I
didn’t read Jane Austen until I was forced to do so in college. Pride
and Prejudice – sounded depressing and I actually considered changing
sections of my British Literature course when I saw it on the reading
list. After I read the book, I was
hooked. For Thanksgiving break, my
roommate and I were both staying on campus, so we borrowed my professor's VHS
set of the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice that we binge watched twice.
Like
a good dealer, I got my next roommate addicted as well. Days where one of us
was sick or having a really bad day we would pop tape #4 into the VCR, curl up
in our pajamas, and watch Colin Firth dive into a lake.
I had
never heard of fanfiction and was wandering Target one day when I discovered
Linda Berdoll's Darcy Takes a Wife. I devoured the book, then proceeded to
continue my dealer-like tendencies by passing it on to everyone I had already
hooked on Pride and Prejudice. As I was ordering my 4th copy of the book on
Amazon, the site suggested some variations by Abigail Reynolds. After ordering a few of her books I started
getting more suggestions and finally realized Pride and Prejudice variations were a genre all their own. Since
then, I've been hooked.
As I was writing the epilogue to Recognizing Love I discovered the heart of why I love variations so much. Not only do they provide an opportunity to spend more time with my favorite characters from all fiction, the stories provide a plethora of ways for Elizabeth and Darcy to find happiness.
