"But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days." --PERSUASION Jane Austen: True romantic or rational creature? Her novels transport us back to the Regency, a time when well-mannered gentlemen and finely-bred ladies fell in love as they danced at balls and rode in carriages. Yet her heroines, such as Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood, were no swooning, fainthearted damsels in distress. Austen's novels have become timeless classics because of their biting wit, honest social commentary, and because she wrote of strong women who were ahead of their day. True to their principles and beliefs, they fought through hypocrisy and broke social boundaries to find their happily-ever-after. In the third romance anthology of The Quill Collective series, sixteen celebrated Austenesque authors write the untold histories of Austen's heroines, brave adventuresses, shy maidens, talkative spinsters, and her naughty matrons. Peek around the curtain and discover what made Lady Susan so wicked, Mary Crawford so capricious, and Hettie Bates so in need of Emma Woodhouse's compassion. RATIONAL CREATURES is a collection of humorous, poignant love stories set in Georgian England that complement and pay homage to Austen's great works and great ladies who were, perhaps, the first feminists in an era that was not quite ready for feminism. "Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will become good wives; --that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers." --Mary WollstonecraftStories by: Elizabeth Adams * Nicole Clarkston * Karen M Cox * J. Marie Croft * Amy D'Orazio * Jenetta James * Jessie Lewis * KaraLynne Mackrory * Lona Manning * Christina Morland * Beau North * Sophia Rose * Anngela Schroeder * Joana Starnes * Caitlin Williams * Edited by Christina Boyd * Foreword by Devoney LooserMATURE CONTENT RATING as per EDITOR ALL STORIES CONTAINED HEREIN HAVE A HEAT INDEX RATING OF 1-3.(1) Chaste: affection and possible kissing (2) Mild: kissing(3) Moderate: some sexual references but not explicit

    The guests (including millions of readers) wish the two lucky couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, only two things are certain: Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world, while Jane and Bingley will want for nothing!Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of nineteenth century England, noting how they cope with change, triumph and tragedy in their lives.Their personal stories--the usual concerns of love, marriage, money and children--are woven together with the threads of social and political history.

    What might happen if a year before Netherfield was let, Mr Bennet had an epiphany and started to take an interest in his family.Could he have curbed the excesses of his wife and younger daughters?What impressions would the Bennet family have made on the inhabitants of Netherfield Park?Would it have made a difference to the interactions between his family and the visitors from London and more importantly, Derbyshire?Find out in this gentle story about a family finding a new path to happiness, as the ripples of Mr Bennet’s change spread to the rest of his family.

    However, what price must she pay for that future? She once said she was not romantic, but how true is that now after almost one year of marriage? Mr Collins is submissive in the extreme to his patroness, and his constant simpering, fawning and deference to the overbearing and manipulative Lady Catherine de Bourgh is sure to try the patience of a saint, or at least of Charlotte. As Charlotte becomes part of Hunsford society, she discovers she is not the only one who has been forced to submit to the controlling and often hurtful hand of Lady Catherine. She feels trapped and realises her need for love and affection. She is not as content as she once thought she would be. The easiest thing to do would be to maintain the peace and do as she is told. But as Charlotte witnesses the misery around her due to her inimitable neighbour, she must decide to remain as she is or to begin a chain of events that will change not only her life but also the lives of those around her in the village of Hunsford forever. But...after all, doesn't every girl deserve a happy ending?

    What if Elizabeth Bennet had agreed to Darcy's marriage proposal offered to her at Hunsford parsonage, sincerely thinking it was the best thing she could have done in her situation? As his fiancee and later wife, can she fall in love with Fitzwiliam Darcy who is still very much arrogant, rude, and not reformed man? Will she be able to look over her own prejudice and apprehension, and see a worthy man who loves, and desires her?"

    In this adaptation, the Bennet family are afflicted with grief following a sudden death in their family, and as a consequence, the fate of the whole family is changed forever. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who has been filled with regret and deep remorse ever since his last encounter with Elizabeth Bennet, realises that – in this time of great sorrow – he might just have a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman he loves. Told predominantly from the viewpoint of Mr Darcy, who has been left broken-hearted by Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection, this Pride and Prejudice variation tells the story of what happened next between these two much-loved characters. ‘He could easily see that he had astonished her, and he knew very well that he was skirting well over the line of acceptable conduct with his close proximity and with his use of her Christian name – but he felt that they had travelled well beyond the realms of proper conduct a long time ago. Somewhere between their heated argument at the Hunsford Parsonage and their private conversation in the dark of her bedroom, they had crossed an invisible line. They could never return to holding polite, stilted conversations about music or politics, or the state of the weather, when they had already bared so much of their inner souls to one another. Let other people conduct their courtships in such a way, he thought determinedly to himself, but he could remain silent no longer. If he had felt less for her then he might have been able to restrain his candour, but he knew he was well beyond that now.’

    “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!

     That a couple in love truly know one another makes not for a Happily Ever After, but rather prepares them better for the rough road ahead. Such is gradually discovered as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy begin their marriage in sensual bliss, each looking forward to a lifetime of felicity, and neither of them cognizant of the great challenges therein. A Marriage of True Affection is a collection of vignettes chronicling the first eleven years in the union of the most beloved couple in English literature. Beginning on their wedding night, the work highlights significant moments that sometimes test, but moreover strengthen the Darcys' relationship as they struggle to overcome the very faults that so nearly separated them forever. For despite the lessons learned and the love they share, our supremely stubborn couple remains, in essentials, very much what they ever were. Chapters include: A Midnight Embrace - Awakened on their wedding night, Darcy and Elizabeth express physically what they cannot in mere words Disturbing Recollections - As they remain haunted by past transgressions, the couple wonder if forgiveness can ever truly be attained The Storm - The onset of a violent storm en route to Derbyshire leads to their first heated quarrel as a married couple The Dinner Party - Soon after the birth of their first child, Mr. Darcy battles sexual frustration and jealousy as his charming wife enchants the neighbors Welcoming Janie Darcy - Elizabeth falls into labor at a time most inconvenient, while Darcy works diligently to save their land from a natural disaster For Better or Worse - A terrifying encounter befalls the traveling couple, leaving them to work through the ensuing grief and a shared desire for revenge (warning: some disturbing scenes) Christmas in Spring - When a poacher is caught in Pemberley Wood, the Darcys are not in accord with regards to his punishment A Jarring Revelation - In Pemberley's library, Elizabeth makes a remarkable, yet potentially devastating discovery. Dare she share it with her husband? And many more! With the return of some of our old favorites come new characters, as well, each of whom either helping or hindering our dear couple in good times and bad. And as they learn and grow from each new experience, by their eleventh anniversary, can we really expect the idyllic love Jane Austen so expertly built to have endured? This work is meant for mature readers.