AUTHOR GUEST POST & DOUBLE GIVEAWAY: MARIA GRACE, THE FUTURE MRS DARCY

Join me and welcome Maria Grace at My Jane Austen Book Club. Read her guest post, leave your comment and get a chance to win "The Future Mrs Darcy". There is 1 signed paperback for US readers and 1 e-book version for readers from the rest of the world. So,  please,  don't forget to add your e-mail address to your comment and specify which country you write from. The deadline for this giveaway contest is 23 August.

Given Good Principles is a three part series that explores what Jane Austen’s  Pride and Prejudice  might have looked like if Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice no longer played a central role in their relationship. For both, mentors and situations provide opportunities for reflection and growth, making them very different people when they meet.

In the first volume of the Given Good Principles series, Darcy’s Decision, Fitzwilliam Darcy faces the challenges presented, when, in the midst of dealing with Wickham’s attempt to compromise Georgiana, he discovers his father’s darkest secrets. With the help of his mentor, Mr. Bradley, Darcy struggles to overcome some of the blackest moments of his life.

With this backdrop, it was only fitting, that across the miles of good road, The Future Mrs. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, should be in the processof becoming a better person as well.

Though Mr. Wickham is not part of Colonel Forster’s militia regiment, there are still officers a plenty to discomfit the whole of Meryton’s young female population. After all, where men in red coats gather, foolish girls will follow, especially when Mayor Sir William Lucas invites them all into his home to become acquainted. Much merriment, dancing and flirtation follows.

Lydia Bennet, Maria Lucas and their friends Rachel and Martha Carver are particularly enamored of the splendid company of the militia officers. Mr. Bennet and Sir William think it only a youthful fancy that will come to nothing. They counsel their older daughters, Elizabeth and Charlotte, not to  distressthemselves over it. The concerned elder sisters arenot apt to agree. Nor is Mr. Carver who insists such flirtations will only bring disaster.  So he removes himself and his sisters from Meryton and loudly blames the despicable behavior of Lydia and Maria for their departure.

Elizabeth tries to take her father’s view of the situation, but she soon realizes Mr. Carver is not the only one of their neighbors to hold a mean opinion of the Bennet sisters.  A number of Meryton’s denizens agree with Carver and cut the Bennet girls from their acquaintance.

This shocking discovery exposes Elizabeth prejudices and she must reexamine her view of herself, her sisters and others. Armed with her Aunt Gardiner’s good advice, she rises to the challenge of honoring her father, reining in her youngest sister, and salvaging the family reputation, all in the most ladylike way possible.

The tale is a reimagining of what Pride and Prejudice might have been if our hero and heroine had the opportunity to learn how to live up to the standards they had been taught and to follow them from the beginning. Our beloved characters remain true to their essentials while they make different and arguably better decisions throughout.

Mr. Darcy makes his first appearance in Herdfordshire and his first meeting with Elizabeth goes quite differently, setting the stage for the final book of the series, ‘Principles and Virtue’. Will there still be a story to be told, now that Elizabeth and Darcy are so improved? Certainly.  In Volume 3, Darcy and Elizabeth encounter the cousin we love to hate, Mr. Collins, aseedier  version of his usual self. Collins’ introduction into the society of Meryton provides a new challenge for our hero and heroine to overcome.  Principles and Virtue, Given Good Principles Volume 3 is slated for release near the end of 2012. Be sure and visit my website for more publication details. 

Maria Grace

The Author 

Though Maria Grace has been writing fiction since she was ten years old, those early efforts happily reside in a file drawer and are unlikely to see the light of day again, for which many are grateful.

She has one husband, two graduate degrees and two black belts, three sons, four undergraduate majors, five nieces, six cats, seven Regency-era fiction projects and notes for eight more writing projects in progress. To round out the list, she cooks for nine in order to accommodate the growing boys and usually makes ten meals at a time so she only cooks twice a month.

She can be contacted at: author.MariaGrace@gmail.com.

You can find her profile on Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorMariaGrace

or visit her website at AuthorMariaGrace.com

The Book

The regiment has come to camp in Meryton. Many young ladies are pleased, but not all share their enthusiasm. Among them, Mr. Carver, who decides to remove his family from Meryton's savage society. He puts the blame, not on the militia officers, but on the shoulders of the Bennet family. The flirtations and boisterous ways of the youngest sisters are too much to be borne. Not even Jane’s renowned beauty and charm can make up for them. 

Elizabeth denies the allegations at first, but rapidly uncovers the shocking truth. The Carvers are not the only family to cut the Bennets from their acquaintance. Their reputations have been materially damaged and the family borders on social ruin.

The news is too much for Mrs. Bennet who collapses from the shock. So, Elizabeth and her sisters must manage the estate until she recovers, a task for which none of them is prepared. Their duty becomes more challenging when Mr. Bennet is called away on business and allows Lydia to stay with the colonel’s wife, surrounded by officers.

Warned by Mr. Pierce, the local curate, that several of the officers have unsavory designs on the local girls, Elizabeth must find a way to honor her father, rein in her sister and salvage the family’s reputation, all in the most ladylike way possible. (Given Good Principles, Vol 2. Sequel to Darcy’s Decision)