When Jane Bennet’s illness at Netherfield ends up not being just a trifling cold, but an epidemic that sweeps through Hertfordshire, the lives at Longbourn are turned upside down. Elizabeth Bennet finds herself lost without a cherished loved one and the interferences of one Fitzwilliam Darcy most aggravating. Combating the bombastic behavior of Mr. Collins, Elizabeth runs to London for the … protection of her aunt and uncle. But acquaintances and introductions bring Mr. Darcy back into her life and Elizabeth discovers he might just mend her broken heart.
A sweetheart romantic novella, A Winter Wrong is the first in a series of seasonal episodes following the Bennet family after the loss of their patriarch. Winter explores the feelings of grief and loss we all have experienced, while still retaining a silver lining for that dark cloud.
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Sad, funny, witty, exciting, anguish, joy and determination of spirit
Our novella opens with Jane ill at Netherfield, and Elizabeth in residence taking care of her. Only this is no ordinary illness and as Jane recovers, Elizabeth succumbs herself. When she awakens two days later, she learns that her beloved father had also taken ill and has died from the same illness that swept through the county.
Things happen fairly quickly from this point on, Cousin Collins arrives [Mr. B had not advised his wife he was coming], only to find his cousin deceased; he is next to inherit due to the entailment, the widow and daughters grieving, and the household in chaos. He then takes matters into his own hands and moves into the master’s chambers. Collins is a pompous, arrogant, controlling, tight-fisted, cruel, evil, vindictive, sadistic; parsonic… there are not enough adjectives to describe Collins and his behaviors.
Uncle Gardiner arrives to find his sister and nieces practically servants in their own home as Collins let the servants go. They have been reduced to such a state as Collins having the girls make candles in order to be economic. Elizabeth’s refusal to his marriage declaration has his threatening her with a position of governess with the most disagreeable household he can find.
In P&P, Mr. Bennet lamented that he had not taken better care of his daughters. In this version, Uncle Gardner has a copy of a will declaring that each daughter has a dowry of five thousand pounds. Mr. B had been secretly sending money to his brother-in-law to be kept safe. It was so arranged as to not be part of the entailment so Mr. Collins could not get his hands on it. In his fury at reading the report, he declared that everyone had one hour to vacate Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet, Kitty and Lydia went to Meryton to live with Mrs. Philips, while Jane, Elizabeth and Mary went to London to live with the Gardiners.
There are a lot of highs and lows as Elizabeth works her way toward deciding if she loves Mr. Darcy or not. At times, I wondered if we were going to make it or not. Their road to happiness was strewn with the debris of misunderstandings, sabotaged attempts [Caroline and Lady C] and, of course, pride and prejudice. I enjoyed Georgiana, Lord and Lady Matlock, and of course our beloved Colonel. I liked his interactions with Mary. She was a surprise in this version. I hope to see her evolve more in the next novella.
This is a novella, and of course it is short. West chose a most excellent place to halt the story. It was not abrupt or unexpected. I thought it was a good place to break. The couple had solved their differences and was well on their way to facing the next chapter in their fight for the family honor. I will definitely look at the next novella to see what happens next.
There were minimal editing problems; the use of the words out of time ex: billfold…a more modern term of 1879 was a jolt…you usually hear purse when referring to money. The term fiancé refers to the male, and fiancée refers to the female in an engagement.
I enjoyed the story and having lost a parent can relate to the grief shown by Elizabeth at having lost the favorite man in her life.