Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation Paperback – August 1, 2012

There is actually a lot to dislike about Mr. B even in canon. However, he is so overshadowed by the annoying shrill wife and equally vulgar Lydia/Kitty pair, we don't always notice that frankly, there is not much to admire about this guy.Let's face it - if P&P was written from Mary's point of view, or even Jane's, we'd wash our hands of both Bennet parents and wish they would, too. The result of this was, I disliked Mr. B enough that it affected my rating.Darcy and Elizabeth would like nothing better than to be half an ocean apart after his disastrous proposal and her angry refusal. But a flood has cut off the parsonage from Rosings and overruns the village, causing death and destruction. The survivors flee up to the parsonage, which is on the highest ground. ODC must struggle for several days trying to shelter and feed these people, until the river recedes enough to get help.** SPOILERS follow **Compromised, ODC manage to come to a truce, which leads to Elizabeth letting go of her resentments and accepting Darcy's proposal.But Mr. Bennet is appalled. He finds out in the worst way - via a notice sent to the London Times at Darcy's behest. Infuriated and beyond reason, he rushes to Rosings and drags Elizabeth away. He refuses to approve any engagement, let alone marriage, nor will he listen to Darcy. He rejects Darcy's suit and forbids any correspondence between the two.It's Mr. Gardiner who finally tells Darcy why Mr. Bennet is so set against the Matlock family/relatives. ODC determine they will marry when Elizabeth comes of age, no matter what Mr. B says or does. But then Wickham runs off with Lydia, and chaos ensues. Mr. B's heart begins to pain him, and his illness makes him reconsider his cruel actions towards ODC. He gives in and they marry by special license.While attempting to help the estranged lovers, Col. Fitzwilliam visits Longbourn, and is struck by Jane's beauty. So much so, he keeps returning to Longbourn on a regular basis. Jane, abandoned by Bingley, learns from the Colonel that Bingley does intend to return. Now she has a decision to make: the first, genial, handsome, rich suitor who went away; or the energetic, mature, decisive military man who's the son of an earl, but of modest means?The HEA endings happen, but there's no double wedding. It's not missed, with the last chapter giving a nice wrap-up. We don't know what happens to all the characters, but that leaves room for a sequel or two, after all.This is a well-written story, and I enjoyed it. Recommended for P&P fans.

Another great story from Abigail. Rain and more rain fell on Kent's countryside. The Hunsford Church and home was on high ground so many of the villagers came there for shelter. Darcy had just finished his not so elegant proposal. While waiting for Elizabeth to answer, calling adults and crying children banged on the parish front door. Darcy could not get back to Rosings because the bridge was destroyed, but after the first meal had been served, he knew they would need more provisions. Having to ride miles to the next bridge to get provisions, Darcy insisted that Elizabeth went with him. Unfortunately, Collins' sway back mare was clumsy. On the way back after the horse slid in the mud more than once, Elizabeth slid off and said she'd walk. Darcy was having none of that so she road back to parish. Even though she refused Darcy, he had put the engagement announcement in the London newspaper to prevent her from ruin. That's when *hit hit the fan! Mr. Bennet, Lord Matlock, and Lady Catherine converged at the same time on the parish door. The Earl was worse than Lady Catherine, and Mr. Bennet was the angriest of all. No one in the family liked the Earl. He and his wife were living separate lives and in different homes. When Darcy returns from the barn, he is still mad from the night before when Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested that he would marry Elizabeth so that Darcy could marry advantageously to a titled and rich lady of the Ton. From Richard's interference, Darcy was not in the mood for any of his relatives including his cousin. But Elizabeth's father was in a fury that Elizabeth had never seen. Forbids her to have contact with Darcy. They couldn't see each other, nor write letters, and Darcy could not step anywhere on Longbourn's property. Her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner did not agree with Mr. Bennet so when they traveled to Derbyshire they made sure Darcy was at Pemberley. Of course while there in Lambton, the infamous letter comes from Colonel Forster. Elizabeth is mad about everything connected with her father, mother, and dumb sister. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty were with Lydia in Brighton. Yells at her father that his way ward daughter had to be forced to marry a fake, gambler, a complete weasel while she could not marry the man she loved. Heated words for sure. Colonel Fitzwilliam falls in love with Jane. Bingley is out of her life because he didn't have a backbone to stand up for her. Mr. Bennet has an attack after his argument with Elizabeth that puts him in bed. He wants to see and talk to Darcy. When they meet, Mr. Bennet wants Darcy to marry Elizabeth now. Thinking he means after reading the banns for three weeks, Mr. Bennet says no, he means tomorrow preferably. How's that for a change of tune. The Gardiners think he faked his attack rather than admit he was wrong about he and Elizabeth. The next morning he is up, dressed, and rather chipper. Before this talk, Elizabeth finds out from her Uncle why he wanted nothing to do with the family. Darcy tells him that nobody in the family likes him either. The Colonel's mother is a gem, and she will undertake the Bennet girls and introduce them to the Ton. Happily ever after except Mr. Bennet still has his wife's nerves to deal with.

This is another of Abigail Reynolds what if scenarios on Pride and Prejudice. The book begins as Darcy is about to go to the parsonage at Hunsford to make his ill-fated proposal, but the difference is that it's been raining very heavily and the river bursts its banks while Darcy is there, before Elizabeth properly has a chance to reply. The village is flooded and Elizabeth and Darcy are stuck for days together in the parsonage with stranded villagers to look out for. Thus they are forced to spend a lot of time together and rather than have the heated argument followed by the letter and months of separation as in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth and Darcy begin to get to know each other better. I particularly liked how Darcy's character unfolds in this time. I would like to tell you more but don't want to give away any spoilers.Some of the other characters are portrayed slightly differently from P&P, I am not massively keen on Colonel Fitzwilliam in this book, he is a tad flaky, and he does something that I wasn't very impressed with, for the same reasons that Lizzy isn't, so I am in good company! Mr Bennet is different, his behaviour seems illogical on quite a few occasions, but reasons are given for this.I have read a few other Abigail Reynolds books and I felt that this one had less serious themes than some, and was quite low on angst although there are obstacles to overcome, but that makes it no less enjoyable to read, I'd certainly be happy to re-read it. The spelling is American English, but the words are not noticeably Americanised aside from that. Also, for those who are bothered about sex scenes, there is a sex scene. Personally I don't mind them as long as they don't seem to be out of character, and I thought that this one was fine in the context of the story and generally nicely written.

Although, technically 4.5* because I can't view kindle format on my actual ereader & have to make do with my phone, plus I felt Darcy was a bit too hapless in one or two chapters for my taste and don't forget it was too short, or maybe I was reading it too quickly (I was disrupting the office with my laughing and couldn't wait to get home to enjoy the rest).I've read all (excepting Mr Darcy's Letter and which I will do so next) of Mrs. Reynolds works' therefore I can't say it's entirely refreshing, nonetheless I adore this one as much as the others.The characters are all alive and engaging in their different ways and the scenarios believable that I wonder Jane Austen did not write of the actual flood herself, especially as the flood was real.Colonel Fitzwilliam is adorable and comical here (Darcy's best, of course) and I very much prefer him over Bingley for Jane. I sorta love/hate the twist with Mr Bennet, while thank goodness for Mrs Bennet's lack of on-screen-time, though this line is one of my favourite - 'Mrs. Bennet's icy comments about how pleasant it was that she would finally be able to attend the wedding of one of her daughters.'Hm, summary... stranded at Hunsford from a flood, Elizabeth and Darcy are compromised in the eye of society, and while Elizabeth needed convincing, the major obstacle turns out to be Mr Bennet (somewhat under the influence of one of Darcy's condescending relative). But don't worry, both Darcy & Elizabeth still have other sensible relatives to help them reach the altar of HEA, with the occasional arguments here there. Yes, Darcy still gets to be the Hero as canon and Wickham even gets the sword *_<

I absolutely love variations where the dramas and pitfalls imagined by Jane Austen in the original story are avoided - only for our favourite characters to be faced with other ones! This is one such rewarding variation. Heavy rains and a terrible flood prevent Darcy from making his ill-starred Hunsford proposal and, moreover, the couple are trapped at the Parsonage by raising waters, together with a handful of distraught and dispossessed villagers.During this trying time, Elizabeth gets to see facets of him she had not even anticipated. The strong man, the responsible master, the noble character who would not expect others to endanger their own lives by undertaking tasks he would not tackle himself.Once a cousin with his own agenda is thrown into the mix, Darcy's palpable anguish is heart-rending but, as always, it makes for an absolutely delightful read, and it's wonderful to see how Elizabeth gets to know him, and how her previous dislike of him slowly melts into very different sentiments!The path is not smooth, other stories are skilfully woven in, such as the very unexpected - and very damaging - effects of childhood bullying but, to me, the most delightful and the most rewarding is the story of Colonel Fitzwilliam's happy ending. I'm a great fan of the dear Colonel and I always thought he deserves a lot more happiness than most fanfiction stories allow him, and I was very pleased to see that in this story, he gets precisely that!

Yet another variation, which I enjoyed reading very much.I liked the new Colonel Fitzwilliam and was pleased with who he ended up with. We don't see much of Bingley in this one, which is a shame as I generally like him but perhaps it is time he manned up a bit. I would love to see a variation where Bingley was decisive and refused to be deterred by his friend and family.Mr Bennet was slightly harsh, but in line with the story so all good. Thankfully, we didn't see much of Mrs Bennet who grates on my nerves quite a bit, so no loss there.The Americanisms / spellings were annoying as they always are in these variations (from American author's obviously), the exception being Anna Elliott books, who takes the time to ensure everything is authentic which is a very nice touch.The sex scene wasn't the worse I have ever read and fit in with the story. On the whole, an enjoyable read so I will be checking out more from this author.

Abigail Reynolds appears to be one of the better P&P sequel/variation authors. This version is well written and mostly enjoyable, however, for me, it falls into the same trap a number of variations do - the unrequired need, on behalf of the author, to fill up its pages with twists and turns of storyline and the use of sex scenes. The enjoyment and romance from P&P comes through the intelligent use of language and humour not exciting tales and cliff hangers. Also, it has very small faults due to the author being American and unfamiliar with England, for example Crickets chirrping at night in Kent! This might sound nit picky but these mistakes do distract eventually.That said, these are smallish points. Overall this is a good book and I would recommend it.