Odd Mix of Regency and Modern JAFF

This story takes place in both the modern-day present and Regency past. I was surprised how much of it took place in the present. Modern-day Elizabeth Bennet is in a relationship with a man who doesn’t appreciate her and puts her second or third to everything else in his life. One of her boyfriend’s clients is a William Darcy, who for some reason doesn’t like the way his business associate treats his girlfriend. Modern-day Elizabeth is a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, as one might imagine. Suddenly, she finds herself back in Regency England with Mr. Darcy calling her his wife. How will it all turn out for Elizabeth and her Mr. Darcys?

As one who is accustomed to reading regular Jane Austen fan fiction that takes place solely in Regency times, I will admit it was a little jarring to read the sections about Elizabeth in modern times. I’m used to a certain gentleness in Jane Austen fan fiction, but these contemporary scenes reflected our more harsh reality. Frankly, I didn’t enjoy the modern sections. Elizabeth did seem to be a bit of a doormat in them. Her modern-day boyfriend is a cad and doesn’t treat her well. I think the cover should have reflected both the modern and Regency aspects of this story, not just the Regency ones.

Disappointing P&P Variation

I am a massive Jane Austen fan fiction Reader, so I’m always looking for new and interesting takes on my favorite story, Pride and Prejudice, and my favorite couple, Elizabeth and Darcy. I’m intrigued by ones where Darcy is a prince, so this book naturally piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I found the book to be extremely disappointing. The plot, as you might imagine from the description, varies widely from canon, but I don’t usually mind this; I like stories that place ODC in new circumstances and see how they fare. This is definitely meant to be a blend of Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella placed in a fantasy setting. So while Meryton and Pemberley exist in this world, Derbyshire has princes and princesses. There are other principalities within England as well as unaffiliated areas. For me, I found it difficult to reconcile this fantasy version of England with what I’m so familiar with in canon and real life.

Both the story and the characterization fall so far from canon that I think the author would have actually done better just to make a completely new story not associated with Pride and Prejudice. The Elizabeth Bennet in this story just doesn’t act like the Elizabeth Bennet that we know and love. I was immediately turned off from the book when it is stated early on that Elizabeth wants to slap her stepmother; that is so not Elizabeth Bennet! Her relationship with the servants is far too casual to feel believable. Other things the author has her say and do are so different that she is a wholly different character than Jane Austen’s creation, and not a completely likable one. I thought Darcy was a bit more stiff and unapproachable than even in canon. Jane was a weaker character, and even in her limited role, not like her character in canon. Part of the beauty of Jane’s character in the original is her unfailing kindness and ability to see the best in others; here, she is even sometimes cynical. These are just not the characters we know and love.

Some things that occurred in the story felt too modern, not of either the fantasy realm or the world of the typical Pride and Prejudice variation. There are also issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Since I was already not liking this story, this did grate on my nerves somewhat. If you enjoy Jane Austen fan fiction, I would suggest you look elsewhere for your next book.

Wickham’s Sordid Story Before and After P&P

I am a massive fan of Jane Austen fanfiction. In fact, my earliest reading time and space on my first Kindle were nearly exclusively in this subgenre as I went through nursing school. So I always delight in finding new-to-me authors and new stories. This story and the author were both new to me. The focus, as one would guess from the title, is the villain we all love to hate, George Wickham. The story takes us from his and Denny’s early days in London just after the senior Mr. Darcy’s death. If you ever wondered how Wickham managed to squander those thousands of pounds from the Darcys in only a few years, the author does a good job showing how he did it. We also see a detailed account of him and Georgianna at Ramsgate. Of course, it wouldn’t be a book about Wickham without having a section on his time in Meryton. The book continues to follow his married life with Lydia to his life as a soldier at Waterloo, with a final chapter wrapping up the way the course of where his life was heading.

My goodness! Denny and Wickham are blackguards and reprobates, out for only their own gain, spending money on all manner of vices. I did, however, quite enjoy the banter between Wickham and Denny in the first part of the book. The leopard does not change his spots much after marriage. When Lydia goes back to her family’s home for the end of her first pregnancy, Wickham almost immediately starts to strut around Newcastle with his mistress.

What is a mishmash of writing techniques! The first part of the book is written from Wickham’s perspective in standard third-person storytelling format. Then, the author starts with what I’m going to call the Dear Reader sections, where suddenly an omniscient narrator leaps off the digital page and begins to tell us about the story. I found these Dear Reader sections to be a distraction, pulling me out of the book. A fair portion of the novel is told in epistolary fashion, with many letters going back and forth between various people; these letters are interspersed with multiple Dear Reader sections. Again, I found all this to be an unusual form of storytelling, and one that I did not particularly like. I guess I am so modern in my sensibilities that I prefer straight-up third-person past perspective.

Much of the language, especially in the Dear Reader sections I think, tries too hard to mimic early 19th-century writing. The prose felt ponderous. I believe the writer is English, so there are definitely some punctuation differences between American and British English that looks strange my American eye. That said, though, there are plenty of similarities between British English and American English about proper punctuation, grammar, and usage; sometimes the author had issues with what I believe are common rules between our variants of English. In prose that is already heavy and with an outdated feel, the signposts of correct punctuation would be of particular use.

That said, if you find the character of Wickham to be an interesting one, you will most likely enjoy this detailed narrative of his life from a young reprobate to a middle-aged gentleman farmer.