The Curse of Land's End: A gothic 'Pride and Prejudice' variation


Rose Lorimer - 2019
    Something buried in his past is always trying to emerge. Unable to overcome his pain, he hides from the world. Until a letter reaches him. Bingley, one of his best friends, is inviting him to spend some time at the coast, in the neighbouring area of Penzance, Cornwall, where he is not just dealing with his business, but also enjoying the first months of his new life as a married man. His bride is an angel-like gentlewoman called Jane, whom he met during a visit to Hertfordshire, last Summer. In case Darcy accepts, Bingley has only one request to make: that he may bring with him one of his new sisters, a Miss Elizabeth, as a favour to his dearest wife. After such a painful summer, and considering he had already missed his friend’s wedding, against all the odds, Darcy decides to accept. What he does not know is that this single decision will change his life forever. First, because he will meet the only woman not just handsome enough to tempt him, but also the one who breaks the walls of his prison, opening for him a door to a happiness he never thought possible. And, second, because he will never be the same ever again after this, which will also be the most terrifying experience of his life. “The Curse of Land’s End” is a story about secrets, intrigue and mysteries which challenges rationality and faith, and demands a courage strong enough to transcend every instinct of self-preservation in the name of honour and love. “You will do nothing in this world without courage, for it is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour.” (Aristotle) Rated Mild+ (Contains up to 10 mild swear words; contains kisses, and mild, non-seductive description of intimacy — 'My Book Rating'). FROM THE AUTHOR Suddenly, I felt compelled to write a story which would take me (and JAFF) far from my comfort zone, and try something new. It was watching ‘Crimson Peak’, a biting-nail horror story, that the inspiration finally came to me. How would it be to write a story about ghosts, combining romance and mystery, but with no ghosts? "The Curse" is set in 1815, a year when Romanticism — a movement marked by the exaltation of feelings of loss and guilt related both to nature and men — was the fashion and drama, an essential component of the works of this time. "Songs of Experience", by William Blake (1794), "The Corsair", by Lord Byron (1814), and "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley (1818), are all good examples of how committed the authors were in exploring human's woes; sometimes the sombre tone and dramatic plots are almost too depressing to endure. I can understand the bad reviews related to this point. But I cannot regret my choice. As another reviewer said, “we are all entitled to our own opinions”; the good reviews show it. I grant — my choice in writing a story using Romantic features was bold, but, for me, the result was very pleasing, especially considering the happy ending — what is not the norm for the Romantics. I should not be saying this, but it doesn't matter how much Literature I study, I always love a good happy ending. Another important choice was the deep POV of ODC. In P&P, we live the story through the eyes of Elizabeth and do not learn about Darcy’s struggles until very close to the end. I intended to show the huge abyss between his aloof appearance and his troubled mind — but here, he another reason for it.

Secret Arrangement: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Deborah Ann Kauer - 2020
    Because of a death bed promise, he will only marry a lady who will unconditionally love the infant and whom he can love. However, in his past searches, Darcy found most society ladies saw only his wealth, connections, and property. How is he to find a lady who sees past what he has and loves who he is?Elizabeth Bennet wants to marry only for love, and of one thing she is absolutely sure, she loves Mr. Darcy’s infant ward. The question is, can she love the man as well. If she does choose to marry, she does not want her mother planning a lavish, overly embellished wedding, so how can she thwart her mother’s plans — through a secret arrangement.Besides the issue of love, what other problems could occur? A mother who will take control of the engagement and wedding arrangements, another lady's jealousy, and a grandmother who wants her infant granddaughter to disappear.Will Elizabeth and Darcy find love and happiness?

Darcy's Winter Ball: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


A.J. Woods - 2019
    Hoping the time away from home might begin to heal Jane’s wounded heart, Elizabeth also seeks peace and quiet to finish the novel she has been working on in secret. She does not expect to meet Mr. Darcy ever again, but should she collide with the arrogant man who had a hand in causing Jane’s sorrow, she has vowed to give him a piece of her mind. A chance encounter while visiting his favorite bookshop finds Fitzwilliam Darcy in the company of a woman he has failed to forget. When he discovers that Elizabeth is there to research a novel she is writing, Darcy offers the use of his own personal library instead, hoping she might finally understand his true character. When the two are thrown together again by fate, will Darcy and Elizabeth open their hearts enough to amend their first impressions of each other? Though not without plenty of conflict, Darcy’s Winter Ball is a sweet, lighthearted, Regency-set novella, with a happy ending for ODC.

Darcy's Uneasy Betrothal: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Zoe Burton - 2020
    Darcy is hoping they’re wrong.Elizabeth Bennet is enjoying a stroll around her father’s estate when she finds herself in unexpected danger.Fitzwilliam Darcy is on his way to spend a few weeks with a friend when he stumbles across a beautiful woman running for her life. He throws himself between her and the danger, not realizing his selfless act will change both their lives forever.Forced to marry, Darcy and Elizabeth each face the same dilemma – hold onto anger at their situation or look for the good in the other person. Will they remain strangers forever, bound by law but separated by feelings, or can they find common ground and a lasting love?Darcy’s Uneasy Betrothal is a novel-length Pride and Prejudice variation. If you like courageous heroines, swoon-worthy heroes, and interesting plot twists, you’ll love Zoe Burton’s most recent offering to the JAFF world. Pick up a copy and escape for a few hours into Darcy’s Uneasy Betrothal.

In Essentials: A Pride & Prejudice Variation


Helen Williams - 2021
    However, her future is uncertain, and she struggles to maintain her equanimity—especially when Mr. Darcy returns to Netherfield and seems determined to improve her opinion of him. Now she must decide whether she is brave enough to trust him and embrace happiness—however fleeting it might prove to be.

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.

As a Proper Lady Would: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (Defying Propriety Book 1)


Bronwen Chisholm - 2021
    The well-known characters, as well as a few new ones, grow from childhood to a marriageable age; some reveal different facets of their personalities, while others are doomed to follow the same paths.

In My Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Madeline Kennet - 2017
    Darcy is frequently in her thoughts. She enters into Derbyshire half afraid of running into him and half wanting to see him again. When that meeting does occur, she learns how much she means to him and what is really in her heart. A novella of 27000 words

Snowflakes at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Jennifer Kay - 2021
    Her autumn was full of vexing men, and with her sister Jane recently married to Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth is at loose ends at home. Of course, she knows that Mr. Darcy lives in Derbyshire, but surely the county is large enough that their paths won’t cross, right?Fitzwilliam Darcy cannot get the impertinent Miss Elizabeth out of his mind, even after a strategic retreat to Derbyshire. When he meets her again at a Twelfth Night assembly, he realizes that fighting his feelings is futile. Before he can act on his intentions, however, the weather gets in the way. And it seems that not all was right in the world when the snowflakes began to fall.

Three Daughters Married


Renata McMann - 2014
    This short story assumes the reader is familiar with Pride and Prejudice.Cover by Summer Hanford

Not Forsaken: A Pride and Prejudice Variation


Wynne Mabry - 2021
    Consigning herself to a marriage of convenience, she sets out to make it work. But she had not expected Mr. Collins to be so contentious. Other new people in her life are causing trouble too. As her efforts to create harmony fail, she manages to find happiness in her duties and her friendships. Especially the friendship of Mr. Darcy, who provides her with interesting conversation, a sympathetic ear, and assistance when she is in need. That need becomes dire when her husband turns violent. But the harder her life becomes, the more her friends step up. The loyalty of old and new ones helps her to navigate a difficult journey. And her dream of love is waiting at the end.

Expectations & Apologies


Elizabeth Squire - 2020
    Darcy's caustic remarks about her at the assembly. Would she still have seen him as arrogant, selfish and conceited? Would he have been able to remain aloof and prideful if Elizabeth was not initially prejudiced against him? The road to true love turns in unexpected ways. Although there will be others in my What if series they are all stand alone stories.

Her Sisterly Love: A Pride & Prejudice Variation


Lucy Marin - 2022
    Jane is her partner in this endeavour—until her attention is diverted by the arrival of a handsome new neighbour, Mr Bingley. With him is his friend, Mr Darcy, who Elizabeth first dismisses as taciturn and rude. But as she gets to know him, other feelings arise—ones destined to end in heartbreak because of her promise to remain with her sisters.SOON AFTER ARRIVING at Netherfield, Fitzwilliam Darcy finds himself intrigued by one of the local young ladies. There is something about Elizabeth Bennet’s kindliness that draws him to her, and as he learns more about her, his admiration grows. First determined to forget her, he soon wants more than anything to win her heart and her hand in marriage. But will the very thing that draws him to her be the thing that forever keeps them apart?Her Sisterly Love is a Pride and Prejudice novella variation.

Reluctantly Mrs. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation


Claire Cartier - 2018
     Elizabeth believes Darcy to be a proud, dour gentleman who cannot allow himself to be happy. She attends the Netherfield Ball in hopes of a promised dance with the handsome Mr. Wickham. When Wickham asks her to meet him in the Netherfield Library, she is cautious but willing to hear the gentleman out. Instead, Mr. Darcy meets her, intent on saving her from a mistake she hasn’t yet made. And when his passion surfaces, he kisses her only to have Miss Caroline Bingley throw open the library doors in hopes of finding a scandal. Now Elizabeth and Darcy must marry, else she is ruined and the scandal will prevent the happiness of her sisters. Over the course of their marriage, Elizabeth learns more about the man she once thought cold-hearted and ill-humored. Indeed, she finds herself falling in love with her husband and can only hope that he returns her sentiments. But their newly-formed affections are tested as Wickham steals Lydia away, Mr. Collins is revealed to have a dangerous temper, and Miss Bingley does not allow a marriage to stand in the way of her own inappropriate designs. Reluctantly Mrs. Darcy is a sweet, clean, and wholesome romance featuring Our Dear Couple in this Pride & Prejudice Variation. It is complete and features a compromising situation, forced marriage, gentlemanly behavior, the love of sisters, and a true romance of the heart with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

Happy by Accident... or Not?: A Pride and Prejudice variation


Michelle D'Arcy - 2021
    Phillips’ house and the disturbing conversation during which Wickham reveals to Elizabeth his past misfortunes caused by Darcy.On a cold autumn morning, Elizabeth takes a long walk to clear her thoughts and to escape Mr. Collins’s annoying attentions.Her solitary reverie is interrupted by cries for help and she discovers Mr. Bingley, who has fallen from his horse and is lying at the edge of a marsh. While Elizabeth tries to assist him, Darcy appears in search of his friend. With the threat of a storm approaching, Darcy hurries to fetch more help and Elizabeth remains with Bingley — a good opportunity for them to disagree about Darcy’s character.Mr. Bingley’s wounds are not severe, but serious enough to affect his plans for the ball. Also, the disclosure of his argument with Miss Elizabeth will trouble Darcy, contradicting all his previous beliefs about the woman he secretly admires.Therefore, the two gentlemen must decide how they want to proceed with the ladies of their hearts.With several surprise visitors attending the Netherfield Ball, with opinions and feelings changed, with secrets unveiled and the truth finally exposed, our beloved couples will interact, argue, reconcile, bear some misunderstandings and suffer from a little bit of jealousy before they reach their well-deserved ‘Happily Ever After’.