Read Online Mr Darcy Feigned Courtship A Sweet and Clean Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation edition by Elizabeth Goodrich Romance eBooks
Mr. Darcy does not believe in fate, but a fake courtship with Miss Elizabeth Bennet may just change his mind.
He had escaped to London, then Pemberley, in an attempt to forget her stinging rejection of his proposal. But now, he must conspire with Elizabeth to fulfill his cousin Anne's dream of throwing her mother a surprise birthday ball - a surprise that Lady Catherine will surely hate. To make matters worse, Anne has already invited one of Lady Catherine's former suitors, a traitor more in love with wealth than the woman.
Elizabeth Bennet is at Rosings Park to assist her friend Anne in keeping the ball a secret from her mother, but is asked to pay a steep price when Anne requests that Mr. Darcy escort her about Hunsford under the guise that they are courting. Can she set aside her disdain long enough to pull it off, or will her dislike for Mr. Darcy ruin the whole thing? Can he convince her that he is a changed man, and persuade her to give him a second chance?
This is a sweet, clean and wholesome novella that is perfect for readers looking to spend just a few hours with our dear hero, Mr. Darcy.
Please note! I have updated this file to reflect the second edition, as there was a formatting / distribution error with the first file, and this is the corrected story! The first file unfortunately had several missing scenes, and was not complete. Please update your file on your ereader if you purchased this book before 4/3/2019. I apologize, and thank you!
Read Online Mr Darcy Feigned Courtship A Sweet and Clean Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation edition by Elizabeth Goodrich Romance eBooks
"I'm not certain why the author called this story " A Ball for Lady Catherine" at the end of the book as she is thanking the reader. That is one of the many puzzling things about this story.
None of the characters were recognizable in this variation other than by name.
The reason Darcy gave for assisting in the ball preparations was all for Elizabeth's benefit! It made him sound rather wimpy and Elizabeth far too impressed with him for what.....ordering servants around to do all the work?
Not a very good adaptation for ODC."
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Mr Darcy Feigned Courtship A Sweet and Clean Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation edition by Elizabeth Goodrich Romance eBooks Reviews :
Mr Darcy Feigned Courtship A Sweet and Clean Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation edition by Elizabeth Goodrich Romance eBooks Reviews
- I'm not certain why the author called this story " A Ball for Lady Catherine" at the end of the book as she is thanking the reader. That is one of the many puzzling things about this story.
None of the characters were recognizable in this variation other than by name.
The reason Darcy gave for assisting in the ball preparations was all for Elizabeth's benefit! It made him sound rather wimpy and Elizabeth far too impressed with him for what.....ordering servants around to do all the work?
Not a very good adaptation for ODC. - 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
This is a light, fluffy story, and the writing flows nicely, but you do need to overlook some bits of illogic to fully enjoy it.
The first variation from canon is intriguing Darcy has proposed marriage to Elizabeth early on, in Hertfordshire. This was before Mr. Wickham has entered the scene and also before Mr. Bingley left Netherfield, so Elizabeth did not have those grievances against him. However, Darcy didn't mention how he ardently admired and loved her, instead giving the rationale that he needed a wife so his Aunt Catherine would stop pushing him to marry his cousin Anne. Elizabeth's refusal this time was purely based on his haughty manners, his disparagement of her family during his proposal, and the fact that she didn't love him, nor did she believe he loved her.
Another change is that Mr. Collins isn't as much of a boob as usual. He even has some impressive insight at times, and he's a devoted husband to Charlotte. Intriguing!
Aside from flashbacks, the book is set in Kent at Easter. (It's worth noting that by this time Bingley and Jane have already married, and Wickham's debts became known to everyone in Meryton earlier than usual, so he left the area in disgrace.) Anne de Bourgh is planning a surprise party for her mother's fiftieth birthday...a ball, no less! She enlists the aid of Elizabeth, the Collinses, Darcy, and Colonel Fitzwilliam to help her with the preparations and, most importantly, to keep Lady Catherine from discovering the surprise before the evening of the ball.
In a major stretch of credibility, Anne insists she can't possibly just send out invitations; Darcy and Elizabeth must hand-deliver them to adjoining estates. They must pretend to be courting, both to justify the time they'll spend in a curricle alone together and also as a proactive strike against Lady Catherine's insistence that Anne and Darcy marry. Oddly, Lady C. doesn't have a cow over this. She continues to include Elizabeth in her invitations to the Collinses, although she barely speaks to the impudent, grasping young woman.
Another part of the plan is to keep Lady Catherine out of the way as much as possible when the date of the ball draws near. Since Charlotte is expecting a young "olive branch," the Hunsford parsonage does need an extension built for the growing family, and Lady C. is lured there every day to oversee all the construction details. I couldn't help the feeling that, with the elaborate preparation for the big party going on at Rosings, I couldn't fathom that she wouldn't notice any of it without actually moving in with Mr. and Mrs. Collins.
It turns out that Anne has an ulterior motive--well, really, there's more than one--for throwing this ball for her mother. Primarily, she wants to reunite her mother with Lord Atwater, who Anne has reason to believe was in love with her. He had no wealth or title at that time, so Lady Catherine married Sir Lewis de Bourgh instead. However, there's a whiff of treason in his background. Darcy wonders whether this an honorable man and whether Lady Catherine would be pleased or furious to see him, if he even would agree to attend. I thoroughly enjoyed this element of the story.
The plot allows for plenty of interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth, which is always a plus. He's not convinced that Lady Catherine will appreciate either the surprise or the public proclamation of her age, but he goes along with Anne's plans in order to please Elizabeth. There's a lovely buildup of tension, both regarding the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth and also regarding Lady Catherine's reaction once she finds out what they've all been up to.
It's upbeat and fun, and the story is written well even if it doesn't always make sense.
I received an ARC of this book with no promise of a review, favorable or otherwise. Opinions are my own. - A sweet, romantic and chaste read.
I grinned from ear to ear when I read the description of the plot in this book and was full of anticipation of the entertainment ahead.
Elizabeth was visiting Hunsford and some of the previous events from canon had been altered.
Anne de Bourgh had an elaborate plan for her mother's birthday and she wanted the inhabitants of the parsonage to help her hold a surprise ball in the grand ladies honour. To accomplish that without the lady herself's knowledge, took clever manipulation.
Another surprise in this story was Mr Collins whom I actually liked, who would have thought...
Elizabeth however, came off as a tad too outspoken and rude towards Mr Darcy. He bore it admirably, even when she attacked his character repeatedly.
Darcy turned introspective and worked persistently to correct her impression of him and succeeded, but the resolution felt a little on the weak side. - In this unusual Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy proposes not in Kent but at Netherfield while Jane is recovering from a much more lengthy illness then she has in canon. As is normally the case, Elizabeth is surprised by this, and of course, rejects him vehemently. But this is not the last she will see of Mr. Darcy. She visits Charlotte in Kent. After a few weeks there, she is drawn into a scheme to throw a ball for Lady Catherine's 50th birthday. As she, Mr. Collins, Charlotte, and Anne are discussing this, Mr. Darcy shows up. Soon, Darcy and Elizabeth are working together on a joint task for the ball, spending much time together to Darcy’s delight and Elizabeth’s initial dismay.
The proposal scene at Netherfield was shown in flashback as Elizabeth approaches Rosings. I thought that the author wrote dialogue that didn't feel realistic on a couple different levels. At times, it seems to be trying to mimic Regency patterns, but it didn't quite work out, feeling stilted. At times, too, the characters would speak for a bit before switching to the other character. If you are familiar with the original, you know that Jane Austen only occasionally had these kind of protracted soliloquies. Rather, she preferred a quick back and forth for conversation. I would have liked to have seen this scene written more in that less blocky, more rapid-fire way.
I also thought that Elizabeth quite often behaved inappropriately. She at times takes Darcy to task with the shrewishness that one would expect from her mother, not the witty and insightful Elizabeth we know and love, and she does so in front of others, which would not be acceptable by Regency propriety standards. Also, there are quite often long stretches of narrative; I would have liked to seen that more interspersed with dialogue for balance.
That being said, this was enjoyable variation on the typical story. I particularly enjoyed the idea of bringing in an important person from Lady Catherine's past. It was funny to watch Lady Catherine's reaction to all that Anne and crew put into place.
I did receive a free reader's copy, but that did not affect my review.