A friendly meeting place to read and discuss anything Austen...
In this retelling, she plays an integral role in Darcy and Elizabeth’s love story. After overhearing Darcy say he will never marry her on the night of the assembly, Caroline decides that the best way to continue enjoying access to Pemberley and Darcy’s social connections is to be the dearest friend of his future wife. And when Darcy admires Elizabeth’s “fine eyes” at Lucas Lodge, Caroline knows who his future bride ought to be.
Today I am sharing an excerpt from that party at Lucas Lodge. When Caroline sees Elizabeth not as a rival but more of a project, the course of the story takes a very different course….
Jayne Bamber
Thank you, Maria Grazia, for inviting me to
come back to My Jane Austen Book Club this month in time to celebrate the month
of love with my Valentine’s Day release, The
Pleasure of Remembrance!
February is the perfect time to talk about
love in Jane Austen’s books, because all of them contain beautiful love stories
that have withstood the test of time and continue to capture our hearts and
inspire new retellings and variations daily.
My favorite of all is the enemies-to-lovers
romance between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. There’s
something so captivating about their characters and the misunderstandings they
develop before coming to realize that they are a perfect fit for each other.
Although love is the heartbeat of all the
Austen stories, it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Hello, readers! It's a treat to be back at My Jane Austen Book
Club to share about my newest release. My eleventh novel, ‘Just Between
Us’ is available for pre-order, and at the end of this post I’ll be sharing
an excerpt from this Pride & Prejudice retelling….
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From the Author
For those unfamiliar with my work, I love reimagining Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, crafting new and captivating adventures for Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. With nearly fifty titles in my growing catalog, I’m always eager to explore fresh narratives that stay true to the heart of these beloved characters.
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In 1812, Elizabeth Bennet, eager for her first visit to the seaside, accompanies her beloved sister Jane and her new brother, Charles Bingley, to Ramsgate. Their retreat, the Lake House, offers an ideal location for Mrs. Bingley, whose delicate condition requires rest and care by the sea.
Dear Janeites,
Prepare yourselves for a new journey into the heart of Regency England with MJ Stratton's latest release, Thwarted. If you’ve ever wondered what might happen if Mr. Darcy faced an insurmountable obstacle in his pursuit of love, this novel is sure to delight and intrigue you.
MJ Stratton, a devoted aficionado of all things Austen, brings us a fresh and imaginative tale that seamlessly intertwines the beloved world of Pride and Prejudice with a tantalizing new twist.
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IN WESTMINSTER’S HALLS: DARCY’S ABOLITIONIST ROMANCE
What inspired you to set the characters of Pride and
Prejudice against the backdrop of the British abolitionist movement?
I am one of those oddities: my favorite Austen book is Mansfield Park, at least when it comes to dealing with the social questions of Austen’s time. However, while I liked the thematics either overt or implied, in the book, I found the characters to be rather pale. However, that’s where P&P came in…Darcy and Elizabeth are dynamic. I also wanted to see how Mr. Bennet would act when principle forced him from his library.
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It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you a brand new Pride and Prejudice variation, "No Less Than Any Other," authored by MJ Stratton. This delightful novel presents an intriguing twist on the classic tale we all know and love. Are you ready to scroll down and discover more?
In the course of 1811, the Bennets of Longbourn meet two sets of estranged relatives: Mr Bennet’s unprepossessing heir, and his mother’s family. Elizabeth Bennet journeys into Kent to stay with the Palmers at Wingham Hall: her grand-aunt Iphigenia, her cousin Sir James Palmer, who had loved her grandmother ardently in his youth, and his son Galahad. Pleased with her new relations, Elizabeth is less content with the taciturn friend Galahad has invited to join him at Wingham. Fitzwilliam Darcy—rich and proud, disdainful of those beneath him—has escorted his sister Georgiana to Ramsgate, to recuperate from a dangerous illness in the care of her companion, Mrs Younge.
Complications arise with the arrival of Elizabeth’s sister
Jane and, separately, Charles and Caroline Bingley, the authors of Jane’s
unhappiness. Tensions and quarrels result in the Bingleys’ abrupt departure,
swiftly followed by Darcy after a maladroit proposal that Elizabeth spurns with
a pride that matches his own.
Unfortunately, Darcy leaves Kent just as his enemy, George Wickham appears, intent on securing Georgiana and her fortune. Who will stand between Georgiana and ruin? Who will win Jane Bennet’s hand? And can Darcy and Elizabeth ever be reconciled?”
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Welcome, dear readers, to My Jane Austen Book Club! Today, we embark on a journey through the pages of a captivating new novel, Doubt Not, Cousin, written by the talented author Barry S. Richman. Filled with love, secrets, and the charm of England's Regency era, this book promises to delight all Austen enthusiasts. Join me as we delve into the depths of darkness and emerge into the light of happily ever after.
Welcome back, Monica, and thanks a lot for
accepting this interview. Here’s my first question: what inspired you to write your
new Pride and Prejudice variation, Allow
Me to Tell You? Was it something you
read or saw?
The idea popped into my head one day when re-reading the section of Pride and Prejudice in Netherfield where Caroline Bingley praises Mr. Darcy for his letter-writing skills. I love this scene in the novel because Caroline is so transparent in her compliments. In a way, she is like Mr. Collins with his ‘little elegant compliments’!
Here's a new Pride and Prejudice Variation to discover: Four Proposals of Marriage. It's by Laura Moretti, who has generously granted 3 readers of My Jane Austen Book Club the chance to win a copy of her new release. Scroll down, read chapter one and try your luck in the giveaway contest!
ABOUT THE BOOK
What if Darcy had to propose marriage four times—yes, FOUR—before
Elizabeth accepted his hand?
The Darcys and the Bennets have always been neighbours and close friends, and Fitzwilliam Darcy grew up scampering through the fields in the company of Mr Bennet’s two daughters, the very pretty Jane and the very impertinent Elizabeth.
Hi Maria Grazia, thanks so much for
having me back at My Jane Austen Book Club to help me celebrate the release
of A Favorable Impression!
This is the second book in my series of Regency-era standalones, each featuring a different path to Happily Ever After for Darcy and Elizabeth. I guess you could say that each book takes place in a different “universe”, with all the same characters appearing, but with varying circumstances, which makes for a unique story in each, even though they are all patterned after Pride and Prejudice, and they all arrive at the same destination in the end. I suppose that is why we love Pride and Prejudice variations so much though, right?
It’s
great to be back at My Jane Austen Book Club! Today I am here to share another
excerpt of my new release, Handsome, Clever, & Rich, which is now available on Kindle Unlimited.
This Pride & Prejudice variation is a crossover with another of my favorites, Emma, and the titular heroine plays an important role in the story. While Emma’s love story is a gradual progression, Elizabeth’s path to romance is much rockier in this story. This retelling has styled her a Bennet by marriage rather than birth, and after a youthful elopement and brief marriage, the widow of four years has sworn never to wed again… until Elizabeth is convalescing at Netherfield and a moment of passion with Mr. Darcy leads to a compromise that jeopardizes the reputation of her Bennet relations.
The Naval Adventure
Jane Austen Might Have Written
The Sailor’s Rest, the latest Austenesque novel by Don Jacobson, has been released worldwide on March 28, 2023. Published independently, this is the author’s twelfth variation using Austen’s Canon as a basis for the story. The book is a cross-over (not a mash-up) of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. For plot purposes, the novel (approx. 117,000 words) is set on the Persuasion timeline in 1815. However, the age and plot constructs from Pride and Prejudice have been maintained to establish context.
