Understanding Elizabeth

Fun twist on Jane Austin.

“Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, you can live your dreams.” Ben Carson

“People do not die of little trifling colds.” Those famous last words from Mrs. Bennet will haunt her and Mr. Bennet for a long time since they both allowed their first-born daughter to go out into the elements… on house back no less. It was Mrs. Bennet’s intention that Jane would have to spend the night at Netherfield thus, putting her into the path of the rich and eligible Mr. Bingley. Well Jane’s cold slipped into a serious fever and she was now seriously ill. So much so, Mr. Jones, the apothecary, suggested they send to London for a doctor.

The Bingley sisters, along with Hurst, happily returned to London, per doctor’s orders. Since they had NOT been in the sickroom, they were not considered contagious and could leave. With no female chaperones, other than the housekeeper and maids, Mr. Bennet left Longbourn [and a prostrate and hysterical Mrs. Bennet], determined to protect the reputations of his girls. He could not abide them being in a house with two bachelors, even if they were gentlemen.

Thus, we have the stand-off between Mr. Bennet and a repentant Darcy, who has been trying desperately to mend his tattered reputation, that of being the most despised man in Meryton. He has discovered that he was overheard when he uttered those insulting words at the Meryton Assembly. Whew, bless his heart.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” Edgar Allan Poe

We have a very different story strategy, not often seen in JAFF, the dream sequence. Some will find this too weird… I thought it appropriate. My family is accustomed to dreaming dreams. All my life, my father has solved problems in his sleep. He has even found lost objects after a night of dreaming. When presented with a problematic situation, he will often say, “let me sleep on it.” In nearly all instances, he has found a solution while he dreamed. Some relatives have even avoided serious situations by adhering to a warnings via their dreams. So, I found this perfectly logical.

In his dreams, Darcy encountered entities of good and evil and was encouraged to make a choice in his quest for happiness. He was presented with different scenarios and needed to decide what he could live with or without. Being a religious man, naturally he would turn to a Higher power for strength. For those who do not wish to read this part, simply skip over it. However, I would suggest reading it as the scriptures used were words of wisdom that helped him make his decisions.

I understand and appreciate the author’s stance… that to not choose still was making a choice. As readers of JAFF, this fits perfectly with Darcy’s realization of his love of Elizabeth, their difference in social standing, fortune, and interests. Bless his heart. His struggle was hard on him and he suffered greatly as he came to grips with what he truly wanted… in his life, that of his sister’s and for Pemberley. But… once he made up his mind, it was full-on-Darcy. Yeah, I like that about him.

Mr. Bennet finally realized what was going on between his favorite daughter and the haughty man from Derbyshire. I loved the chess games, the chess club [oh that was so cool], and the future of the chess membership passing from one player to another. I nearly cried at the mention of the elder Mr. Darcy. That was so touching and such a moment between Mr. Bennet and Darcy. I loved it.

The rest of the story is along the line of canon events, misjudgments between ODC [our dear couple], grief, guilt and anguish over their misunderstanding and harsh words to each other. Our author brought in additional characters with the valet and the maid. Oh, they were so cute. Georgiana was adorable and cunning in her machinations and surprises.

Wickham and Lydia had to add their bit to the ruination of reputations and the family name. What is JAFF without a good dose of Wickham and Lydia. And, of course, in any hunt for Wickham, let’s don’t forget Our-dear-Colonel Fitzwilliam… OMG!!! What can I say about him? I love this guy. Our author took all his good points and simply gave him page time. Whew, be still my heart.

Bingley and Jane were themselves and we love them just as they are. Caroline and Louisa didn’t get much page time; however, there was nothing new in their looks and attempts to get near Darcy. Over time, he had become fairly adept at avoiding their presence, as he simply did not want to hear what they had to say regarding the Bennet family. Caroline’s future in the epilogue was most creative.

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” Thomas Carlyle

The pulling together of all the threads was most creative. As the story began to conclude, we couldn’t help but feel satisfied that ODC would have their HEA. To do otherwise is sacrilege in the JAFF community. So, I began to relax and allow the author to lead me to a most appropriate conclusion. I wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, I just believed that it would.

Note: the cover was most excellent and I appreciated the clean romance of this author’s work.

As usual Darcy and Elizabeth end up together but the story twists are always interesting is a different circumstance happened then what was in the original book. A huge fan of the original and love all the othe stories modern righters come up with.

Jane would approve of this reworking of her story. Enjoyed this alternate literary world.

Good character development. Predictable outcome. Fun to read.

A wonderful twist on Pride and Prejudiced. ,Interesting to read the story from his point of view!

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Enjoyed another Austen-like twist on the wonderful Mr Darcy!

this Austen-Fan-Fiction was a “cute” twist on the original. I liked that it was true to being higher-ground and didn’t drag these 2 beloved characters into modern-day morality and emotions. Always enjoy seeing Darcy and Elizabeth thru some one else’s eyes.

Great plot using familiar characters. I love these alternatives.