Book picks similar to
A Lesson Hard Learned by Wendi Sotis


jaff
pride-and-prejudice
austenesque
historical-fiction

Mr. Darcy's Persistent Pursuit: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Elaine Owen - 2014
    How can our beloved couple find their way to each other when Darcy doesn't know what she holds against him?

These Dreams: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Nicole Clarkston - 2017
    Taken far from England, presumed dead by his family, and lost to all he holds dear, only one name remains as his beacon in the darkness: Elizabeth.Georgiana Darcy is now the reluctant, heartbroken heiress to Pemberley, and Colonel Fitzwilliam her bewildered guardian. Vulnerable and unprepared, Georgiana desperately longs for a friend, while Fitzwilliam seeks to protect her from his own family. As the conspiracy around Darcy’s death widens and questions mount, Colonel Fitzwilliam must confront his own past. An impossible dream, long ago sacrificed for duty, may become his only hope.Newly married Lydia Wickham returns to Longbourn- alone and under mysterious circumstances. Elizabeth Bennet watches one sister suffer and another find joy, while she lives her own days in empty regrets over what might have been. Believing Darcy lost forever, she closes her heart against both pain and happiness, but finds no escape from her dreams of him.

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.

The Companion's Secret: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Linda Thompson - 2015
    “I need to gain control of her inheritance before she reaches her next birthday. It need not be a long marriage, but marry her you must.”Alone in the world, Elizabeth Bennet had to rely upon herself. She knew escape was the only way to ensure her safety. With the help of Longbourn’s faithful servants, Elizabeth disappeared from her home and the odious heir. She was determined to find a way to support herself and remain hidden until after her birthday.Fortune smiled on Elizabeth when a series of events offered her the position of companion to Georgiana Darcy. In spite of her position, Elizabeth found herself attracted to her new employer. Could he ever see her as more than his sister’s companion? Sometimes Elizabeth thought Mr. Darcy might care for her, too, but would his attraction—if that is what is was—survive when he learned the truth about her?Hidden away at Pemberley, would Elizabeth be able to remain safely concealed until coming of age? What surprises did the future hold for her?

A Noteworthy Courtship


Laura Sanchez - 2009
    What if the Netherfield party had not left Hertfordshire immediately following the Netherfield Ball, and what if Mr. Darcy in particular had given himself inducement to remain? Comical entanglements and exploits thicken the familiar plot as various characters break their canon form. Two are repeatedly drawn to the bookshop in Meryton with little explanation, and a gentleman from Kent is not so easily dissuaded as he might otherwise have been. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are as lackadaisical and troublesome as ever, and Mr. Bingley and Miss Jane Bennet are left to their own inclination without the untimely interference of their friends. A new set of characters allow the escapades to continue before finally a resolution can be reached, with much the same happily ever after as Jane Austen intended. Adapted in part from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and inspired by the film You've Got Mail.

Desperate Hearts: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Anna Kate Suton - 2016
    Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet find true love in a story that starts off with our dear couple happy and hopeful. Until, that is, two villains – each for their own reason – launch a plot to separate them. Darcy is broken-hearted and sure he has lost Elizabeth, but things are not always as they seem. It is up to Darcy’s loyal cousins to unravel the mystery and reunite our dear couple. As they do, a long-hidden family secret is revealed to explain why Elizabeth is her mother’s least-favoured child. This story is a clean read and suitable for any age. Please note that this is a novella, not a full-length novel. # # # #

Artifice and Attraction: A Darcy and Elizabeth Pride and Prejudice Variation


Maddie Rowden - 2017
    Darcy is in need of a wife. Business keeps him in London, but Georgiana must go to Pemberley for the sake of her health. He cannot trust her care to the servants. He knows his duty - he must seek a wife. A ball at Almack’s is the place to seek a wife of good breeding and wealth. So Mr. Darcy must force himself to attend. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is pleasing to look at. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is lively, playful and intelligent. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is wearing exquisite, costly gowns. Miss Elizabeth Bennet has a voucher to Almack’s, so she must be from a highly suitable family. Mr. Darcy knows his position in life is such that no lady will refuse his offer of marriage, even when he makes it clear that the arrangement does not include affection. Nothing can possibly go wrong. Artifice and Attraction is a sweet and clean Regency Romance novel of over 89,000 words

The Secret Betrothal: A Pride and Prejudice Alternate Path


Jan Hahn - 2011
     When Fitzwilliam Darcy learns that Elizabeth has committed herself to such an arrangement, his hopes of winning her hand are shattered. As circumstances continue to bring the two together—from Hertfordshire to Rosings Park to the seaside town of Brighton—he finds he is unable to tame his desire for the lady who has stolen his heart. Do Darcy’s efforts to win Elizabeth succeed, or does his sworn enemy lead her to the altar? From the award-winning author of An Arranged Marriage and The Journey

Governing His Heart


Melanie Schertz - 2012
    Will love blossom between the young governess and Gerald's son, Fitzwilliam?

On Oakham Mount: A Pride & Prejudice Variation


Sophia Meredith - 2016
    Bennet insists that Elizabeth marry the odious Mr.Collins, she dashes off in tears to seek refuge on Oakham Mount. There she encounters Mr. Darcy, seeking distraction from his own concerns. In a moment of emotional turmoil, they turn to each other and Mr. Darcy is moved to offer a solution to Elizabeth’s dilemma: A marriage of convenience. But when this engagement is broken almost before it has begun, why do the two feel so bereft? Could there be more between them than a simple arrangement? Can these two proud, strong-willed individuals overcome all the obstacles that seem determined to keep them apart? More importantly, can they open their hearts to each other and to love? Find out in this reimagining of Jane Austen's beloved British Regency classic.First in the Pemberley Departures Collection; the stand-alone books need not be read in order unless otherwise specified.

Darcy's Hope: Beauty from Ashes: A WWI Pride & Prejudice Variation


Ginger Monette - 2016
    World War I has turned French chateaus into bloody field hospitals, British gentlemen into lice-infested soldiers, and left Elizabeth Bennet's life in tatters.Her father is dead and her home destroyed. Never again will Elizabeth depend on a man to secure her future!But when an opportunity arises to advance her dreams of becoming a doctor, she is elated--until HE arrives....Heartbroken. Devastated. Captain Fitzwilliam Darcy is left rejected by the woman he loved and reeling from the slaughter of his men on the battlefield. "Enough!" Darcy vows. "No more sentimental attachments!" "No comrades, no dog, and certainly no woman!" But arriving at a field hospital to pursue a covert investigation, Darcy discovers his beloved Elizabeth training with a dashing American doctor and embroiled in an espionage conspiracy.With only a few months to expose the plot, Darcy is forced to grapple with his feelings for Elizabeth while uncovering the truth. Is she indeed innocent? Darcy can only hope....•Cameo appearance by John Thornton of North & South•Has a happy ending but will continue in Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey, coming in February 2017. In the sequel, readers will experience the full resolution of the mystery, and our beloved couple's love will face a new, tragic test. •Mild language & war scenes. Romance is clean.

The Trouble With Horses


Elizabeth Ann West - 2014
    Finding a gentleman in the ravine of a creek bed, she scares off snakes and raises the alarm to end up with the man situated at Longbourn for his recovery. Enamored with his dark curls and handsome face, her life appears to be following the fairy tale story line of a novel, that is until the proud, disdainful Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley wakes up.

Forced to Marry: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Bella Breen - 2018
     Elizabeth Bennet has just refused Mr. Darcy's disastrous marriage proposal at Hunsford. Unfortunately, while strolling on the grounds of Rosing Park, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves hopelessly compromised — in full view of Mr. Collins, Col. Fitzwilliam and two society mavens! 

Now, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are forced to wed — even though they are still angry at each other. Will they learn to set aside their pride and get along? Or are they doomed to suffer the worst marriage in all of England?

 Forced to Wed is a 53,000 word, standalone enemies to lovers novel with a guaranteed happily ever after. This novel has received over 161,000 views on fanfiction.net. Its print length is 333 pages.

A Lady's Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Reimagining


Jennifer Kay - 2017
    Her mother insists that she marry Mr. Collins to save the family from certain ruin, Lady Catherine makes a disastrous visit to Longbourn, and Mr. Darcy seems set on saving Elizabeth from herself whether she wants his assistance or not. Throughout it all her beloved father lays unresponsive, and with each passing day the future looks more and more uncertain. And then, just as it appears that all will be well, a letter arrives that changes everything Elizabeth thought she knew. But it is not from Mr. Darcy, and it may come too late to save the family from ruin of a different kind… A Lady's Pride is a clean Pride and Prejudice retelling of roughly 50,000 words.

An Inconvenient Courtship


Dana R. Lynn - 2014
    Darcy is determined to find a wife he can love and respect. He is fascinated by the lively Miss Elizabeth Bennet, but is determined to forget her due to her low connections. Until an act of jealously puts her life at risk. Faced with the bleak reality of living without her forever, Mr. Darcy must examine what he really wants. With the assistance of Colonel Fitzwilliam, his sister, and Elizabeth’s father, Mr. Darcy works to save Elizabeth’s life. If he is lucky, he will then be able to win her heart.