A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise. Sourcebooks Landmark. ISBN: 978-1-4022-4103-1. Pages 368. Trade Paperback. ($14.99 / Amazon: $10.19, Kindle $9.68). Originally published as Something Like Regret.

Only Mr. Darcy Will Do is a “what if” book building on the characters and somewhat on the plot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. In this instance, the author, Kara Louise, chose to diverge shortly after Darcy’s horrendously inappropriate proposal to Elizabeth and her curt and hurtful refusal. Darcy writes Elizabeth a letter detailing his involvement with Mr. Wickham and explaining his reasons for separating Mr. Bingley and Jane. Elizabeth returns to Longbourn from Rosings just as she did in the original work. That’s when things change. Mr. Bennet falls ill. Elizabeth doesn’t go on the trip with her Aunt and Uncle Gardner. And more importantly, when Mr. Bennet dies, Lydia is called back from Brighton before she can elope with Mr. Wickham.

The death of Mr. Bennet means that the Collin’s inherit Longbourn. Elizabeth persuades her mother to move in with her sister, Mrs. Phillips, and her husband. Jane moves in with the Gardiners in London to help with their children. Elizabeth takes a position as a governess with Mr. and Mrs. Willstone to care for their daughter Emily — a very precocious six-year-old. The stage is now set and the story spins out from this point.

The Willstones live in London which allows Elizabeth to visit the Gardiners and Jane on her Sunday’s off. They also travel in the similar social circles as the Darcys and Bingley. Mrs. Willstone’s sister Miss Rosalyn Matthews comes to visit the family and for some of the London social season. It was a chance invitation that brought Miss Darcy and Mr. Bingley to the Willstones on a day when Emily had been asked to sing for their guests while Elizabeth played the piano for her. Bingley’s surprise was genuine and sincere. However, since Elizabeth and Rosalyn were becoming friends it also led to Rosalyn confessing her admiration and respect for Mr. Darcy and her hope that she could secure his love.

As you can imagine this throws Elizabeth into a quandary as now she has realizes just how much she misjudged Darcy and somewhat regrets her refusal of his offer of marriage. She’s now a governess and if Rosalyn and the Willstones begin to entertain the Darcys, it will be painful for her as her first encounter with Darcy shows.

How will things turn out? Will Elizabeth’s change in circumstances prohibit Mr. Darcy once again asking for her hand in marriage? Will she have to stand by and watch as Rosalyn vies for his attention and regard? Does he even still care for Elizabeth?

Those of us who are fans of the book have definite ideas about how the questions should be answered. But will the author oblige? You’ll need to read the book to find out how or if she manages to have our two favorite characters interact.

Kara Louise is very respectful of Austen’s characters and the feel of the story as well as the interactions of the characters are believable while following naturally from the new story line. There are also no sex scenes, just plenty of romance and witty dialogue. The writing is such that you could believe that if Austen had been a bit more romantic and less pragmatic, she could have written this story.

Once again I was enchanted by characters I admire and enjoy reading about and by Louise’s style, wit, humor, and story telling.

If you enjoy Pride and Prejudice variations as much as the follow-ons, you really need to read Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise, unless of course you’ve already read it when it was published as Something Like Regret.

If you have read this book, I’m anxious to hear what you thought of it — please leave a comment.

Darcy’s Voyage: A Tale of Uncharted Love on the Open Seas by Kara Louise. Sourcebooks Landmark. ISBN: 978-1-4022-4102-4. 512 pages. Trade Paperback. List: $14.99 (Amazon:  $10.19 / Kindle: $9.68). Previously published as Pemberly’s Promise in 2007).

Kara Louise has written a beautifully retold Pride and Prejudice beginning with Darcy and Elizabeth meeting when she was returning home to Longbourn by Post and Darcy, whose coach had a mechanical problem, was forced to take the Post to the first stop and there change to another carriage that was being sent from Pemberly.  Darcy of course immediately made a less than desirable impression when he nearly knocked her down as he raced to the carriage door.  He apologized and actually tried to make conversation — surprisingly they found literature a topic on which to converse and challenge each other and the two hour ride passed pleasantly.  They never learned each other’s name but remembered fondly the other person long after the event.

Fast forward two years and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and their children have traveled to America for Mr. Gardiner’s business.  They write and invite Elizabeth to join them in New York City to help with the children and enjoy the sights.  Elizabeth is excited to have the opportunity to travel and looks forward to the trip.  Mr. Darcy on the other hand doesn’t look forward to his trip to America where he’ll join Georgianna in New York City and bring her home from where she’s been visiting with Mrs. Annesley’s and her family.  Naturally, they are sailing on the same ship, Pemberly’s Promise (and I’m sure clever readers will realize just who owns the ship based solely on its name).

While Darcy tries desperately to remain aloof, the single women on the ship are speaking to him without introduction – all except Elizabeth Bennet.  He notices that she walks the deck early every morning and soon joins her.  Eventually, they begin to converse and find that they both look forward to their daily conversations.  It’s from Elizabeth that Darcy learns about the illness among the steerage passengers.  Her walks are the only breaks she takes from caring for her fellow passengers.

Elizabeth becomes seriously ill and Darcy knows he has the only empty bed on board.  The only solution is to be married by Captain Wendell and then annul the marriage when he returns to England.  It’s the only way to ensure her reputation remains intact.  He gives his pledge that it will be a purely platonic relationship. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees, as does the captain.  However, sometime during the voyage they fall in love, only they don’t realize it.  Separated on docking in New York and not knowing where Elizabeth lives, Darcy has no way to find her until he returns to England.

With this alternative beginning, Louise manages to maintain the emotional appeal and tone of the original Pride and Prejudice.   There are a few events from the original story line that take place earlier but once Bingley leases Netherfield, the original story is on track, except for a few key elements, and the story unfolds much as it did originally.

In other variations,  the variation causes such divergence from the original storyline that the author ends up having existing characters doing very uncharacteristic things in order to force events to unfold as expected.  Louise, on the other hand, manages to seamlessly weave this new relationship into the original story line by not forcing things to play out exactly as they did in Pride and Prejudice but as they would if this variation had occurred.

You’ll find some of our favorite scenes and dialogue included, but some of the dialogue may be uttered in similar, but different, circumstances and by other characters. I found it amusing to hear the same lines from someone else’s mouth but it didn’t take away from the story or my enjoyment.

This variation was a pleasure to read.  Louise honors the characters and the story of Pride and Prejudice and yet makes it new, exciting, and just as endearing. I highly recommend Darcy’s Voyage if you enjoy variations of the theme of Pride and Prejudice. I’d also mention that this book is appropriate for all ages.