Most Ardently
Oliver Bennet has spent his life being forced into dresses and called Elizabeth, longing for the freedom to be seen as the boy he knows himself to be. In this trans reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, Oliver navigates his family's expectations, society's judgment, and an unexpected connection with the prickly, wealthy Mr. Darcy.
As courtship and gossip play out much as they did in Austen's original, Oliver has to decide how much of himself he can afford to reveal, to his family, to society, and to a man he's beginning to fall for, in order to be loved for who he actually is. A tender, funny remix of the classic that centers a transgender coming-of-age alongside the original's wit.
A transgender teenager living under the name Elizabeth, longing to be seen and loved as himself.
A clergyman cousin set to inherit the Bennet estate, who schemes against Oliver to protect his claim to it.
A charming but untrustworthy young man whom Collins pays to pursue Oliver as part of his scheme.
Darcy's formidable aunt, openly hostile to Oliver once his identity becomes a target for gossip.
A wealthy, prickly gentleman whose growing regard for Oliver complicates both their lives.
Most Ardently was named a 2025 Stonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award Honor Book by the American Library Association, and it was an NPR Best Book of the Year in 2024. It also became a New York Times bestseller shortly after its January 2024 release.