Book picks similar to
Impulse and Initiative by Abigail Reynolds


romance
historical-fiction
historical-romance
historical

Alias Thomas Bennet


Suzan Lauder - 2013
    . . of most interest to Bennet was Mr. Darcy of Pemberley.When Fitzwilliam Darcy attends the Meryton assembly, he befriends a quiet, intelligent gentleman. In frequent visits to his friend's home, he becomes acquainted with the Bennet family of Longbourn. Yet Mr. Darcy is distracted by a strange feeling of having met some of them before. This is a different Bennet family from the cleverly crafted one in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. This Mr. Bennet is a responsible gentleman who takes an active role in the education and upbringing of all five of his daughters, manages Longbourn to be prosperous, and displays loving guidance toward Mrs. Bennet-a gentle, caring mother and wife. There is a mystery lurking at Longbourn-a secret unknown even to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is entangled in its extraordinary revelations. Who is Thomas Bennet?---Notes: This is a "what-if" variation on Pride and Prejudice: What if Mr. Bennet's personality were entirely different than in canon? What events would change in Austen's original, leading to fresh, new plot points? How would it affect Elizabeth and Darcy and the other characters? There is a second story line to tell how Mr. Bennet's personality became different, and that's the heart of the mystery!This book contains sexual scenes and violence, including one brief scene of non‑explicit sexual violence that may be concerning to sensitive readers. The sexual violence does not include Elizabeth Bennet.

Darcy and the Duchess


Mary Anne Mushatt - 2010
    At only eighteen her life takes a very different turn, yet many of the same characters, adventures and villains accompany her as she journeys through her life as wife, mother and widow. As her heart heals from the premature death of her husband, she learns to love again finding the strength to protect her family and win the love of her lost husband's best friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy. But can their growing and often thwarted understanding survive the villainous plotting of George Wickham.

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?

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!

Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility


Hillary Manton Lodge - 2017
    You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”―Jane Austen, Sense and SensibilityJust a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Francisco tea shop. The last thing Jane wants is to leave their beloved shop on Valencia Street, but when Celia insists on a move to Austin, Texas, the sisters pack up their kid sister Margot and Jane’s tea plants, determined to start over yet again.But life in Austin isn’t all sweet tea and breakfast tacos. Their unusual living situation is challenging and unspoken words begin to fester between Jane and Celia. When Jane meets and falls for up-and-coming musician Sean Willis, the chasm grows deeper.While Sean seems to charm everyone in his path, one person is immune – retired Marine Captain Callum Beckett. Callum never meant to leave the military, but the twin losses of his father and his left leg have returned him to the place he least expected—Texas. In this modern spin on the Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility, the Woodward sisters must contend with new ingredients in unfamiliar kitchens, a dash of heartbreak, and the fragile hope that maybe home isn't so far away.

Goodly Creatures: A Pride and Prejudice Deviation


Beth Massey - 2012
    This Pride and Prejudice deviation takes the reader on a journey through a labyrinth filled with misunderstandings, bias, guilt and fear - not to mention, laughter, animal magnetism and waltzing. As Elizabeth says, 'she shed enough tears to float one of Lord Nelson's frigates' but as she learned from her father 'unhappiness does, indeed, have comic aspects one should never underestimate.'Though the path for our protagonists is much more arduous than canon, the benefit remains the same; a very happy Janeite ending for these two star-crossed lovers. Along the way there is retribution, redemption and reward for other characters - including a few that recall players in two grave injustices as written by Ms Austen in ‘Sense and Sensibility.’ These grievances prompted this long-time struggler for women's rights to write a tale that provided these women vindication.

Mr. Darcy Forgets


Becky Riker - 2013
    Darcy takes a fall from his horse. Awakening, the last thing he remembers is fleeing Hunsford after being rejected. How will his wife and his friends help him regain that which he has lost?

A Case of Some Delicacy


K.C. Kahler - 2019
     When rumours of Jane Bennet’s impending betrothal to her father’s heir begin spreading at the Meryton Assembly, Elizabeth vows to save her dearest sister’s happiness from being sacrificed in marriage. She finds an unlikely accomplice in Mr Darcy, the taciturn man whose heroics on the cricket field have managed to turn Lydia Bennet’s infatuation away from redcoats. Upon overhearing a heated exchange between Elizabeth and Mr Bennet, Darcy is stunned not only by her devotion to her sister, but also by her defiant words to her father. An inexplicable desire to help Elizabeth draws Darcy into the match-breaking scheme, despite knowing that he should want nothing to do with a family like the Bennets. As the new allies work together, their friendship deepens into mutual admiration. But they must navigate a complicated web of sisters, parents, friends, cousins, and aunts, some of whom may be attempting their own manipulations and romantic schemes. Eavesdropping and jealousy abound, cricket balls go astray, and love blooms in spite of Mrs. Bennet’s misguided matchmaking. This humorous Pride and Prejudice re-imagining is novel length and pays homage to the wit of Jane Austen.

A More Gentlemanlike Manner: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Sophia King - 2017
    He is desperate to forget his failed marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet and desires nothing more than to banish both the lady and his humiliation from his mind once and for all. A storm breaks and he decides to stop at a small cottage on his land until the morning. But as he approaches shelter, a tree branch snaps loose in the storm, and renders him unconscious. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is cursing her luck that a storm should break out on the very day she decided to explore Pemberley Woods. She had relished the chance to be alone on her tour of Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, but now she is trapped in the middle of nowhere, and the weather is growing worse. She hears a horse, and runs in the direction of the sound to find the unconscious form of very man she least wishes to encounter. She is forced to drag him into the cottage, where they spend the night alone together. Unfortunately, when he awakens, Mr Darcy has no idea who he is, and has no memory of anything that happened before his accident. They return to Pemberley where Mr and Miss Bingley have been searching frantically for Mr Darcy. Miss Bingley is not too pleased that Mr Darcy has now compromised Elizabeth’s reputation, and will be obliged to marry her when his memory recovers. But the lady realises his lack of memory could also be the opportunity she herself has been hoping for. Can Mr Darcy recover his memory before he is manipulated by those around him who would seek to take advantage of his vulnerable state? And why is the pretty and lively Miss Elizabeth so reluctant to share memories of their former encounters together? Elizabeth is intrigued by the new side to Darcy she sees, and believes this is a man she could love. But is it just a result of his accident, or has he really changed? And as her feelings for him grows, she wonders if it’s possible he will still love her when his memory returns? Or will he resent her as the lady who rejected him and his previous marriage proposal?

Still a Young Man: Darcy Is In Love


P.O. Dixon - 2011
    Charming, witty, and engaging, she is widely admired by all. However, everything is not as it seems. She harbours a secret.A younger Mr. Darcy is captivated by the beautiful widow. He knows her better than she knows herself. He struggles to break through her protective barriers, the most daunting being her tightly held conviction that she will never marry again.Follow Darcy and Elizabeth on this path of discovery that leads to true and abiding love.

Dear Nameless Stranger: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Jeannie Peneaux - 2019
    I will not thank you for providing us with a home, nor will I even breathe a word of gratitude for your provision of such funds as will feed us each quarter. I will not even write such platitudes as ‘You are very good,’ given that you have also provided us with respectability in the form of Mrs. Ingles. There. I am quite done now with not expressing my gratitude – I should not at all wish to prove tiresome.” From the author of Tact, Dear Nameless Stranger is a heartwarming tale inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Jean Webster’s Daddy Long Legs. Tragedy has struck the Bennet sisters but they are greatly relieved when the anonymous kindness of a stranger means that they can remain together. In exchange for such charity, a monthly letter is required from each sister. It is a fortunate thing that Miss Elizabeth Bennet rather likes letter-writing, for she relishes the opportunity to relate to this unknown gentleman all her impressions and opinions regarding her changed circumstances.With each passing month Elizabeth confides more in the nameless stranger, and by the time Netherfield Park is once again occupied by the amiable Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy, she is quite frank in writing of her dismay.

Meant to Be: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Andreea Catana - 2017
    Bingley rented Netherfield nine months later than in the original? What if Elizabeth Bennet met Mr. Darcy first at Rosings while she is staying with her friend Charlotte Collins and he is visiting his aunt, Lady Catherine? What if Elizabeth is as attracted by Darcy’s fine eyes as much as he is by hers? When their mutual attraction is tainted by pride, prejudice, misunderstandings, and false accusation, how will they reconcile their feelings when they meet again in Hertfordshire? Follow this Regency Pride and Prejudice variation that takes you into a different—yet much the same—journey through the beloved story of Elizabeth and her Mr. Darcy.

Don't flatter yourself: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Sydney Salier - 2019
     What if Mr Bennet married a second time and his new wife is a lady with impeccable manners, who is down-playing the fact that she really is a Lady. Will the improved manners of all the ladies make a difference to Mr Darcy? Or is the Bennets' perceived social standing and lack of wealth still an issue for him? Will Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet have a happily ever after?

Promises


Wendi Sotis - 2011
    Over the years, their feelings for each other grow and they promise themselves to each other, but unfortunate circumstances and interfering family members seek to keep them apart.Will misunderstandings and mistaken impressions divide Elizabeth and William forever?

Dare to Refuse Such a Man


Mary Smythe - 2021
    When his dearest, loveliest Elizabeth is taken from him with only a curt note of explanation, he determines that, far from accepting her father’s rejection of his suit, he must instead find her again and make his case. After all, a woman worthy of being pleased is also worth fighting for.SEVERAL MONTHS SHY OF HER MAJORITY, it is not so simple a thing to defy Mr Bennet’s will, but Elizabeth, for the sake of her future happiness, must try. With various allies in her corner, as well as foes standing against her, Elizabeth’s courage must rise against all attempts at intimidation. Even from her own, much beloved father.