

I've heard of good Austen sequels/prequels/spin-offs, but I've been too timid to try any of them. The AustenBlog recommends a few I believe. Google AustenBlog and you should be able to find it.

A few others that came to my notice...

+ March by Geraldine Brooks (spin-off of Little Women)
+ Finn by Jo Clinch (from Huckleberry Finn)
+ Scarlett by Alexndra Ripley (from Gone With the Wind)
+ The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall (again, from Gone with the Wind, but more of a parody told from Scarlett's black half-sister's POV)
+ The Second Mrs. DeWinter (from du Maurier's Rebecca, not sure who wrote it)
+ Evremonde by ?? (from A Tale of Two Cities)

Austen spin-offs:

The three Fitzwilliam Darcy novels by Pamela Aidan
An assembly such as this
Duty and desire
These three remain

Mr. Darcy's daughters, The exploits and adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy, and The true Darcy spirit by Elizabeth Aston

A far better rest by Susanne Alleyn, after A tale of two cities.

The queen of spin-offs is Emma Tennant, who is actually quite an accomplished novelist.

Of the ones I know about she has produced -

Tess - Tess of the D'Urbervilles
An Unequal Marriage - Pride and Pejudice
Elinor and Marianne - Sense and Sensibility
Emma In Love - Emma
Tara - Gone With the Wind
Adele* - Jane Eyre
Felony - The Aspern Papers
Heathcliff's Tale - Wuthering Heights
Pemberley Revisited - Pride and Prejudice vol.3

*also known as The French Dancer's Bastard and Thornfield Hall

I'll back BoPeep's recommendation of Wide Sargasso Sea, an excellent novel in it's own right.

There is the briefest mention of Austen's main characters from Pride and Predjudice in the appendix to Tarzan Alive by Phillip Jose Farmer - this appendix traces the lineage of Tarzan (Lord Greystoke) back to an event where these characters were travelling in two coaches that suffered a near miss from a meteorite. In classic comic book accident genre - the radiation enhanced these characters and from them are descended not only Tarzan, but many other Pulp era heroes (The Spider, the Phantom, the Shadow etc).

It is a good punchline to the quite excellent book.

Cheers

Regarding #7, from what I have heard Emma Tennant's books are not very highly regarded.

I'll look into Wide Saragosso Sea, though!

Just found another one mentioned on another group...

Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman is a sequel to Rebecca by du Maurier