The Mistress of All: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Lory Lilian - 2020
    It is recommended for a mature audience, due to the subjects of violence and abuse – that are often mentioned but never detailed other than in Elizabeth’s recollections.This is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, thrown by fate and unfortunate circumstances into the middle of an ordeal from which she struggles to escape, fighting for her life. Her character, her strength and her determination are tested more than ever before. She has to enter into a battle which she must win, or the loss will be immeasurable. She has a strong ally in Darcy, first from afar, then by her side. The man she rejected just a month before will return to prove his loyalty, and the depth of his feelings.Elizabeth also benefits from the loyal support of a friend – a young woman of colour – who struggles to prove her worthiness and find her deserved place in a society unwilling to accept her.The story begins when Elizabeth returns from Kent and stays in London for several days. She is surprised to find her sister Jane and aunt in a new, but rather close acquaintance with a young earl and his mother. Over those several days, the nightmare slowly envelops the Bennets and Gardiners, and the threat of ruin and misery weighs heavily on them.To their apparent salvation came a hasty and strange – but so timely – marriage proposal from one of the most illustrious gentlemen of the ton. Despite her reasoning, her suspicions, her fears and her lack of feeling for the man she barely knows and even less respects, she does not dare refuse a third marriage proposal, which would throw her entire family into ruin.By the time of her marriage, Darcy has returned to London and Mr. Bingley has returned to Jane. Things appear to have improved for the Bennets. But for Elizabeth, it is too late.Trapped in a marriage as dark as a nightmare, never consummated but dreadful nevertheless, she must protect herself and those around her from the evilness and cruelty of a horrid man and his supportive mother and friends.With fate’s mercy, Elizabeth’s ordeal will not last long. Circumstances turn her into a widow, one of the wealthiest and most influential women in London, with a power she is not yet ready to use.Darcy’s feelings are the same, while Elizabeth's are quite the opposite compared with those she expressed in Kent. Darcy is the only man she can trust. Near him she feels safe, protected and supported. But her heart is so full of hate, distrust and plans for revenge, that it has little room for love and happiness.Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth have remained strong and deep, but the woman he adored had changed dramatically. She is now above him in terms of position, wealth, and power.While she accepts him as a friend, and gratefully benefits from his support, Elizabeth is not ready to surrender to the power of another man yet, even if she has no reason to doubt his affection, his honour or his character.Elizabeth Bennet is now Lady Barrington – smart, well educated and beautiful, with the power and means to treat those around her as she pleases. Her old sweetness, her teasing wit, the smile that made her eyes sparkle, her musical laugh and tendency to joke seem lost. But they are only deeply buried under fear, and hate and are just waiting for the right moment and the right man to bring them back up into the light again.

A Will of Iron: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Linda Beutler - 2015
    Their return finds Rosings swathed in mourning. In death, Anne is revealed as having lived a rich life of the mind, and she plotted rather constantly to escape her loathsome mother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Anne’s journal—spirited into the hands of Elizabeth and Charlotte Collins—holds her candid observations on life and her family. It also exposes her final, and sadly fatal, means of outwitting her mother. Anne’s Last Will and Testament, with its peculiar bequests, sends Lady Catherine into a tailspin and throws into turmoil every relationship amongst the Bennets, Darcys, Fitzwilliams, Collinses, and even the Bingleys! Was Anne de bourgh a shrewder judge of character than Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy combined?Includes mature content.

Silver Buckles


Grace Gibson - 2020
    He was reeling. She was overwhelmed.Fitzwilliam Darcy, standing irritably at the edge of the Meryton assembly, declines to dance with Elizabeth Bennet. In a mood of revulsion, he rejects her without concern of being overheard. Country pretensions are always in need of squashing, and what better way to make clear he would not partner anyone outside his party? However, when he looks over at her, she does not appear humbled at all. She is secretly laughing at him!Elizabeth is perversely delighted to encounter such an outrageous snob as Mr. Darcy. When he approaches her with a stiff, graceless apology, she coolly brushes him off, believing that, like most annoyances, he will go away when properly snubbed. But no! The man then puts out his hand and, not wishing to create a scene, compels her to stand up with him.They go through the steps of the dance mutually disdainful and intent upon wounding each other. But by the time the musicians end their tune, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have traded barbs with such accuracy, they are unaccountably amused and engaged. Will this most inconvenient flirtation drive them apart—or, like silver buckles, are they a matched pair?

Longbourn Inheritance: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Laraba Kendig - 2021
    Mr. Darcy is intrigued, Mr. Collins is baffled and Mr. Wickham is enticed.Matthew Bennet, Lydia's twin brother, has died. Elizabeth finds herself managing the Longbourn estate, while balancing the needs of her family with her own desires for a happy future.Mr. Bingley rents Netherfield, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, comes to visit. When Darcy is injured, it is Elizabeth who comes to his rescue, sparking a friendship that surprises them both.Mr. Collins's foolishness, Mr. Wickham's greed and Lady Catherine's ambition cause the situation to grow far more complicated for our favorite characters. Will Darcy and Elizabeth overcome adversity to find their happily ever after?

With My Whole Heart Forever


Wendi Sotis - 2020
    Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s pleasure trip to the Lake District with her aunt and uncle is redirected when they receive an express stating Mrs. Gardiners’ sister and two nephews have fallen ill. The trio proceeds to a farm in Derbyshire to assist the ailing family, on the estate where her aunt grew up, Pemberley. During a walk, Elizabeth happens upon a young lady. A friendship is born, but secrets and heartache surround her new friend. Perhaps Elizabeth will finally meet Ana’s brother, of whom she has heard so much, at Pemberley’s Harvest Ball?Fitzwilliam Darcy is desperate to help his sister recover from the events at Ramsgate but is at a loss as to how to do so. After she begins to ride every day, she also seems to begin healing. In his state of relief, he does not push for answers as to why. When Ana comes to him excitedly requesting that he make the Harvest Ball a masque, he is so grateful for her interest in something, he agrees.

Strong Objections to the Lady


Jayne Bamber - 2019
    Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Bennet, her wrath sets in motion a series of events at Hunsford Parsonage which embroil Darcy and Elizabeth in a family fracas that grows more complicated daily.The shades of Rosings Park are soon polluted by the shocking transformation of its new mistress and her guests, as well as secrets of the past and schemes for the future.Appearances and alliances shift amidst the chaos wrought by a well-intentioned house party, and Darcy and Elizabeth must finally face their feelings for one another despite mounting obstacles and misunderstandings of every kind.

Some Natural Importance


Jan Ashton - 2021
    Men hold power over women, but I am not a man who wants to wield such power. I would prefer a woman who has some power over me.”Fitzwilliam Darcy already has one arranged marriage in his past. The last thing he envisions for himself is another, yet he has somehow become entrapped in a promise to a dying man. Not only must Darcy overcome his resentment in order to live up to his sense of honour, but when he realises how deeply his heart may be engaged, he must convince Elizabeth Bennet of his true feelings.Elizabeth never expected the imperious Mr Darcy to become a good friend of an idle gentleman like her father. And she certainly never anticipated they would form a secret pact compelling her marriage to a man she dislikes. She must set aside grief and resentment, as well as her suspicions: Is Darcy using her to avoid another bride pushed onto him by his family, or to gain riches Elizabeth never knew she had?Or is it possible he loves her?

Letters from the Heart


Kay Bea - 2019
    Elizabeth could not have imagined a spirit forced into darkness by something so mundane as the scratch of pen on paper. Elizabeth Bennet has been certain of many things in her life; her place in society, the love of her family, her ability to choose her own future, and her ability to accurately judge the character of those she meets. Three days after the Netherfield Ball, a near tragedy shakes that foundation and in the weeks that follow, Elizabeth learns that nothing is certain. Compelled by circumstance and her mother’s will, Elizabeth is condemned to marry her father’s heir, Mr William Collins. Isolated from everyone she knows and loves, Elizabeth is faced with a dark and difficult future. Unaware of the changes that have occurred in his absence, Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to Hertfordshire determined to right his wrongs and prove himself worthy of Elizabeth’s love. When he learns he is too late to secure his happiness, Darcy determines he will express his love for Elizabeth the only way he can – by protecting her younger sisters as well as he would his own. Old bonds are strengthened, family ties are severed, and unlikely allies emerge as each of them struggles to make sense of the changes they face.Can happiness be found when it seems all hope is lost? This novella is a variation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and as such contains her characters as well as those of the author's creation.

Follies and Vices: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Emily Russell - 2019
    In particular, she’d been looking forward to dancing with the charming, amiable George Wickham. But when he fails to appear, Elizabeth blames the proud Mr Darcy and his animosity against Wickham for keeping him away. Disappointed in Wickham’s absence and eager to escape Mr Darcy and the flirtation of her boorish cousin, Mr Collins, she escapes to a quieter part of the house. But she is not alone. Wickham owes money to dangerous criminals and the only way he can pay them back is to allow them into Netherfield Park while everyone is distracted by the ball. To Elizabeth’s horror, Wickham and his accomplices seize her so she cannot expose them. Fitzwilliam Darcy has never been so bewitched by any woman as he is by Elizabeth Bennet. When she agreed to dance with him, he was so overwhelmed with delight, he could hardly speak. But she attracts him more than he likes and she is far too unsuited to be mistress of Pemberley. Wanting to avoid her before he makes her an offer he will regret, Darcy escapes to the garden. While there, he witnesses a strange sight; two men running across the lawn holding the very woman Darcy hoped to avoid. He pursues them but is soon outnumbered. Only the knowledge that Darcy’s wealthy family will pay for his return keeps him safe. Darcy claims Elizabeth as his betrothed to add her to the ransom but when the thieves decide Darcy’s uncle will pay more for a Mrs Darcy than a Miss Bennet, the pair are forced into an illegal marriage ceremony. When they finally escape with help from an unexpected source, they are forced to put their differences aside as they navigate a dangerous countryside littered with rogues and highwaymen. And as their journey brings them closer together and forces them to disregard the rules of proprietary, they discover that their unwanted spouse might just be more perfect for them than they ever imagined.

Of a Sunday Evening


Amy D'Orazio - 2020
    Driven from his house, eager to escape the tedium and his own thoughts, he encounters Miss Lydia Bennet on the mean streets of London. An elopement is in progress but Darcy soon finds himself called upon to stop it. IN LAMBTON, Elizabeth Bennet is horrified to learn of her sister's escapade, and even more dismayed to learn that somehow, some way Mr Darcy has become involved in it all. Her feelings having already softened towards him, she finds herself returning to London to find a changed man has been her family's hero. ONE SUNDAY EVENING soon gives way to another, and sisters must conspire to give the pair the nudge they need to speak to one another. Sunday evenings prove to be not so disagreeable after all!This Pride & Prejudice short story is a sweet, romantic what-if with an earlier reconciliation of Jane Austen's most famous lovers.

Bluebells in the Mourning


KaraLynne Mackrory - 2013
    . . ...nothing can be lost that love cannot find? Jane Austen's beloved "Pride and Prejudice" is readapted in this Regency tale of love in the face of tragedy. Mr. Darcy is thwarted in his attempt to propose to Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford when he encounters her minutes after she receives the sad news from Longbourn of her sister's death. His gallantry and compassion as he escorts her back to Hertfordshire begins to unravel the many threads of her discontent with him. While her family heals from their loss, Darcy must search London for answers --- answers that might bring justice but also might just mark the end of his own hopes with Elizabeth.

This Disconcerting Happiness: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Christina Morland - 2016
    Yet their growing regard may cause more harm than good -- for their families, and for themselves.

Ardently: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Caitlin Williams - 2015
    How much do we often owe to being in the right place at the right time? In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet plans to visit the Lake District with her uncle and aunt, yet ends up at Pemberley instead, just as, by coincidence, Mr Darcy also arrives home. They meet, understand one another better and all eventually ends well. But what if they did not have such luck? What if Elizabeth actually went to the Lake District and was nowhere near Pemberley, and she and Mr Darcy never met again until another four years had gone by? Now they are very different people, altered by marriage, time and situation, although, Mr Darcy's failed proposal in the Parsonage at Hunsford still haunts both of them in different ways. Elizabeth is a companion to her Aunt, Mrs Mountford, a widow of great standing in society who married exceptionally well and 'Miss Bennet' finds herself accepted in the very best of circles and able to marry whomever she might chose. Mr Darcy did his duty by his sickly cousin, Anne de Bourgh, and married her to protect her from the tyrannical force of her mother Lady Catherine. He has come to Bath, however, a widower, with his family, the Fitzwilliams, and his sister, Georgiana. Darcy sees Elizabeth, the woman who rejected him, in the opposite box at the theatre and cannot help falling in love with her all over again. Now though, it seems there are even more hurdles to overcome for them to be together, including Elizabeth's new suitor, the handsome and charming Mr Yorke. Mr Darcy is still a little proud, still not able to 'perform to strangers'. Can Elizabeth see past his reserve and awkwardness to the decent man underneath? This book is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from Chapter 36 onwards (Darcy's failed proposal and the delivering of his letter).

The Impulse of the Moment


Jann Rowland - 2019
    Fitzwilliam Darcy in particular. When Mr. Darcy returns four years later, he finds a young woman matured from the girl he knew, resolved to overcome the trials she has endured. The uncertainty leads Elizabeth to a situation which once again puts her at risk. Uncertain how Mr. Darcy will act, Elizabeth is forced to question what kind of man he is. Despite all these hurdles, the course of true love cannot be diverted. Elizabeth finds herself strangely compelled by Mr. Darcy and attraction grows, a connection begins to be forged. But while the lovers are sorting through the misunderstandings of their turbulent past, forces gather from a distance, intent upon separating them forever. Elements of Mr. Darcy’s family, those who possess the power to exert great influence over his future, do not take kindly to his potential choice of a wife. And the machinations of a detested rival threaten their happiness, one who believes he has been misused and is determined to receive his due no matter what the cost.

Along for the Ride


Alix James - 2021
    Mostly. But a plea from his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, has put Darcy in a precarious position. In order to help his cousins find happiness, he has to pretend a romantic diversion of his own, with the woman who is tearing down his last defenses.Elizabeth Bennet is accustomed to the ridiculous. Whether it is an absurd relative or a nonsensical noble, she allows very few things to rattle her. But she is properly astonished when Mr. Darcy, the most disagreeable man in the world, shocks her with a most unconventional proposal. She cannot pass up such a sublime opportunity, and immediately sets out to unnerve the proud man from Derbyshire. But Mr. Darcy has hidden talents of his own, and soon, Elizabeth finds herself almost outmatched in the art of teasing. As they each vie for the upper hand in this romantic contest, will they conquer each other at last? Or will their victory be sabotaged by their hearts? Along for the Ride is a sweet Regency variation of approximately 20,000 words.