Book picks similar to
There Must Be Murder by Margaret C. Sullivan
mystery
jane-austen
historical-fiction
fiction
The Gilded Shroud
Elizabeth Bailey - 1992
When a murder is committed a lady’s companion finds herself as an amateur sleuth…
1789, London
When Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook, is found strangled in her bedchamber, suspicion immediately falls on those residing in the grand house in Hanover Square. Emily’s husband - Randal Fanshawe, Lord Polbrook - fled in the night and is chief suspect – much to the dismay of his family. Ottilia Draycott is brought in as the new lady’s companion to Sybilla, Dowager Marchioness and soon finds herself assisting younger son, Lord Francis Fanshawe in his investigations.
Can Ottilia help clear the family name? Does the killer still reside in the house?
Or could there be more to the mystery than meets the eye…?
THE GILDED SHROUD is the first book in the Lady Fan Mystery series: historical romance murder mysteries with a courageous woman sleuth embarking on a traditional British, private investigation in eighteenth-century London.
Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy
Barbara Tiller Cole - 2011
Darcy has fallen into pitiful self-loathing and sorrowful angst-ridden despair, all of this due to his belief that he has lost, forever, the chance to marry the only woman he has ever loved—Elizabeth Bennet. Seeing her son in such a state, the Ghost of Anne Darcy reaches out to him, informing him that three ghosts would visit him, and give him hope. Will these Spirits provide him with the courage to try again, to win the esteem of his one true soul mate? Barbara Tiller Cole, an Atlanta native and the writer of the popular book 'White Lies and Other Half Truths', presents this family friendly classic—a delightful combination of the best of her two favorite authors, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Barbara credits her parents with fostering a love for both of these authors. Each Christmas, Barbara’s father would sit and read Dicken’s classic, 'A Christmas Carol', to the family. Her mother consistently challenged her to improve her mind by extensive reading, Jane Austen style. This book is dedicated to the memory of Cliff and Jeanne and the season they loved the best.
The Pursuit of Mary Bennet: A Pride & Prejudice Novel
Pamela Mingle - 2013
But with nearly all of her sisters married and gone from the household, the unrefined Mary has transformed into an attractive and eligible young woman in her own right.When another scandal involving Lydia and Wickham threatens the Bennet house, Mary and Kitty are packed off to visit Jane and her husband, Charles Bingley, where they meet the dashing Henry Walsh. Eager and naïve, Mary is confused by Henry's attentions, even as she finds herself drawing closer to him. Could this really be love—or the notions of a foolish girl unschooled in the art of romance and flirtation?
The Clergyman's Wife: A Pride & Prejudice Novel
Molly Greeley - 2019
Intelligent, pragmatic, and anxious to escape the shame of spinsterhood, Charlotte chose this life, an inevitable one so socially acceptable that its quietness threatens to overwhelm her. Then she makes the acquaintance of Mr. Travis, a local farmer and tenant of Lady Catherine…In Mr. Travis’ company, Charlotte feels appreciated, heard, and seen. For the first time in her life, Charlotte begins to understand emotional intimacy and its effect on the heart—and how breakable that heart can be. With her sensible nature confronted, and her own future about to take a turn, Charlotte must now question the role of love and passion in a woman’s life, and whether they truly matter for a clergyman’s wife.
The Folly
Irina Shapiro - 2012
Sir Henry is devastated by the loss of his young wife and heir to the estate, especially since there is no evidence, no witnesses, and no apparent motive. But nothing is what it seems, and the gruesome find is only one link in a chain of events that started long before. Forbidden love, family secrets, and betrayal have led to this moment, ending months of speculation and gossip and bringing it to a shocking conclusion.
The Darcys & the Bingleys: A Tale of Two Gentlemen's Marriages to Two Most Devoted Sisters
Marsha Altman - 2008
Bingley is shocked when Darcy gives him a copy of an ancient, illustrated book of sensual secrets-but it does tell him everything he needs to know.Eventually, of course, Jane finds this remarkable volume and in utmost secrecy shows it to her dear sister Elizabeth, who goes searching for a copy in the Pemberley library...By turns hilarious and sweet, The Darcys & the Bingleys follows the two couples and the cast of characters surrounding them. Miss Caroline Bingley, it turns out, has such good reasons for being the way she is that the reader can't help but hold her in charity. Delightfully, she makes a most eligible match, and in spite of Darcy's abhorrence of being asked for advice, he and Bingley have a most enduring and adventure-prone friendship. (20080903)
Suddenly Mrs. Darcy
Jenetta James - 2015
But when Mrs. Bennet accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband’s heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues
Linda Berdoll - 1999
And every woman will fall madly in love with Mr. Darcy-tall, dark and handsome, a nobleman and a heartthrob whose virility is matched only by his utter devotion to his wife.Their passion is consuming and idyllic-essentially, they can't keep their hands off each other-through a sweeping tale of adventure and misadventure, human folly and numerous mysteries of parentage.Hold on to your bonnets! This sexy, epic, hilarious, poignant and romantic sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" is not for Jane Austen purists. Self-published in 1999 as "The Bar Sinister," this sequel continues the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy through a sweeping tale of adventure.
Consequences
C.P. Odom - 2013
Darcy’s offer of marriage so decisively. What transpires from that point is well known to Austen’s extensive readership, but what if even one element in the chain of events in her novel turns out differently? Does Austen’s happy ending eventually come to pass, or is the outcome more bleak?And if, in order to secure financial security for her loved ones, Elizabeth does not reject Darcy, is she married to a proud, arrogant, disdainful man who, as she feared, forces her to deny her own relatives and thus condemns her to a lifetime of misery? Or does she find herself married to a man who cares enough for her to reject the opposition of his family and chance his very standing in society in order to marry a woman he loves beyond measure?Consequences, written by the author of A Most Civil Proposal, explores two alternate realities—both tragedy and triumph.
Steady to His Purpose: A Variation of Pride and Prejudice
Cassandra B. Leigh - 2015
What if Elizabeth Bennet was compromised during that unchaperoned half-hour in the Netherfield library with Fitzwilliam Darcy? Would they still have their happily-ever-after? This story begins as Elizabeth and Jane Bennet return home after their brief stay at Netherfield Park.
Disturbing the Dust: A Variation on Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'
Ivy May Stuart - 2017
Spinsterhood and a life of obscurity are her daily reality, and then she is struck a powerful blow: the loss of the Elliot’s ancestral home, her beloved Kellynch Hall. Having squandered much of their wealth, the aristocratic Elliots are forced to move out and hand control over to the unpretentious Admiral Croft, and this just as a newly wealthy Captain Wentworth returns to the area. MUCH CAN HAPPEN TO A MAN IN EIGHT YEARS: Wentworth has been at sea, fighting the war against France. He returns a much harder man, for whom marriage is no longer about love but about his comfort and convenience. He is determined to show those who humiliated him just how much times have changed. WHILE LITTLE CHANGES FOR THOSE WHO REMAIN BEHIND: For Anne Elliot the years have taken their toll. A faded beauty, she is frequently ignored or passed over as she silently bears witness to the lives of others. Everyone around her is comfortable, used to the old Anne… But what would happen if all that were to change?
Crow Hollow
Michael Wallace - 2015
She’s convinced her daughter is alive but cannot track her into the wilderness alone. Help arrives in the form of James Bailey, an agent of the crown sent to Boston to investigate the murder of Prudence’s husband and to covertly cause a disturbance that would give the king just cause to install royal governors. After his partner is murdered, James needs help too. He strikes a deal with Prudence, and together they traverse the forbidding New England landscape looking for clues. What they confront in the wilderness—and what they discover about each other—could forever change their allegiances and alter their destinies.
The Correction of Folly
Christine Combe - 2018
Not only are the odds of a match between her and Edward Ferrars "insurmountable", there's the little matter of his secret engagement to another young lady. Colonel Alan Brandon hasn't had an easy time securing a loving partner. His first love was coerced into an unhappy marriage with his elder brother, and Elinor's younger sister Marianne refuses to see past his age. These two practical people find solace in each other's company, both of them suffering their heartbreak in secret and in silence. Then comes the day when Brandon accepts there is no sense in pining for someone who thinks he's too old for marriage. At the same time, Elinor concludes she will have to let go of her dreams if she is to have any kind of happiness. Moving on isn't easy for either of them, but Elinor and Brandon soon discover that hope can be found even in difficult times, and often it is the unlikeliest of people with whom one falls in love.
The Toll-Gate
Georgette Heyer - 1954
When he stumbles upon a mystery involving a disappearing toll-gate keeper, nothing could keep the adventure-loving captain from investigating.But winning her will be his greatest yet…The plot thickens when John encounters the enigmatic Lady Nell Stornaway and soon learns that rescuing her from her unsavory relatives makes even the most ferocious cavalry charge look like a particularly tame hand of loo. Between hiding his true identity from Nell and the arrival in the neighborhood of some distinctly shady characters, Captain Staple finds himself embarked on the adventure-and romance-of a lifetime.
The Forgotten Sister: Mary Bennet's Pride and Prejudice
Jennifer Paynter - 2012
She retreats to her room to read and play the pianoforte and, when obliged to mix in society, finds it safer to quote platitudes from books rather than express her real opinions. She also finds it safer to befriend those who are socially “beneath” her. When wealthy Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley glide into her sisters’ lives, Mary becomes infatuated with an impoverished young musician, the son of her old wet-nurse, who plays the fiddle at the Meryton assemblies.It is only after her sisters tease her about her “beau with the bow” that Mary is forced to examine her real feelings and confront her own brand of pride and prejudice.An elegant accompaniment to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, The Forgotten Sister plucks the neglected Mary from obscurity and beautifully reveals her hopes and dreams.