Miss Georgiana Darcy is need of a companion, and she would much rather not have Mrs Younge. The recently bereaved Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in need of a position. When she accepts the one Mr Darcy offers, she finds herself in his near-constant company and gets to know him at his best. Not as he would present himself to strangers in some remote corner of Hertfordshire, but as his nearest and … dearest know him. An excellent brother, landlord, master. A wonderful man, noble, kind – and impossibly handsome.
So who falls in love first? What of Mr Wickham and his dastardly ploys? And how is a lady’s companion ever to have a future with one who could marry into the best houses in the land?
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Always a fan of Joana Starnes’ books! I read this latest over a few nights. The first few chapters were a bit slow while setting the scene–despite the fact we find our beloved Lizzy Bennet in reduced circumstances or the scenes of how she came to be the governess of a mini-tyrant to paid companion of Miss Darcy. But once the story arrives at Pemberley (about Chapter 6), I found myself absolutely invested and finished the rest in one night. Lots of heart pounding action, tender moments of retrospection, hope, and angst. I was whole heartedly satisfied and thought “Miss Darcy’s Companion” a delightful read. If you are new to this writer, I must recommend some of my favorites.
Reviewed: May 12, 2016
“Memories of an intangible perfection, that pierced her heart.” Ms. Starnes, you have pierced my heart with this beautiful story.
For me this story was poignant, sweet, funny and extremely engaging. Even my husband noticed, as he said I had that small smile on face which tells him I am thoroughly enjoying a book. The premise of Miss Elizabeth Bennet being the companion to Miss Darcy delighted me. This may have changed the dynamics of the story from canon but the characters were held true in essentials.
The first chapter alone captured my attention and I had to chuckle when Miss Elizabeth gently admonishes young Lord Hartfield by saying, “Perhaps. But a gentleman should practise from an early age to navigate the triteness of civil conversation.” As Darcy is present, “A brief smile fluttered on Darcy’s lips. He might have grown to bear the drawing rooms of the ‘ton’ more cheerfully, had his own nanny exposed similar views.” Isn’t that the truth!
Another scene later on at Pemberley brought tears to my eyes and a constriction in my throat for Miss Elizabeth’s pain as she explains to Darcy her tears over a book. I was so moved by this and the late night harp playing by Elizabeth. Oh yes, Ms. Starnes certainly tugs on our heart strings.
But don’t think there is all smooth sailing. Wickham is a sly fox and Miss Bingley does her part to try and cause dissension. There are other not so honourable characters as well. Mr. Bingley was more decisive which I loved and the Colonel well who can ever complain about him!
I highly recommend this book to all but a word of warning, it’s difficult to participate in dinner conversation when you just want to get back to reading this book!
Loved this HEA, worthy of 5 swoon points
The journey to the HEA for ODC was long and difficult. There were several twists in this story that changed everything. First, while Elizabeth was in Kent, the Colonel was not able to mention Darcy’s involvement in separating Jane and Mr. Bingley. Second, Darcy was not able to make his proposal due to an express arriving from Longbourn. And lastly, Ramsgate never happened.
The Bennet family realized their worst nightmare with the death of their beloved father. Mr. Collins was excessively cruel in securing his inheritance in a hasty manner that forced the women of Longbourn to leave his presence. Elizabeth and Jane went to live with the Gardiners. Elizabeth secured a temporary position with the Fitzwilliam family filling in for their governess. From there Georgiana requested her as a companion instead of Mrs. Younge, who she just didn’t feel right about and could not like her.
Wickham was the same cruel, conniving and cunning snake that he always was. He still made his attempt to get at Georgiana’s dowry; however, since he didn’t have Mrs. Younge, he was forced to use a different accomplice. It was very creative how the author spun this new situation.
Elizabeth was thrust into the society of the Fitzwilliam/Darcy families as she lived and worked with Georgiana. They spent a lot of time together and she soon fell under the spell of Mr. Darcy. There were parts of this that reminded me of Jane Eyre and how she sketched and drew pictures of the master of the house and secretly loved him. All the prejudice Elizabeth experienced in P&P was not present and didn’t taint Elizabeth’s picture of Mr. Darcy [landlord, master, brother, and she saw the true man].
Darcy’s journey to his HEA was also difficult as he came to misunderstand everything about Elizabeth Bennet and that created such drama between them. And, it gave us our hero moments where he raced after her and placed her on his horse. Yeah, you could hear the collective swoon from readers.
Georgiana grew up right before our eyes. She wasn’t influenced and beaten down by the conniving Mrs. Younge. When the compromise attempt was thwarted by Elizabeth, she realized that her naïveté nearly ruined them all. She was able to stand tall, as the daughter of the House of Darcy, and admirably rose to the occasion. She was pretty cool.
The house of Bennet was barely mentioned and we didn’t have to spend much time with them. As soon as Darcy could get out of their presence, he did. However, he bore it admirably. Thank goodness Pemberley was a good distance away, even with good roads.
*** SPOILER *** When Elizabeth went back to the inn to get Georgiana’s things, she ran into Wickham. I held my breath terrified that he might do her harm. I expected it since she had messed up his plans. He was angry enough to manhandle her at the least. However, she was nothing to him; little more than a Pemberley servant sent to fetch Miss Darcy’s things. Wickham had no idea who this companion really was in relation to Darcy. He let her go…unharmed, because she was nothing but the lowly companion. He did not realize that the woman standing before him was a treasure that Darcy prized above rubies. *** End Spoiler ***