Which Austen Characters are Kindred Spirits to Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe?

Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1) by L. M. Montgomery

I know I have already written a post on my love of Anne of Green Gables, but after my book club had reread Anne of Green Gables i wanted to write a post on why I recommend it as a Non-Austen Read for Austen Readers. I just realized we read the book about two years ago and I never got around to posting (you know me, I have 100s of drafts of posts I need to complete.)

From The Iron Giant

I was looking for said draft when I discovered two older Anne of Green Gables drafts. I decided let’s clean house and combine all three.

Or class. Or lunch. Or anything!

Older owners of Green Gables, Matthew and Marilla Cutbert, have decided that in order to continue running their farm they need extra help. They decide to adopt an orphan boy, sending the message through the daughter of a friend. When Matthew goes to the station to pick him up, it turns out there was a serious miscommunication and they have a girl waiting.

Matthew takes her home, where Marilla is upset and determined to send her back. When she meets the woman who will take Anne instead, and sees how horrible she is, Marilla decides she will do her best to raise her.

Sigh!

Anne has had a hard life, her parents dying at a young age in poverty, then being shipped from family to family; mostly being used as a free baby-sitter than treated as a member of the family. She has spent a lot of her time alone or with children much younger than her, and has created habits that some, at that time, find strange. She has an extensive imagination, creates imaginary playmates, and when she does get with people just talks and talks and talks.

Marilla has no idea how to raise children, let alone this girl; so at first she tries to stop this behavior, but eventually it grows on her. Anne gets into all kinds of troubles, making mistakes as she transition from unwanted, uneducated, accident prone girl; to a confident, loved, intelligent, and wonderful woman.

I recommend this book for Austen fans as Anne Shirley is very similar to Fanny Price, Marianne Dashwood, Catherine Morland, and a little of Mr. Darcy. Like Fanny, Anne didn’t grow up as a member of the household in a regular way, often both girls were treated as higher than a servant but not a “real daughter”; that is until Fanny’s aunt and uncle see how much she means to them and is a part of their family; along with Anne finally finding a home in Green Gables.

Like Marianne and Catherine, Anne is a huge fan of reading and a romantic with an overactive imagination. She, like Marianne and Catherine, often has these romantic impulses get in the way of her common sense. Anne does many things, but her most “romantic impulse” is pretending to be The Lady of Shallot and almost drowning in a boat. Marianne also participated in many romantic notions and Catherine’s overactive imagination caused her to suspect Mr. Tilney’s father, General Tilney, of killing Mrs Tilney.

I know a lot of people compare Anne to Elizabeth because both have their pride wounded when they receive an insult about their appearance but to me I think Anne is more similar to Mr. Darcy as both’s temper would be described as:

“My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost is lost for ever.”

-Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice

A lot of people use the interaction between Anne and Gilbert, (him cracking a joke calling her carrots and she smacking him over the head with her slate and from that moment on thinking of him as an enemy)-to compare Anne and Elizabeth Bennet; and while I can see why they would do so I think you could use that same interaction to compare Anne to Marianne. Anne dreams of a romantic hero who is tall, dark, and handsome; Gilbert fits the bill but while it is obvious to us Anne can’t see it as all she has is her wounded pride. Marianne is just as prideful, choosing to dislike Colonel Brandon because Mrs. Jennings wanted to pair them up; and she is insulted that Mrs. Jennings would dare think to do such a thing for Marianne with someone so “old”. Even though Colonel Brandon fits Marianne’s idea of what a man should be, she can’t see past her own wounded pride.

One of my original posts was to share my view on a Bookriot article which compared Jane Austen characters to L. M Montgomery’s, as I disagree with the author. In the article it compared Gilbert to Mr. Knightley, but I don’t see Gilbert and Mr. Knightley being the most similar characters as Gilbert never tried to “help” improve Anne because no one else cared about her moral state. Unlike Emma, Anne had many adults ( Miss Stacy, Mrs. Lynda, Marilla, the pastor’s wife, Matthew, the Barrys, etc) who cared about encourahing her but also helping her grow into a fully developed person; so Anne’s love interest wouldn’t be one who would take on that role. Instead to me, Gilbert is more similar to a Jane Austen character that loves the girl and accepts her, and enjoys her silly qualities and romantic notions. I think a better comparison of Gilbert can be made to Mr. Darcy, (in the way he keeps loving her and tries his best to improve his character and hoping she will see it); but I would say Gilbert is much closer to Mr. Tilney or Colonel Brandon. Both Mr. Tilney and Gilbert have joking sides and are willing to be imaginative but not quite as much as Anne or Catherine. Both, while having these vibrant personalities also choose professions were they have to be a bit more serious; Gilbert with becoming a doctor and Tilney a minister. Both men encourage imagination to a point, realizing there has to be a cap such as Gilbert telling Anne that her boat ride as Eleanor wasn’t the best thought out plan; and Tilney warning Catherine to be wary of letting her thoughts run away with her as they could have serious consequences. Both men never try and change the woman they love but embrace her romantic side.

Gilbert and Colonel Brandon both have had great tragedies in their lives that caused their dreams to not come to fruition. Both are older than the women they fall for, but also encourage them and don’t want to crush their fantastical and imaginative sides; instead loving that about them.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know below.

Either way I strongly recommend this book and the other novels in the Anne of Green Gables series for Jane Austen fans.

For more on Anne of Green Gables, go to I’m the Happiest Girl on Prince Edward Island: Anne of Green Gables

For more Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers, go to Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers: Anna and the Duke

Bewitched, Body and Soul

Bewitched, Body and Soul by P. O. Dixon

I received this book for free quite a few years ago and just never got around to reading it. This year I have decided to read everything in my kindle and decide to whether to keep or delete it.

So this book is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, taking place after Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, Caroline, and the Hursts have left Netherfield to return to London. Jane is heartbroken:

Elizabeth is furious and doesn’t quite know what to do to help her sister feel better. When the Gardiners invite Jane to London, Jane refuses and Elizabeth decides to take her place. Her mission? Find Mr. Bingley and makes things right. And if she can’t find Bingley, she’ll appeal to Mr. Darcy.

However, when she meets with Caroline Bingley, Caroline is polite but tells Elizabeth that Mr. Bingley is out of town. This doesn’t deter Elizabeth who decides she will head over to Darcy’s house and show up unexpectedly-forgetting about proprietary for her mission.

But Mr. Darcy’s sister should be there, right? It should all be fine.

Meanwhile at the Darcy townhouse none of Darcy’s servants are there, his sister is also not there, and Darcy is trying to set things right as his house did not expect him so early. Elizabeth arrives on his doorstep, the very person he did not want to see as he ran away from his attraction to her.

He doesn’t want to receive her alone for fear it will damage her reputation, but with her sopping wet he doesn’t see any other options. Elizabeth begs Darcy to tell Mr. Bingley that Jane cares for him but Mr. Darcy has decided to stay out of the matter and tells her he refuses to be an intermediary but also will not do anything to stop her plans. This isn’t good enough for Elizabeth and she plans to storm off, but the rain and her missing carriage force her to stay in Darcy’s home. Darcy makes her some tea and plans to send her in his carriage after it returns from its errands. However, before that happens she collapses from fever.

That’s not good.

Mr. Darcy takes her upstairs into the only bed with a fire, the one that just happens to be his own, until he can light the fire in the best room-the lady of the house’s room. He then removes her wet clothes, no impropriety as he makes sure he doesn’t see anything, fetches a doctor, and brings his sister home to protect Elizabeth’s reputation.

Elizabeth wakes up and insists on going to her uncle and aunt’s house. She is determined to continue hating Mr. Darcy although she is upset his sister came to see her but he doesn’t come; he only sends fruit and flowers.

Why you acting like that?

A relation of Elizabeth’s Aunt Gardiner, Lady Susan, offers to sponsor her this London season. Originally Elizabeth had planned to return home as soon as she completed her mission, but decides to take Lady Susan up on her offer as it’s the only way to come into contact with Mr. Bingley (and it’s not like there are a lot of eligible men at home.) If she happens to meet someone, it’s two birds one stone.

But does she run into Mr. Bingley? Nope. Instead she keeps encountering Mr. Darcy.

Lord Latham is a long time friend of Mr. Darcy and his sister, Lady Gwendolyn, is head over heels for Darcy. Lady Gwendolyn is set on winning Darcy this season. She arranges for a house party and invites the usual suspects; along with Mr. Darcy and his friend Mr. Bingley (at Darcy’s request.) She also invites Elizabeth as she met her at a party and enjoyed her company at several others occasions. Unfortunately for her, Darcy doesn’t look at Lady Gwendolyn at all, he only has eyes for one lady.

Lady Gwendolyn gets very jealous and tries to sniff out any dirt around Elizabeth. Her maid had a relation that used to work at the Darcy house and was let go. Before they were fired, they witnessed the night Elizabeth came and shares this with Lady Gwendolyn’s maid, who in turn shares it with Lady Gwendolyn. Lady Gwendolyn tells her brother and hopes it will be the piece de resistance that helps her win her man.

Mr. Bingley arrives after the others but before Elizabeth gets a chance to talk to him she goes for a walk with Lady Gwendolyn who drops a bomb on her: Darcy took Bingley away from Netherfield to keep him from marrying into her family. Lady Gwendolyn doesn’t out and admit it is Elizabeth’s fmaily, but she does drop enough hints that Elizabeth pieces this all together.

In Lord Latham’s study he and Darcy are having a discussion and Lord Lathan shares the rumor he heard about Darcy and Elizabeth. Darcy professes his innocence, but is determined to do the right thing in order to save Elizabeth’s reputation. He proposes to Elizabeth “in order to protect her” and not only does she refuse him; but she also throws Wickham’s situation at him. Yep, yikes.

Elizabeth and Lady Susan leave early; along with Darcy and Bingley. This party turned out to be a real downer and not at all what anyone was hoping for.

Georgiana wants to host a party, planning to invite Elizabeth and the Gardiners, but Darcy tells her a little bit of what happened and how poorly Elizabeth thinks of him. Georgina wants to fix this and goes to Elizabeth to tell her the truth about Wickham and his evil ways.

While there, Elizabeth receives a letter from her family and finds out that Lydia has run off with Wickham.

Lydia right now

Elizabeth returns home, but luckily all is fixed. Lydia and Wickham marry, Mr. Bingley returns to Netherfield and all is looking good; except Elizabeth has fallen for Darcy and doesn’t have him.

Will she be able to win his heart again? Or has she lost him forever?

I enjoyed this retelling a lot, except for Elizabeth. I felt her character was rather annoying at times (especially in the beginning) and I still couldn’t believe that someone who would be embarrassed so much at her family’s lack of propriety would completely ignore it herself.

But other than that I found myself caught up in the story and wanting to finish it. I enjoyed the new characters although I did feel Lady Gwendolyn was living in bit of a dream world when the truth was obvious. Although like Charlotte said:

But yes, this was an enjoyable read.

For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Longbourn’s Songbird

For more Pride and Prejudice adaptations, go to Mr. Darcy’s Valentine

For more Jane Austen, go to The Making of Pride and Prejudice (1995)

For more on Jane Austen, go to I Will Try to Find My Place in the Diary of Jane: Jane Austen Biographies

Unleashing Mr. Darcy (2016)

On Saint Patrick’s Day, my sister and I wanted to watch As Luck Would Have It, but I needed a Hallmark subscription and signed up for the seven day trial with full intention to end it as soon as the film was over.

Even though I chose not to renew the subscription, I still had the rest of the week to use it and decided to peruse what films and TV shows were being offered. Once such film I saw was Unleashing Mr. Darcy and I figured why not take advantage and use this time to review it.

This movie was terrible! I struggled so much with watching it that I actually had to stop watching it twice as the Elizabeth depicted in this was one of the worst I have ever seen.

The hallmark film is based off a book and while Unleashing Mr. Darcy could be seen as clever; I’d rather it be called Elizabeth Bennet the Incredibly Rude Girl.

Ugh…this girl

The film starts off with Elizabeth Scott (Cindy Busby), a history teacher, being bribed by the father of one of her students who wants his son to get a passing grade so he can continue to win at lacrosse. She refuses most definitely and then decides to spend her birthday doing her favorite thing; attending a dog show with her pup.

At the dog show she spots the very handsome dog show judge, Donovan Darcy (Ryan Pavey), and is smitten. When it is her turn to be judged; Darcy is extremely professional and this upsets Elizabeth. She’s mad that he didn’t fawn over her or “at least smile” as she tells him.

Yes, she’s incredibly rude to a judge who is currently judging her dog. She’s astonishingly unprofessional and rude. She then goes to her sister and friend and talks bad about Darcy, even though he did nothing wrong.

Elizabeth wins the dog show and instead of being pleased that Darcy is a professional and judged her on her dog’s merits than her terrible rudeness, she continues to talk about how terrible he is, when he did nothing to her.

Wow!

Afterwards they go out to celebrate Elizabeth’s birthday when it just so happens Darcy is eating there too with his sister. He is polite and says hello; along with introducing his sister, Zara. Zara makes a joke about her brother being important and her being a little person and Elizabeth is incredibly rude again, to his face and in front of everyone!

Her sister and family friend all are in shock, but Elizabeth defends her rudeness claiming he had it coming and that even his sister doesn’t like him. Ugh I had to stop watching as I really wanted to smack this girl.

Seriously!

After a day I picked up the film and Elizabeth gets accused of asking the parent for a bribe (the parent lying about what really happened) and is suspended. She is later let go and without anything else to do, she takes up her friend’s offer to be a dog handler and train her dogs. She moves to New York City to stay with the family friend, and moves right across the street from Darcy.

When she sees Darcy she continues to be incredibly rude to him for absolutely no reason at all and he remains classy and polite to her; although I don’t know why as she doesn’t deserve it.

Darcy’s dog is having puppies and he invites Elizabeth to see them. She goes over but he has been called away with a work emergency (she being very rude about it) and meets Darcy’s aunt and “supposed fiancé” (his aunt’s choice). Darcy’s aunt is rude but Caroline isn’t that terrible, I would rather she date Darcy than the Elizabeth featured in this film.

I know sacrilege, but I can’t help it, this Elizabeth is terrible.

Later Elizabeth gets word that the father that accused her of bribery, is trying to sue her. She is very upset over it all and goes for a walk with her dog. She runs into Darcy who is polite, asking her about her day and again she is incredibly rude, yelling at him and accusing him of never having a hard day and having no real problems. Mr. Darcy is a gentleman and ignores the terrible behavior; and for some reason that I cannot understand falls for her.

Someone get this boy some help.

Elizabeth later finds out from her friend that Darcy’s “perfect life” (her preconceived notions/prejudices) is not so perfect after all as Darcy is an orphan and he was left in charge of his sister even though she was very young and he was barely out of high school. He really fought to have her as he didn’t want them to be separated as he didn’t want Zara to lose another person in her life. Yeah feel bad Elizabeth, feel bad.

Again I had to take a break as she was just so infuriating. It turns out Elizabeth is fantastic at dog showing and winning ribbon after ribbon. Her friend continues to try and match Darcy and Elizabeth up, constantly trying to find a way to throw them together, etc.

In the end they have their happily ever after but I hated this film. Elizabeth was rude and immature; having none of the warmth or wit that causes viewers to admire her. Darcy was perfectly fine and I didn’t understand her dislike as nothing he did merited this “disgust or frustration.” He never insulted her or did anything to deserve this ire.

The only good part of the film was the Henry and Jenna/Mr. Bingley and Jane scenes as they were adorable. The problem was there wasn’t enough of them.

Ending remark:

For more hallmark Jane Austen film reviews, go to Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018)

For more films based on Jane Austen, go to Pup Fiction: Wishbone (1997) or How I’m Trying to Brainwash My Six Year Old Niece Into Liking Jane Austen (and Wishbone)

For more Jane Austen film variations, go to I Watched Austenland (2013) With My 14 Year Old Niece

For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Marrying Mr. Darcy Card Game Undead Expansion Pack Review

For more Pride and Prejudice variations, go to Longbourn’s Songbird

Marrying Mr. Darcy Card Game Undead Expansion Pack Review

Have you ever wished you could Marry Mr. Darcy?

Well you can in the game Marrying Mr. Darcy.

But what if you are looking for further drama than the usual Regency Society maneuvers. Say adding something a little more difficult…such as zombies.

Zombies!

That’s where this expansion pack comes into play.

A few years ago I was gifted Marrying Mr. Darcy as a birthday gift and I really enjoyed playing it. (You can check out my full review here). And like most game owners, I’m always interested in expansion packs that come out afterwards, especially as the Undead Expansion Pack was recommended to me by SewMelissaWrites.

The Undead Expansion Pack is influenced by the book Pride & Prejudice & Zombies; and while I didn’t enjoy the book I decided to keep an open mind about the game. When I first opened my gift, I and my mother (who gifted it to me) were disappointed. This expansion pack cost $20 (prices have gone down since) and has only 20 undead cards (one of which is a rule card).

Let me put this in perspective for you, the Emma Expansion pack is also $20 and includes 6 new Heroine Cards, 5 new suitor cards, and 60 new event cards.

My sister has the game Legendary which comes with expansion packs and she and I have purchased multiple different expansion packs, all about the same price as this, and they all came with 100 cards. I really felt that for an expansion pack and the price being paid, there should have been more.

The cards don’t even come in a box, they just just wrapped them in plastic. At least the Emma Expansion came in a box. I really think they should have at least given you a more long lasting cardholder.

The expansion rules don’t change too much from the original game, as you still set it up as normal.

However, each player does get to start off with a slight advantage, as they each one gets a random Instrument of the Living card. Instrument of the Living cards consist of two chemicals that can cure a “cursed” player, two weapons (cricket bat and broadsword) to fight, and two pairs of shoes to help you run or sneak away. The remaining cards are put into the character cards and pulled out and played like usual.

Like in the original game, your goal is to try and earn character traits (the more points you get at the end helps you win) along with making a good match. Depending on your character, you have an ideal man (the one who will give you the most points), but you still earn points for whichever man you marry. Your choices are: Mr. Wickham, Mr. Collins, Mr. Denny, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Bingley, and of course Mr. Darcy.

As in the original game the first thing you do is choose your character, and each one has a special ability. I went with Caroline Bingley as she has such a great advantage, every time you pull a card, Caroline gets to draw two and discard one immediately. It’s really hard to beat her, unless you fail the rolling for a Proposal stage.

When you set up the cards you include the Undead events in the regular stack. Each person gets three character cards to start with (plus their instrument of the living) and you play the game. For each turn you pull out an event card, some affect only you-while others all the players. The event cards will allow you to “play” a character card-which you place in front of you face up. The face up cards are the only ones that count for points at the end, allow you to be proposed to, etc. Its important to have them, but just because they are played they are not safe. They can be stolen.

Some event cards change the course of the game: Mr. Bingley goes to London (if you don’t get the card that brings him back he can’t be anyone’s suitor), Darcy’s surprise proposal (you get this you are instantly proposed to and don’t have to do the end roll to see who you get), you are cursed as one of the undead, you have an undead suitor, an Elopement with Mr. Wickham (you can only get rid of the elopement if you get enough reputation cards), etc.

Just because you get enough of the character traits to get your dream man, that doesn’t mean you will get him. At the end you each have to roll the dice to see if he proposes, you toll too low-you become an old maid. But even the old maid has multiple options too, and you can still have a shot at winning as an old maid if you roll high enough or have a lot of character cards played. Your life as an old maid ranges from lonely bitter life, a companion to a cranky widow, governess to a wealthy family, your resentful uncle takes you in, or your kind and wealthy family takes you in and you become a celebrated author.

With the inclusion of the undead cards they are similar situations to the other event cards but with having to fight the undead mob. All the Instruments of the Living are fantastic advantages, even better if you are able to get score multiple ones (except you can only use one weapon at a a time).

Unlike my previous review, I didn’t try every character as the Undead cards don’t change the game that much. I was fortunate to get both the chemist tools which helped give me an advantage in rolling and I was able to heal my mom when she was cursed by the “affliction”.

Zombies from Night of the Living Dead

I also was able to get the cricket bat and an extra ax (which I declined remember you can only use one) as my weapons. The cricket bat helped a lot as it also gave me an extra boost to my rolls against the undead.

The card I started out with was leather boots which was also extremely helpful as it let me escape any zombie attacks, so if I didn’t feel confident in a roll I could skip the zombie card. I used this in the beginning until I acquired the cricket bat.

At one point of the game Mr. Collins was bitten and I could have cured him with one of my chemist flasks, but as he wasn’t someone I wanted to roll for (not enough points) I didn’t bother.

Sorry, not sorry.

I ended up choking on the proposal stage and messed up my roll for Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy. Instead I ended up an old maid, only 6 points and surviving on a cousin’s generosity.

However, even though I didn’t get my man I did win the game with 25 combined points from my character traits. After all the times I’ve played I learned it is far better to have more points played on the table than anything else.

Would I recommend it? I did enjoy playing with the extra cards although I wish there was more. I think the game would have been more fun if they had added more event cards and items.

So would I recommend it? I did think it was a fun addition to the game, however I would wait for a really good deal in order to get your money’s worth.

For more on Marrying Mr. Darcy, go to Marrying Mr. Darcy: The Pride and Prejudice Card Game

For more Jane Austen products review, go to Jane Austen Witty and Wise Coloring Book

For more games, go to Pride and Prejudice: The Game

For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Longbourn’s Songbird

Longbourn’s Songbird

by Beau North

Back in March of 2020 I was given Beau North’s book The Colonel to review. It was a companion to her earlier published novel, Longbourn’s Songbird. At the time I hadn’t read the first book, but decided to review it anyway as The Colonel wasn’t exactly a sequel, as events in the novel take place before, during, and after Longbourn’s Songbird.

The Colonel, is set in America post WWII; and focuses on Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s cousin. The Colonel is an intense story spanning from the 1940s to the 2000s. It has drama, comedy, heartbreak, love, births, deaths, weddings, funerals, etc. The themes involve parenthood, family, trauma, biracial/bicultural romance, etc.; it is a meaty book. And I enjoyed every part of its emotional roller coaster.

Longbourn’s Songbird I had mixed feelings about. I enjoyed some parts of it, but others I didn’t like as much…let’s start at the beginning and when I get to the parts I didn’t enjoy as much, I’ll stop.

This novel takes place post World War II in the rural South of the United States. The Bennets are farmers who have an estate that is doing okay. Elizabeth had left for a while to pursue a singing career but returned home after she had her heart broken by her boyfriend, pre-fiancé.

Moving to her neighborhood is Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, Caroline and the Hursts. Darcy is very interested in purchasing land in the area, primarily Mr. Bennet’s, and wants to move forward with his business. He ends up being stuck inside for three days due to heavy rain and finds himself in a foul mood on the day of a community party. When his best friend Bingley falls in love with another girl, (he had “fallen in love” not that long ago), Darcy tries to dissuade him against it and against trying to pair him up. Unfortunately to get Bingley to leave him alone he makes a very rude comment about Elizabeth which she overhears, Darcy’s reputation being sunk.

Mr. Wickham meets Elizabeth and sees how Mr. Darcy likes her, making it his mission to go after her just to stick it to Darcy.

In this retelling, Jane Bennet has diabetes; a condition that is always serious but especially in this time period. Darcy’s mother suffered from the same thing and died when giving birth to Georgiana. Darcy recognizes the signs and speaks to Jane about her feelings on Bingley. He asks her to think long and hard about her future with Charles and to talk to him before moving forward. He was coming from a place of love for his friend, but instead of discussing this with Charles it spooks Jane and she decides to refuse all attentions from Bingley.

As I’m sure most of you Janeites know, Darcy develops feelings and when he tries to tell Elizabeth she rejects him. He leaves Netherfield, a rejected Bingley leaves as well, along with Caroline and the Hursts. Left behind is a letter to Elizabeth explaining himself, apologizing, and warning her against Wickham.

The letter is written beautifully, I’m not sure how Elizabeth doesn’t fall for him then and there.

Now as for how you could so misunderstand me. I will admit that I have noticed you for quite some time your keen intellect and your rather unorthodox sense of humor. I feel as if I know you quite well but never considered it to be worth my while to let myself be known to you. Believe me–I know how I come across. An arrogant, puffed- up bluenose.
This is me, but I promise you it is not all of me, just as I know you are not what you appeared to be at first blush: a girl with more sass than sense. I know now you have plenty of both! If we ever meet again, I hope that we will have put this unpleasantness behind us. For you, I will attempt to have less of a shell while in company. Perhaps the guidance of a friend, someone with a grasp on the social niceties (excluding the occasional jest at my expense) will set me straight. In closing please accept my best wishes for any and all of your future endeavors: know that, no matter what you decide to do in life you must be met with success.
Yours, Will Darcy

From Mr. Darcy’s Letter in Longbourn’s Songbird by Beau North

Leland Collins has come to town as well and is a very rude and controlling man. When his behavior extends to trying to discipline the younger Bennet girls, Collins is sent away, only to return as he is to marry Charlotte Lucas.

Meanwhile, Darcy and Bingley are both deposed missing their girls. Darcy finally fesses up what he did, but also why; and the boys are back in town to try and win over the hearts of the women they love.

Jane falls ill visiting the Bingley’s, as she forgot to take her insulin, and Darcy immediately recognizes what ails her. He goes to Longbourn and picks up Elizabeth, in such a hurry to save Jane the two end up in an accident. Not only do they save Jane, but the incident brings the two together; they quickly falling in love.

Charlotte turns out to be a lesbian, marrying Mr. Collins because she wants a family, her own home, and marriage is something that is expected of her growing up during that time period. Mr. Collins turns out to be a terribly abusive husband, which I knew was coming as I have read the second book. However, since writing that review I feel different about Mr. Collins, the more I reread Pride and Prejudice, the more I feel Mr. Collins gets a bad rap in modern adaptions and retelling. I mean he wasn’t right for Elizabeth and incredibly foolish, but he wasn’t terrible. However, reading North’s interview in the back of the book, she purposely wanted to bring awareness to domestic violence, especially domestic violence in this time period where there wasn’t as many resources or understanding. With that purpose in mind Mr. Collins is the character that makes the most sense to use in this plot as any other character it wouldn’t be as powerful or it would destroy a beloved character. Since we are discussing abuse, I do want to mention the following:

Are you suffering from domestic violence?

If you are in danger call 911, a local hotline, or the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224.

• Learn more about the resources in your area from your state or U.S. territory coalition against domestic violence
• Learn more from other national service providers
• Learn more about internet and computer safety
• Learn more about the red flags of abuse
• Learn more about the forms of abuse

Now for the part I frankly did not care for. So Darcy and Elizabeth have fallen for each other and moving toward marriage, etc. Then at a party, Darcy’s cousin Richard Fitzwilliam shows up and it turns out he is the man who Elizabeth was in love with when she had left home.

Yes, this is where I run into issues with the book. This situation is too difficult for me, as I was raised you never date your ex’s family and you never date your family’s exes. It’s a struggle for me to want Elizabeth and Darcy together, because she was with his cousin. And not just his cousin, his cousin who is his best friend, like a brother to him, who has helped him raise his sister. Like, how can Darcy be with his cousin’s ex? How can Elizabeth not feel weird about coming between them. On my mother’s side (the Mexican side) I have a LOT of cousins, some of them I barely even know there is just so many; while some I’m super close to. But I couldn’t date anyone that I found out had dated my cousin, lived with my cousins, talked about having a future with my cousin, slept with my cousin, etc. It’s weird.

I mean I knew it was coming as I had read the second book, but Elizabeth and Richard’s relationship is not really talked about as much as it focuses more on his life separate to the events in this book. So while North is a good writer, I’m sorry I personally can not get past that. Like if Richard and Elizabeth went on a couple dates, it wouldn’t bother me so much but with the two being so close; I just can’t. I’m sorry it’s a trope I cannot handle.

Otherwise I thought the book was okay. I don’t agree with all of North’s choices in her story telling, but she is a very good writer and knows how to get you invested in her story; just watch out for the emotional roller coaster you’ll be on when reading.

For more Beau North, go to Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl Audiobook

For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Mr. Darcy’s Valentine

For more Pride and Prejudice adaptations, go to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Book-to-Table Classic by Martha Stewart

For more Jane Austen, go to The Making of Pride and Prejudice (1995)

For more on stories that take place post-World War II, go to The Colonel