Chance brings about an early encounter between Charles Bingley and Elizabeth Bennet soon after his move into Netherfield. He soon begins to favour this pretty and lively young lady. Circumstances have kept Jane Bennet and Mr. Darcy from the neighbourhood, thereby changing the events that Jane Austen penned in “Pride and Prejudice.” When Mr. Darcy finally arrives, will he be able to keep from … interfering when he meets this young lady his friend so greatly admires? When Jane returns from touring the Lake District with her aunt and uncle, will the young gentleman who returns with her prove to be better suited for her than Mr. Bingley ever was? In this “Pride and Prejudice” variation, chance and circumstance greatly affect the way several of Jane Austen’s characters arrive at their happily ever after, but not necessarily in the way you think.
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Source: I won an author signed, paperback copy on Ceri’s Babblings of a Bookworm blog during the author’s book tour. I thank the author and the publisher for the generous give-a-way. The views expressed are my own.
“It’s choice – not chance – that determines your destiny.” –Jean Nidetch
I suppose if an author announced that they were going to do an Austen variation… we could rightly assume that they would shake up the canon story line. Well, that is exactly what Kara Louise has done. When Bingley, his sisters and his friend arrived in Hertfordshire, Jane was away touring the Peak District with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. In a letter to Elizabeth, she explained that she had met a very nice gentleman, a Mr. Marshall and his family, who were friends of the Gardiners. Mr. Bingley, being the effervescent personality that he was known for, had immediately been drawn to Elizabeth and her sparking personality… and surprisingly, she to him. Oh dear.
Just in time for the Netherfield Ball, we have the arrival of Jane and Mr. Marshall, followed closely with that of Mr. Collins. We now have a superfluous of suitors in the community. In the ladies’ corner… we have Jane, Elizabeth, Mary and Charlotte. And… in the gentlemen’s corner… we have Charles, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Marshall. Wait… where was Mr. Darcy? Well, after the ball, he tucked tail and left Hertfordshire. Watching Bingley with Miss Elizabeth, and with Wickham’s appearance in Meryton, with his snide comments [smarmy, rat-bastard], was just too much for Darcy. He packed his bags and left the playing field. Dang!!
Darcy: “How often, you wonder, has the direction of your live been shaped by such misunderstandings? How many opportunities have you been denied—or, for that matter, awarded—because someone failed to see you properly? How many friends have you lost, how many have you gained, because they glimpsed some element of your personality that shone through for only an instant, and in circumstances you could never reproduce? An illusion of water shimmering at the far bend of a highway.” –Kevin Brockmeier, The View from the Seventh Layer
For nearly the entire book, Darcy was under a misunderstanding of events, comments, appearances and had a total disregard to the signs and signals as to how things were between Elizabeth and Bingley. It was so frustrating to see him struggle with the loss of Elizabeth’s good opinion and his realization that he loved her. The author did a fantastic job with the manipulation of characters in a switch and bait maneuver that was pretty cool. The switcheroo with the pairings was delightful. Everyone was happy except maybe two people. Oh man.
Elizabeth: “It’s funny. No matter how hard you try, you can’t close your heart forever. And the minute you open it up, you never know what’s going to come in. But when it does, you just have to go for it! Because if you don’t, there’s no point in being here.” –Kristie Alley
Wow, I wanted to shake Elizabeth silly. Dang! She frustrated me so much. Finally, a situation occurred that cleared up her misunderstanding and that of Darcy’s; however, was it too late? I thought I was going to die with what happened. OMG!! I nearly cried.
“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” –Desmond Tutu
I want to know why Darcy didn’t address Lady Catherine’s highhanded manner [OK she lied] in retrieving Georgiana from London without his approval. That was a serious move on her part and it just slipped by. What the heck??? What happened to all that anger as he stormed toward Kent? I was expecting holy heck to rain down on her once he got there. I was really looking forward to it. But… nothing… I was so disappointed.
I did notice one little niggling point: Mrs. Lucas… rather than Lady Lucas.
I loved the last sentence in the book… “While chance and circumstance had intervened in the beginning to keep them apart, the same had conspired to eventually bring them together.” That about says it all.