Book picks similar to
Dare to Refuse Such a Man by Mary Smythe


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Compromise & Consequence: a Pride & Prejudice Variation


Sue Barr - 2021
    Darcy are irretrievably compromised and forced to marry. Angered beyond reason, Mr. Darcy prepares the vilest marriage settlement known to man, forcing Mr. Bennet to accept his terms or suffer the consequences of ruined reputations and unwed daughters.The repercussions that follow show a determined young lady with keen intelligence and a prideful man who comes to realize that the consequences of their compromise are the best things that ever happened in his life.

The Events at Branxbourne


Caitlin Williams - 2018
    You are loved for all that you are, for all you once were, and for all that you will come to be.” - Fitzwilliam DarcyLady Lambert, or Elizabeth Bennet as she was once known, appears to have made the perfect match. Having refused Mr. Darcy’s proposal of marriage at Hunsford, she is now married to a viscount. While everything seems well, beneath her fine clothes beats a heart filled with regrets. Dark secrets lurk in every corner of her elegant London townhouse, and while she might have at her disposal many excellent and numerous carriages, they all seem to take her places she does not truly want to go. Into her now desolate existence comes Mr. Darcy again—a changed man, a better man, the very best of men, and still very much in love with her. Is it all impossible? She ought to resist him, yet she cannot stay away. Theirs is a dangerous, scandalous love that proves impossible to resist. In an age when women are owned by their husbands, can a wife escape a husband she has come to loathe, and when there is blood on her hands, how will Elizabeth explain herself?

A Better Impression


E. Bradshaw - 2017
    However, in this variation of Austen’s much-loved book, Jane’s illness is not simply a cold, but instead becomes a life threatening sickness that threatens to take her life. Elizabeth begins to feel increasingly desperate for solutions as she attempts to take care of her sister – and Mr Darcy is the unlikely ally who offers his help. From that moment onwards Elizabeth begins to see a different side of Mr Darcy, and to gain a better impression of him than she had before. Of course, the wayward pair still continue to have their disagreements, and their relationship is by no means an easy one, but from that day onwards Elizabeth is forced to see that Mr Darcy is not merely the proud, disagreeable man she had assumed he was. In fact, the fate of every one of the characters in the story is inevitably altered as a consequence of Jane’s illness. Mr Bennet is forced to face up to his own negligence, whilst Mrs Bennet is made to see the error of her ways. Likewise, Charles Bingley develops a new sense of determination during the days he spends worrying over Jane, whilst Mr Darcy begins to see how his reserved behaviour is perceived by others. In this variation Elizabeth and Georgiana become firm friends, and their friendship gives Georgiana the confidence she needs to face Mr Wickham’s treacherous charm. Finally both Darcy and Elizabeth recognise their feelings for one another – but there are still trials and misfortunes for the pair to overcome before they can find their happiness with one another... This story is approximately 87,000 words long.

Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon


Maria Grace - 2016
    Most people are blissfully unaware of them and the Pendragon Treaty that keeps the peace between human and dragon kind.  Only those born with preternatural hearing, like Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are able to hear and converse with dragonkind. When the first firedrake egg laid in a century is stolen from Pemberley, the fragile dragon peace teeters on collapse. Darcy has no choice but to chase down the thief, a journey that leads him to quaint market town of Meryton and fellow Dragon Keeper, Elizabeth Bennet.  Elizabeth shares a unique bond with dragons, stronger than anything Darcy has ever experienced. More than that, her vast experience and knowledge of dragon lore may be the key to uncovering the lost egg. . But Elizabeth can’t stand Darcy’s arrogance and doesn’t trust him to care properly for a precious baby firedrake. After all, he already lost the egg once. What’s to prevent it from happening again? Can he win her trust and recover the stolen egg before it hatches and sends England spiraling back into the Dark Ages of Dragon War?

Master of Netherfield: A Variation on Pride and Prejudice


Martin Hunnicutt - 2020
    Wishing to keep his mistress close as he recovers from a recent illness, George Darcy gifts his heir with an estate named Netherfield in Hertfordshire. The challenge of building up the distant estate will keep his son away and provide a safe home to his daughter.‘Master William’ takes on the responsibilities for Netherfield and his young sister with the help of his nearest neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bennet while the five Bennet daughters adopt Georgiana as another sister. Several years later, when George Darcy becomes ill and dies, William becomes ‘Mr. Darcy’. As the new master takes control of the great estate of Pemberley with his sister at his side, Georgiana asks that they return to their ‘home’ and ‘family’ in Hertfordshire. When Darcy realizes he misses their home in Hertfordshire and one Bennet sister in particular, they return.

A Storm Over Netherfield: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Romance


Rosemary Barton - 2018
    While her sister Jane’s budding romance with Mr Bingley gives her joy, she has had enough of the proud Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley’s catty sisters. While waiting for her father to send the carriage to fetch them home, she decides to go for a walk in the woods around Netherfield Park to escape their company. A storm strikes earlier than expected, catching her unawares. In her rush to return to Netherfield, Elizabeth twists her ankle. Soaked through and in pain, she is mortified when she is found by Mr Darcy, the man she cannot stand. With the roads flooded and Elizabeth unable to walk without aid, the Bennet girls have no choice but to spend another week at Netherfield Park Darcy has been troubled by his attraction for the lively but unsuitable Elizabeth Bennet. After a week in her presence when she has bewitched him beyond his comfort, he is relieved that she is to go home. But when the storm strikes and Elizabeth doesn’t return from her walk, he leaves at once to search for her. Now, he must spend another week under the same roof as this fascinating woman and he is uncertain whether he can continue to resist his powerful feelings for her. As Elizabeth and Darcy spend more time together, they slowly let their guards down as they discover new things to admire about one another. Elizabeth wonders if she has misjudged Darcy while he finds he cares less and less about what the world might think if he was to choose Elizabeth as his bride. But Miss Bingley is determined to have Mr Darcy for her husband. Forced to play hostess to the girl who is winning the heart of the man she desires, her jealousy gets the better of her and she is willing to do all she can to come between them. Confusion and misunderstandings increase with the arrival of another unexpected visitor and Elizabeth and Darcy must decide if their feelings for one another are strong enough to conquer their own pride as well as the interference of others.

The Resolute Suitor: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Don H. Miller - 2014
    It assumes that he does not write a letter after the proposal and that, with the collusion of Georgiana Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam, they meet again in London not many weeks after they have departed Kent. Then tragedy occurs when there is a disastrous fire at Longbourn and the lives of the entire Bennet family are affected as well as the life of Col. Fitzwilliam, who finds love with an unexpected person.

To Capture Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel


Elizabeth Ann West - 2016
    When four days of rain occur earlier in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice to trap Jane and Elizabeth Bennet at Netherfield Park, new romances, misunderstandings, and alignments are made. Volatile tempers never did well cooped up together. Not even when there's a chessboard to help pass the time.Fall in love with the romance of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet all over again in this new variation by author Elizabeth Ann West. A stand-alone novel of over 300 pages in paperback, this story is sure to make you sigh and swoon many times over!

Side by Side, Apart


Ann Galvia - 2016
    You know our acquaintance has not been easy." Elizabeth Bennet, --stubborn, quick to judge but slow to revise her opinions, and entirely prejudiced against the man who had just proposed marriage at Hunsford--awakens to learn she has been in an accident. Bedridden in an unfamiliar house, , she learns eleven years have passed since the last moment she can remember, She finds herself a married woman, mother of four, an pregnant yet again. Her children are strangers, and most mystifying of all, Fitzwilliam Darcy is her husband! How could she have married a man she loathes? Confined to the house by her injury, Mr. Darcy's company is inescapable. But is just being side by side enough to overcome their differences? What happens with Darcy, improved in manners and happily married to Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy is faced with an obstinate, bewildered Miss Elizabeth Bennet?

An Heir for Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Short Story


Jane Grix - 2016
    But Darcy's mother died in childbirth and he worries that he could lose it all. An Heir for Pemberley is a Pride and Prejudice Variation Short Story, 4000 words long and takes about fifteen minutes to read. It is a quick escape to Pemberley.

Mistress of Netherfield


Julia Winter - 2021
    The inheritor of her husband’s estate, Netherfield Park, Elizabeth is now a wealthy young widow, independent and self-reliant. With an eye always on improving her four sisters’ woefully small dowries and providing for her mother, who will be homeless when her father dies, Elizabeth is pleased to lease out Netherfield to the Bingley family, making her home in the dower house in Meryton and vowing that she will never remarry.Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire is rich and well connected, but reserved in company with anybody outside the very few he counts as friends. Towards those friends, he is loyal and steadfast, the staunchest of supporters. So when a young man comes to him with a tale of the clandestine marriage and mysterious death of Darcy’s old schoolfriend, James Grayson, and begs Darcy’s help to investigate the widow’s role, Darcy agrees. Visiting Charles Bingley, the new tenant of Netherfield, Darcy is very soon torn between his loyalty to his dead friend, and his burgeoning attraction to the widow.Throw two unprincipled rogues and an elopement into the confines of Meryton, and how will Darcy’s dilemma over Elizabeth ever be resolved? And is she willing to put aside her misgivings, and trust again?(British English spelling and grammar used throughout).

Mr. Darcy's Proposal


Susan Mason-Milks - 2011
    In the process of offering his help to her in traveling home, he discovers what she really thinks of him—and it’s not good. Should Darcy deliver Elizabeth home to be with her family and then disappear from her life, or will he propose another kind of help? Will Elizabeth be willing to sacrifice her future happiness to save her family from financial ruin? Or, do she and Darcy, two very stubborn people, have a chance of finding happiness together?

Found in the Snow: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Jaeza Rayleigh - 2019
    In this variation, the familiar cast of characters is augmented by the introduction of Lizzy’s great-aunt by marriage, Lady Helena Mosse, who hopes to give her great-nieces more opportunities to make good matches than they would find in Meryton. A snowy encounter leads to a new acquaintance, but is it the kind of opportunity Lady Helena hoped for? Because of the chance encounter, Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy in the winter before the canon visit to Meryton, but their initial interactions are just as rocky. Can Mr. Darcy change his ways and become more approachable? Does he want to? Can Elizabeth forgive his early insults and learn to see him for the man he truly is? Will Kitty find her own way when separated from Lydia? Is Georgiana in danger even when protected by her friends? All these questions and more will be answered in this clean and generally low-angst variation on the story we know and love. One more will be answered as well – what was it really that Lizzy found in the snow?

I Never Knew Myself: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Melanie Rachel - 2020
    And now he is left to wonder whether he is drawn to more than her fine eyes.When Darcy realizes that Elizabeth and Ellie might be one and the same, he is anxious to return her to the Windhams, and Elizabeth is no less eager to meet her family. But when the idyllic reunion she longed for goes awry, both Darcy and Elizabeth wonder whether it’s really possible to put a broken family back together again.Can Darcy help Elizabeth find her place in her first family so she can one day join him in his?

Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl


Christina BoydBeau North - 2020
    “I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print…” wrote Jane Austen in a letter, January 1813―and we think so too!