The very worst has happened. Mr Bennet has died, leaving his wife and five young daughters bereft. The family estate, Longbourn, is now lost, entailed away and fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bennet is to go two hundred miles away to live with strangers. George Darcy, repaying a debt of gratitude, has offered to take her to Pemberley, to live under the mantle of his care and be raised alongside his … own daughter, Georgiana.
But on the day she is to leave Longbourn forever, young Elizabeth, grieving and confused, runs off into the Hertfordshire countryside. Fitzwilliam Darcy gives chase, telling his father he will have her back in an hour or two. Luck and fate, however, are not on his side and capturing Elizabeth Bennet turns out not only to be more difficult than he could ever have imagined, but events conspire to turn her little adventure into his worst nightmare.
The prideful man and the girl prejudiced against him, meet much earlier in this rethinking of Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Elizabeth grows up under the ever-watchful eye of Mr Darcy, from fifteen to twenty one. She errs and falters, there are stumbles and trips, but could this ‘disobedient little hellion’ one day become mistress of Pemberley and the keeper of his heart?
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Stayed up two nights in a row! Great story–not for angst weenies but just my kind of delicious tension. Thank you Just Jane 1813 for the recommendation! I’m going to see what else this promising author has read and “feed my kindle!” Page turner of this outstanding retelling of a beloved classic. Caitlin Williams is a talented writer who knows how to write delicious Austenesque stories. This was the first of her books I’d read. And I’ve read all her work since. Not to be missed.
he Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet (TCoAoEB) was a fantastic tale of second chances. Despite being forced into an extremely young marriage, Elizabeth does not lose her sense of self. She manages to remain true to her character, undeterred by every inducement to do otherwise.
I very much enjoyed when she started to come into her own and take charge. Ms. Williams did a great job of meshing the Elizabeth she created with the Elizabeth of Pride and Prejudice.
As seems to be a pattern for me lately, I noticed some errors, but not enough to knock off a star. I would greatly welcome a sequel, or even just an epilogue to know how everyone gets on after TCoAoEB ends.
This was my first book by this author. I loved it! I have read another immediately after this one and have given both five stars. In this very original tale, Elizabeth is only 15, and her father has died. Through some bad decisions, she ends up married to Fitzwilliam Darcy. He is highly embarrassed and feels she is beneath him in every possible way. The events that take place following the marriage make you empathize with the young Elizabeth Bennet and cause you to dislike Mr. Darcy as much as Elizabeth does. Both were young, and as they grow and mature, things change. Life is quite sad and empty for Lizzy. But she tries to make the best of things. The story is not all smooth sailing, and if you don’t mind angst in the tale, you should love the book as much as I did.
“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche
Let me just say that I love the book cover. It was so perfect in conveying a younger version of ODG [our dear girl] Elizabeth.
To readers of this story… you cannot speed read this. I tried to speed read through a scene I assumed would be tedious and missed several important facts and had to go back and reread the scene again. I thought I knew what was going to happen and I didn’t. You can’t always second guess an author… Ms. Williams, my apologies. Besides, in the very last chapter Darcy reflects back on these early scenes.
When our story opens, ODG is a mere child [small for her age] of 15 years grieving over the loss her father, her rock, foundation, source of comfort and companion. She, being the least favorite of her mother’s daughters, often sought refuge in her father’s study. Though she was not the son they longed for, he delighted in her abilities, willingness to learn, her quick mind and wit and she soon became his favorite. All that changed with his death.
His beloved study and estate was now the province of their odious cousin the elder Mr. Collins and his [I can’t even begin to describe her] wife. He had the entail and all the Bennet ladies has to remove themselves from his house as soon as they could. Mrs. Bennet and the three youngest girls moved to a cottage in Meryton, Jane to the Gardner’s house in London and Elizabeth [per her father’s request] to the guardianship of the senior Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, Derbyshire.
To a child with Elizabeth’s nature, all the changes thrust upon her were not to be borne. It was too much for her sensibilities and in her youthfulness she made foolish and rash decisions that would change her life forever. Most children [myself included] at some time or another have contemplated or attempted to run away. That is a child’s default against something uncomfortable in their little lives. They simply run as fast and as far away from the problem as they can. There is no reasoning, rationale or awareness of consequences, their basic gut instinct is to simply run… and that is what she did.
I’ll not detail the mad and crazy antics Elizabeth [dressed as a boy] demonstrated in her flight; however, she soon found that she was ill prepared for the rigors and dangers of the real world and received a reality check that was nearly disastrous. By her actions and refusal to follow young Darcy’s directions and orders, she set in motion an opportunity for a bitter ex-amour to exact revenge with a scandal so severe/monumental that it would take the Darcy family years to recover from its spread within the ton.
As many know who work with or have teenagers, you can’t live with them and you can’t send them to another planet until they grow out of it. Elizabeth was no different. Thrust into a world that she didn’t know or understand, grieving for the loss of her father, family scattered to the four winds, home entailed away from the female line, friends and her old way of life gone, she was now thrust into the Darcy family in a way she didn’t want or desire.
This work was the coming of age of Elizabeth Bennet. Williams allowed us to walk with her as she traveled through the crucial periods of her life. I liked how Ms. Williams took us through those stages in chunks. We were there when Elizabeth finally realized that if she wanted things to be different, then she had to be different. When she became Mistress of Pemberley, she did not have Mrs. Reynolds and the servants welcoming her with open arms, she had to earn their respect and loyalty.
I loved the nods to other Austen works. Those little nuggets were a delightful surprise when I would come across them interspersed throughout this work. Williams was creative in how she used Austen dialogue and scenes from canon and moved and adjusted them to fit in this adaption. Such surprises were thrilling whenever I would encounter them. The transitions were smooth and seamless.
Characters: We have the Fitzwilliam family at Matlock. I loved the Countess Matlock. Our dear Colonel Fitzwilliam and his mother were a hoot. She was a powerhouse to be reckoned with and was a big help to Elizabeth throughout her life. After the eldest son and heir to Matlock made disastrous financial decisions that could have ruined the Fitzwilliam family, Darcy had to go to the Indies in order to sort it out and redistribute the family fortunes into safer ventures. Our dear Colonel stayed at Pemberley and looked after Georgiana and Elizabeth.
The Bingley connection occurred while Darcy was the Indies. Upon their return to England, Darcy made the acquaintance of the rest of the Bingley family, Caroline Bingley and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst. It didn’t take long for Caroline to set her cap on acquiring Darcy at all costs. How delicious she was in her attempts to garner his favor. There was a riding incident, when they were at Pemberley [which Caroline desired], that was reminiscent of Fanny Price waiting for the return of her horse [Caroline had insisted on riding Elizabeth’s horse]. The dialogue was different but still funny.
The younger Collins was nearing taking his orders into the clergy and had turned his eye toward taking Jane as wife. Williams was so creative in getting him out of Hertfordshire and into the benevolence and condescension of Lady Catherine de Bourgh who needed to fill the living in her gift. The rest, as they say…was canon.
Wickham was a rake and scoundrel of the highest order. Everything he thought Darcy owned or coveted he attempted to taint or destroy. It was his goal in life to make Darcy’s life a living hell and his financial gain. He was awful, nothing was sacred to him… profligate, gamester, seducer, and the list goes on. The reveal to the depths of his seduction was a shocker and a… not too graphic sex scene…but close enough that will raise eyebrows and an OMG moment. This was why I cautioned readers to not speed read. Those early encounters, that set things in motion, were due in part to what happened right here.
This is long enough. If the other reviewers and I have not convinced you to read this, nothing will. Just take it slow as it is worth it.
I would have liked an epilogue to know what happened to everyone and there were those pesky editing problems.