Imagine a world in which Darcy doesn’t go to Ramsgate and thus doesn’t stop Georgiana from running off and marrying Wickham. Renata McMann and Summer Hanford present “Poor Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella,” in which they examine how that single alteration changes the way Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s story unfolds, a tale that hinges on Mr. Darcy’s performance as a poor Mr. Darcy.Please note, … Darcy.
Please note, this is the second edition of Poor Mr. Darcy, with special thanks to our new editor, Joanne Girard.
This “Pride and Prejudice” variation novella is approximately 44,000 words in length.
Renata McMann and Summer Hanford began writing Pride and Prejudice Variations together in 2014 and have since become immersed in the amazing world Jane Austen created. Whether you’re a fan of Darcy and Elizabeth specifically or of clean Regency Romance in general, you will enjoy both McMann’s ability to imagine variations of this classic love story and Hanford’s skill in turning these variations of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet and their enduring love into entertaining stories.
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I liked this book, as I usually do from these authors. This is one that I borrowed from my KU account because I was notified that it was being removed from KU next month and I had not yet read. I am glad that I was able to read it before that happened.
I loved the beginning of the book, but agree that the ending felt rushed. I am not a big fan of Wickham ever getting to come out ahead, but in this case he eloped with Georgiana and later must toe the line or lose his family forever. As always, Darcy is protective of his sister, in this to an extreme, but he shows just how far he will go to protect those he cares for. Very good, quick read.
Georgiana’s hard lesson: You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.
This was a quick read and held all the elements that we expect in a JAFF. We have all the characters we love and enough drama and angst to thrill those who love to struggle with whether they like, love or loath a character. Sometimes there is a fine line to walk as there was in this novella. Things were not black or white but several shades of gray.
The prologue opens with a young woman approaching a bank seeking help. Her husband is away, she has no notion where or how to reach him, her money is gone, the servants left, the landlord demanded the rent and when she couldn’t pay he cast her out. While on the street she was robbed of what little she had, including her wedding ring… and she is with child. Such a sad story until we learn she is Georgiana Darcy Wickham. Oh My Goodness!!!
We have misunderstandings, betrayals, fear and angst. Darcy didn’t make it to Ramsgate and Georgiana married Wickham thus forcing Darcy to fork over her dowry. The situation goes from bad to worse as Darcy attempts to hide Georgiana from Wickham. Everything that could go wrong does. Darcy uses false names to protect them and dresses down in order to look like a poor gentleman. Everyone thinks he is in diminished circumstances and his ruse was so effective that Mrs. Bennet didn’t want any of her girls to encourage or dance with him as he was too poor for them. That was a hoot.
I don’t usually like when Wickham is portrayed in a different light. However, we all are due mercy and forgiveness, an opportunity to make things right and a chance to change our behavior. Wickham really went out on a limb and could have hung from that limb due to his mistaken actions. He owes Elizabeth his life. She was the voice of reason and diverted a horrific outcome to this story.
We are given an up-close and personal account of the state and status of women in this novella. A woman of the era had little rights and little say in her circumstances once she married. This was abundantly clear when Darcy tried to hide Georgiana from her lawful husband. Her rights were forfeited when she married. She, and her unborn child, were the property of Mr. Wickham.
I was amazed at how Georgiana was forced to grow up…and quickly. She had to face several facts about her husband and we the reader had to face facts about her. She was way young and this was her first love and like most first loves…she would not relinquish it.
Elizabeth was so wise in so many situations. Her fear was real and during the kidnapping of the baby, held her wits about her and in the end saved many lives that day, but not her reputation. I won’t spoil what happened but I enjoyed this different variation.
This was really two stories. We have the Georgiana vs Wickham story and we have Elizabeth vs Darcy. It was delightful watching Darcy and Elizabeth fall in love. We spend a lot of time in Darcy’s head as he reasons his way through his feelings for Elizabeth. We also spend time in her head as she falls under the influence of the impoverish Mr. Harvey [Darcy]. It was a delight as they met in the middle and solved problems together, swoon worthy. It was a hoot as Elizabeth advised Mr. Harvey/Darcy on how to be amenable in public. I couldn’t help but laugh.
The epilogue was delightful. I love a good epilogue. There were several threads or questions left unanswered, but I can live with it.