Renata McMann and Summer Hanford present "Poor Mr. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Novella," in which they examine how that single alteration changes the way Elizabeth's and Darcy's story unfolds, a tale that hinges on Mr. Darcy's performance as a poor Mr. Darcy. This “Pride and Prejudice” variation novella is approximately 44,000 words in length.

    During a chance encounter, she gains a new friend but will she also find the love of her life? This sweet, clean Regency novella begins months before the start of Pride and Prejudice.

    Darcy to make a more Persuasion-esque proposal?Author Note: Readers considering this work should be aware that, unlike the Constant Love series, this novella is written in third-person present tense, so if they routinely read only past-tense writing, they may wish to peruse the sample before purchasing.They should also be aware that it uses lines from Jane Austen's Persuasion as well as Pride and Prejudice. Readers who have not read Persuasion are encouraged to read that novel first, less because of spoilers than because it is absolutely wonderful.

    A Pride and Prejudice variation.After her father’s death Elizabeth Bennet is forced to accept the position of a companion to an older lady in the north of the country.A few years later she meets Darcy by chance encounter and they renew their acquaintance.Will they have a possibility to rebuild mutual trust? Will she be able to look over her own apprehension and troubled past to see a worthy man who loves, and desires her?The story contains mature content.

    So when her aunt and uncle suggest they take a tour of Pemberley, Mr Darcy's ancestral home, only the reassurance that he is away convinces her to agree. Needing some time alone, she takes advantage of her aunt and uncle's absence to explore the countryside around Lampton, when a storm obliges her to take shelter in the woods near Pemberley. As the storm worsens, Elizabeth is injured and is trapped in the woods with no way of returning to the inn where her aunt and uncle are staying. Mr Darcy thought to take advantage of the fine weather to return to Pemberley a day early, to attend to some business with his steward. But the sudden outbreak of a storm obliges him to take a shortcut through the woods. There, he encounters the unconscious form of the lady he thought never to see again. Being too far from Pemberley, he is obliged to take her to a nearby cabin, where he must tend to her injuries. There, they spend the night alone together. The pair agree that they should pretend Elizabeth was alone in the cabin, and Mr Darcy stayed elsewhere, to save Elizabeth's reputation and prevent her being forced into a marriage with a man she does not love. But once at Pemberley, Miss Caroline Bingley grows suspicious that Elizabeth was not so alone after all. Determined to smear her rival's reputation, she returns to the cabin and discovers proof that Elizabeth spent the night with a man. To her horror, Mr Darcy is forced to reveal himself as the man in question, and vows to marry Miss Bennet to save her reputation. Can Mr Darcy prove that he has changed and is now worthy of Elizabeth's love? And can Elizabeth overcome her prejudice and see the man he is now? The arrival of Elizabeth's sister Jane offers Mr Darcy the chance to put right one of his most regretful mistakes. And Elizabeth is forced to consider that there is nothing standing between her and happiness with the man she has grown to love than her own pride.

    Bennet threatens to leave his five young daughters at the mercy of the vengeful Mr. Thaddeus Collins. But Mr. Bennet plays one final desperate card before he passes, calling on his distant relatives—the Darcys—to provide his children with a home. Removing themselves to Pemberley after their father’s death, the girls are protected by the estate’s current master, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who looks after them as conscientiously as he does his own sister. When chance takes the Bennets and their Darcy relations to the estate leased by Mr. Bingley, little do they know that their father’s thwarting of Mr. Collins has only fanned the flames of his envy and hatred. He is determined to secure a Bennet daughter as a wife for his son, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal. Elizabeth has become consumed by love for Mr. Darcy, but since he remains oblivious to her feelings, Elizabeth’s desperation forces her to consider going into service as a governess, if only to obtain some distance from the object of her affection. But Mr. Collins has no intention of letting Elizabeth escape his grasp so easily, and everything finally comes to a head when he meets with her in an explosive showdown.

    Maybe there, she can escape her mother’s embarrassing determination to match one of her daughters to their mysterious new neighbour, Mr Bingley, and be free to find love in her own way. But in the shallow, gossipy society of Bath, can she find a husband she can truly love and respect? Mr Darcy of Pemberley has always disliked Bath. But when his young sister Georgiana begs him to take her there, he cannot refuse her. Besides, at eight and twenty, it is high time he find himself a wife, and Bath is as good a place to find one as any other. But will he manage to overcome his natural reserve? And can he find a lady he can truly love, or will he bow to society’s expectations that he marry for wealth and position? When Elizabeth forms a close friendship with Georgiana, Darcy’s shy little sister, Darcy is immediately attracted to the lively, pretty girl who has brought his sister out of her shell. Elizabeth is also powerfully attracted to her new friend’s aloof older brother. Their feelings grow as they are drawn together, despite the reservations and better judgements of both. But Georgiana shares a secret with Elizabeth that could ruin her life and Darcy's, unless Elizabeth persuade her away from the dangerous path she is taking. And an unwelcome figure from Darcy’s past arrives in Bath unexpectedly, and threatens to destroy everything Darcy loves.

    As events unfold, Jane first meets Mr. Wickham, while Lizzy encounters Mr. Bingley. Introductions to new acquaintances can lead to attachments that become complicated. Mr. Bingley is interested in Lizzy, but that is before he has a chance to spend time with her older sister. Wickham is enchanted and seriously pursuing the lovely Jane. And Darcy finds himself increasingly drawn to a woman he is adamant he will never marry, which an unlikely source has much to say about in Complicated Attachments: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Denise O'Hara.

    Lydia’s suggestion to pass the time with games might be just what Bingley needs to prove Jane truly cares for him. Will Elizabeth’s prejudices of Mr Darcy hold up under the scrutiny of being stranded with him? What changes could possibly come from the effects of ‘Snow Storms & Kissing Games’? A 'Pride & Prejudice' Novella Variation

    The reader later discovers the truth of this situation; that Mr Wickham was keen to avoid Mr Darcy that night – for it was entirely possible that he could have faced (entirely justifiable) retribution from Mr Darcy if he had attended. The reader – and Elizabeth – are unaware at that point in the novel of Mr Wickham’s true, deceitful nature – and, of course, no one in wider society is aware of Mr Wickham’s scandalous behaviour concerning Mr Darcy’s younger sister. However, in this alternative narrative, the reader is shown how events could have varied in Pride and Prejudice if Mr Wickham had thrown caution to the wind and had instead attended the ball on that fateful evening. In this re-telling of the famous story, events start on the evening of the much anticipated Netherfield ball, and Elizabeth quietly frets to herself over the potential for her family to create a public scene. She knows very well that Mr Bingley’s conceited sisters hold her family in contempt, just as she is very aware of Mr Darcy’s obvious disapproval. She dreads the prospect of enduring her promised dances with Mr Collins, and is appalled at her mothers’ blatant matchmaking efforts. However, with the one pivotal change – of Mr Wickham being unexpectedly present at the ball – Elizabeth’s night, and her prospects for an enjoyable evening, change completely. And as a consequence of his attendance at the ball, the events of the novel begin to differ from there onwards as well. The neighbourhood of Meryton is entirely scandalised when Elizabeth takes a dance with the gallant Mr Wickham – and Mr Darcy is beside himself with rage to see the woman he secretly admires dancing so merrily with his arch enemy. ‘Elizabeth looked up at Mr Wickham’s face as he spoke, and realised, as she followed the direction of his pointed gaze, that he had locked eyes with Mr Darcy across the space of the crowded ballroom. She had not noticed before that Mr Darcy was observing them; though it was clear that Mr Wickham had known exactly where Mr Darcy was within the room – as well as having been entirely aware that Mr Darcy had been watching the two of them. The air seemed to spark between the two men, and Elizabeth could not fail to notice the palpable tension which flowed in waves between them. She saw the scornful sneer that Mr Wickham shot towards his enemy – and Mr Darcy bristling in return.’ In fact, Mr Darcy is so unsettled by the sight of Elizabeth dancing with his enemy, and so jealous, that he acts immediately to separate them. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, this is only the first of a series of humiliating experiences that she is to face that evening – and the consequences of Mr Darcy’s actions are to cause a scandal which will unavoidably change her future.

    How two adults react in those next few desperate moments sets the plot in motion in this “Pride & Prejudice” alternative focusing on twenty-one year old Kitty Bennet.“Of Fortune’s Reversal” is a novella-length tale based upon an inversion of Mrs. Bennet's exclamation that with one good marriage, the other girls will be thrown in front of rich men. For more than two centuries, the Jane/Bingley: Lizzy/Darcy tetrarchy has been portrayed as the solution to Mary and Kitty's marriage difficulties, not to mention Mrs. Bennet’s housing requirements. But, what if that was not the case?What if Mr. Bennet dies just as Jane is receiving the Bingley sisters' invitation to dinner?No rainy day horseback ride. No cold for Jane. No Elizabeth coming to Netherfield to nurse her elder sister...so no links forged in any way with Bingley (beyond what he felt for Miss Bennet at the Assembly) and Darcy (no fine eyes, no walk around the library, etc).No Netherfield Ball.No proposal from Collins because he was already wed to a shrew who convinced him to evict the Bennet women. So no trip to Hunsford cottage for Lizzy because Charlotte remains a spinster at Lucas Lodge.Rather, the Bennet women are forced out of Longbourn—the older girls to Gracechurch Street and ultimately taking up employment away from the city. The two younger girls remain in Meryton with their mother, to be sent away to seminary for some much-needed formal education. But, the death of Thomas Bennet has changed more than the family’s financial fortunes. It has also bent the arc of the P&P universe.

    Deciding Georgie was unprepared for such circumstances due to their society's preference to keep young ladies innocent and unknowing of the ways of the world, he chose to enlighten her. He began discussing things with her and educating her on matters that others may feel were not for the eyes or ears of a lady. He wanted her to be prepared when she came out in society and not be susceptible to the fortune hunters. What he did not realize was that she would use her new found knowledge upon him.

    This story is as much about Elizabeth and Darcy's torturous road to love, as it is about Colonel Fitzwilliam's parallel, purgative journey. It is a tale about falling in love, falling out of love, and just falling. Intended for ages 17 to 117, due to some implicit but more mature themes.

    Riding through the rain to reach Pemberley, Darcy arrives at his home with his mood as gloomy as the weather. When he discovers that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are touring the gardens, Darcy decides to use the approaching storm as a way to keep Elizabeth at Pemberley. It is his last chance to convince Elizabeth that he is a man worthy of her affection. Will he succeed? 11,000+ words

    Instead, he meets a young woman who challenges his ideas and pulls his sister out of her melancholy. He soon realizes Elizabeth Bennet is the only woman in the world with whom he could spend the rest of his life. Elizabeth, clever and self-assured, refuses to change for the sake of gaining a husband, a prospect she finds impossible regardless. With wit and independence rather than fortune, she is entirely convinced no sensible man would have her, and she cannot respect a fool. Can Darcy prove to be this impossible man? Or is a figure from his past an insurmountable obstacle to a future with The Gentleman’s Impertinent Daughter? This was previously posted on various forums in a draft as St. Michael's Little Summer.