Banished from her home at the age of seventeen for refusing a marriage proposal from an odious man, Elizabeth Bennet moves to London to live with her aunt and uncle Gardiner. Though fighting feelings of hopelessness, Elizabeth attempts to be happy. The persistence of her unwanted suitor, however, upsets the balance she has achieved with her relations, leaving her fearful for her future.An … future.
An introduction to Mr. Gardiner’s new business partner allows Elizabeth to make a new acquaintance with a pleasant man and his family, bringing some much-needed variation to her colorless life. But when she is approached by a mysterious stranger who wishes to know more of her, Elizabeth can only allow herself to be caught up in the excitement of the moment and his apparent interest.
Unfortunately, her other suitor still lurks in the background, waiting for his chance to snare her. It soon becomes clear to Elizabeth that others see as interest, the reality is much more sinister, and takes all the appearance of an OBSESSION.
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“An obsession is where something will not leave your mind.” Eric Clapton
The timeline for Rowland’s story is several years earlier than canon. No one knew each other. So, know going in that this variation is out of the box and way-way off canon. However, it was cute, clean, and adorable at times. Since Elizabeth was 17-years-old and that put the younger girls at about 14 and 12-years-old. Mrs. Bennet was even more angst-driven to marry off her girls so her security would be assured should something happen to Mr. Bennet. Mr. Bennet was even more indolent than canon and attempted to avoid her exuberance at all cost by hiding in his bookroom.
“Determination becomes [an] obsession and then it becomes all that matters.” Jeremy Irvine
After several dances over several assemblies and gatherings, Elizabeth had garnered an admirer… Mr. Pearce. To Elizabeth’s horror, his paying particular attention to her had come to the notice of her mother. After a horrid proposal, Elizabeth attempted to graciously refuse him; however, he would not accept her refusal and continued his attentions. In spite of the rumors about Pearce, Mrs. Bennet went on a rampage against her least favorite child. Nothing Elizabeth said to her mother mattered. Mr. Bennet, in order to regain his peace and his bookroom from his wife’s vocal intrusions, finally sent Elizabeth to London to the Gardiners.
Elizabeth escaped her mother’s ire with only a few clothes and whatever Jane could smuggle out of the house for her. She arrived at Gracechurch Street amid many questions. Mr. Gardiner wondered at his sister being so cruel. Mrs. Bennet made her sentiments known by sending a weekly diatribe demanding her least favorite daughter do her duty to the family. Many of the letters fed the fire until Mrs. Gardiner discovered what Elizabeth was doing. If nothing else, she felt Lizzy owed her mother her respect.
The Gardiners weren’t sure of the magnitude of the situation until Mr. Pearce showed up at Gracechurch Street. It soon became very evident that this was not a good person and the Gardiners were horrified that Mrs. Bennet would force Elizabeth to marry such a man. I actually shuddered when he talked to her. It was disgusting.
But that all changed when Elizabeth met Mr. Darcy in the park near Gracechurch Street. OMG!! I absolutely loved this Darcy. I liked how he behaved, how he treated Elizabeth, how he logically addressed his and her predicaments and went about securing a courtship with her. Their conversations were delightful and I loved their interactions. It was enough OOC [out of character] to be simply cute. I didn’t care if it was realistic or not. This was the Darcy and Elizabeth I enjoy seeing together. There was no insult, pride, or prejudice that got in the way of their becoming acquainted. It was just them and it was lovely.
Mr. Gardiner and the elder Bingley had been in the process of completing a merger when Mr. Bingley died. Charles then took over the negotiations and when he visited the Gardiners, he was introduced to Darcy, who was courting Elizabeth. In this story, Bingley didn’t go to school with Darcy. When they partnered with Gardiner in his import business, they soon became friends. We later meet the sisters, Caroline and Mrs. Hurst, when they host a dinner for the Gardiners in appreciation for feeding Charles until they arrived in town. Let’s just say the meeting between Caroline and the Gardiners and Elizabeth went fair, but it was obvious that she was not impressed with the connection. On the other side of that coin, at a dinner hosted at Darcy House, Caroline was stunned at all the glitz and the glamour of Darcy’s wealth and immediately set her jaundiced eye on Darcy. Oh, dear Caro, will you ever learn?
“Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.” Norman Mailer
Pearce was obsessed with Elizabeth, Wickham was obsessed with Darcy’s money and power, Caroline was obsessed with Darcy’s wealth and social standing, and Mrs. Bennet was obsessed with marrying off her daughters to the greatest advantage, thus, gaining her own security in the process.
Because this was an earlier JAFF version, we were at the point where Wickham approached Darcy after having gone through the money from the inheritance and what he received in lieu of living. He was not happy to be turned away and swore his revenge. Since Darcy knew that Wickham had seen Elizabeth at Darcy House, he installed additional security for her protection. He did not trust Wickham. He was wise to do so.
During her courtship with Darcy, Elizabeth met various members of Darcy’s family. One meeting, in particular, was very poignant… Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The first meeting with Lady Catherine was very different from canon. I loved this lady. What??? Did I say that out loud? Well, I did… and nearly cried as she and Elizabeth talked. Our Elizabeth seemed to have an effect on people, including our Lady from Kent.
The rest of the story consisted of the ups and downs of the courtship, M/M Bennet and their opinions, what needed to be done with the younger sisters, and dealing with the various villains. I was scared to death it was going to go very badly for ODC. The Epilogue was cute… there were still a few threads that were unclear. We had hints and suggestions throughout the story, but it ended well.
Jann Rowland is a great story teller. In this case, he starts his variation a few years earlier than pride and Prejudice orginally begins. And inthis version, Elizabeth attracts a much older man who simply will not take no for an answer. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth enter into a courtship without really knowing one another. They quickly become friends and then to a couple. This does not deter the man she danced with once. He gets more obsessed and Darcy has to step in. It is a very good read and keeps you glued to the story until it’s conclusion