A vindictive Mr. Bennet makes all the change for the ladies of Longbourn.

The writing, especially in the first half, was a bit pollyanna for me. It gave a feel more of Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie than Regency Austenesque.

Despite that, the story portrays strong and courageous women who strive to do their best regardless of a vicious and controlling man who has the right to do whatever he wants with them.
These women have done all they can to improve the lives around them better and are admired for it by the entire town.
When love comes calling, Darcy steps up and HEA ensues.

Not as heavy and dark as a story this can be due to the lighter writing style.2023 jaff-2023 ku9 s Sheila Majczan2,481 174

325 pages on my Kindle for PC.

In this story we have Mr. Bennet not just shutting himself up in his book room with his bottle of port but also determined to make life as miserable as possible for his wife and all five of his daughters. The preface gives us the reason for this. It is him shaking his fist at his grandfather who insists he leave the academic world to take over Longbourn which has been in Bennet hands for generation. Bennet's father and older brother have died and thus Longbourn becomes his to manage, even with the entail which doesn't allow him to sell.

The Bennet sisters and their mother love and support each other, encouraging their strong points and guiding them where they falter or are weak. They also work behind Mr. Bennet's back to manage the estate, even giving up pin money to help where needed among their tenants.

Wickham is part of this story and it is he who causes Elizabeth to fall off a cliff which necessitates her spending time recuperating at Netherfield.

Darcy has a major flaw in that he becomes tongue-tied when among strangers and then if he is able to say anything it comes out seeming to mean the opposite of what he wanted to say. Elizabeth soon detects this and becomes his friend, helping him to overcome this weakness with her presence by his side.

Then there is a young boy, a student in the school Elizabeth and Mary have set up two days a week in a nearby church for tenant children. The young man, Kiernan, offers his services as a protector, seeing as Elizabeth and her sisters have no brother to take up that service.

I did enjoy how certain characters came up with a plan to manipulate Mr. Bennet into giving his wife and daughters their freedom. And there is a short epilogue.

This story is in need of an editor. The sentences did not flow as smoothly as they might. I highlighted some of the obvious errors.6 s Ree1,173 66

Needs a good editor
This Mr. Darcy has an impediment. When he speaks, he often inadvertently insults the person, so it’s no surprise that he manages to insult Elizabeth. However, in this variation, a young tenant’s son named Kiernan, is wiser beyond his age and recognises that Darcy isn’t intentionally being mean. He’s just awkward and shy. Elizabeth opens her mind to this and they become friends.

The Mr. Bennet in this story is one of the meanest I have come across in fandom. His portrayal is a unique one. Caroline is quite cruel also, and Bingley sends for his Aunt Guthrie to take her in hand. Wickham will injure Elizabeth when he is trying to hurt Darcy.

I d the premise of this book, but it lacks proper editing and proofreading which took away from my overall enjoyment of reading it. This author writes well but needs a little help in that regard.2023 elizabeth-rescues illness-or-disability ...more3 s Madenna U1,952 1 follower

Mr Bennet does everything in his power to ruin Longbourn since he was forced to leave his role at Oxford to run the estate. Luckily, his father in law put in a unique clause about pin money that allows his wife and daughters to manage the estate behind his back. He is to insolent to realize how strong, intelligent and creative his girls are. Fitzwilliam Darcy is amazed at the amazing woman that he has met, but they have to work together to get the women from their evil husband/father for their happily ever after.2023-austenesque-challenge genre-history-romance genre-jaff ...more3 s Polly182

A good debut, featuring a sweet Darcy and very minor angst. Would benefit from some more editing, I did notice a few errors. And, as a final point and minor correction, I would to note that there are no cliffs in Hertfordshire.3 s MichelleH H303 5

What a great story.

I loved the premise of this book, and the use of some familiar plot elements but in a unique way. There are some characters we love that need to overcome some of their own problems and challenges. Some other characters never do change their very wrong ways of thinking and behaving, to their downfalls.

The author gave me some moments of unintentional humor as she wanted it made plain to her readers the Colonel’s first name was NOT Richard. It got tiresome until I just had to laugh it off. Okay then.

The solution to the very dire straits the Bennet ladies were in was quite cleverly accomplished by the aid of Darcy and The Colonel and Bingley. The sisters had a great part in the plan and with an unexpected rescue.

What I loved most about the story, besides of course the relationship developing between ODC, was the changed characters of the Bennet ladies from the very beginning of the story. No Mrs. B throwing her daughters in front of anything that wore pants, no Lydia and Kitty out at age 15, and instead providing the girls with the chances for accomplishments that her paltry pin money allowed, and encouragement for all her daughters, not just Jane and Lydia. She loved all her daughters and intended they have the chance to make the best matches based on love and trust.

Mr. Bennet is such an outrageously horrible person in this story, I’ve never read a worse version of him. Beyond indolent he was despicable in every way he treated his family.

Other new characters introduced were wonderfully written. Some familiar characters had some great story arcs woven into the larger plot with skillfully executed ways.

The story could have used another pass through a human editor but it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book. I’m now looking forward to reading more from this author. Highly recommended.2024-jaff-tbr-challenge2 s Lesley BarklayAuthor 8 books15 Read

This Pride and Prejudice variation chooses some characters to make very bad, and other characters to make very good.

If you are looking for a clear dichotomy between good and evil, a perfect Elizabeth, and a slightly misunderstood Darcy, this is the book for you.

So, who are the villains of this story?
Mr Bennet is a cold, calculating father, determined to make his family miserable and run Longbourne into the ground.

Wickham is a drunkard whose womanising ways have been turned up times a thousand. When his plans to cheat the townsmen of Meryton (and ruin their daughters) is ruined, he decides to take revenge on Darcy.

Mr Collins' cringe factor is also amped up. Not only is he a pompous sycophant, his morals are lacking, he talks with his mouthful, and he smells of onion.

Caroline Bingley's biting comments no longer have any veneer of gentility. She sees nothing she cannot criticise, then throws tantrums when she does not get what she wants.

Oh, and Colonel Forster is a lazy, disorganised, coward, completely taken in by Wickham's schemes.

Lady Catherine appears in one scene, but she is completely taken care of by new character--Bingley's Aunt Guthrie-- who ensures she spends the night in gaol for trespassing.


The original events included in the story are the Assembly where Darcy insults Lizzie, the gathering at Lucas Lodge (although it is entirely different), and Lizzie and Jane have to stay at Netherfield for nearly a week while one of them recovers.

I enjoyed new Kiernan, and Aunt Guthrie as new additions to the story.2 s Debby Sangiovanni118 3

I d the Bennet ladies in this book. I find it refreshing when the sisters all get along and Mrs. Bennet is kind and loving to them all, not just her "favorites". I also having a Mrs. Bennet with a brain in her head instead of fluff and gossip. Mr. Collins is lecherous, Caroline is more superior than usual and Wickham just cannot help himself but to play the victim with more whining and hated then ever. A very good story.2 s Tlotem99 22

I was thrilled with the relationship between all the women of Longbourn and to meet with such a Mrs Bennet. I highly recommend this book.jaff-read-2023 kindle-unlimited2 s Debbie1,582 56

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This has a marvelous storyline that changes the Bennet family dynamics and establishes an early friendship between the endearingly awkward, tongue-tied Mr. Darcy with Elizabeth Bennet. Her sister Mary is responsible for the latter; the former is the result of a villainous Mr. Bennet.

He resents his responsibilities at Longbourn. As a second son, Thomas Bennet had been happily immersed in Oxford academia; he became the VERY unwilling heir to his father's estate when his older brother died unexpectedly. Consequently, he's become completely misanthropic, wanting everyone around him as miserable as he is. He intends to allow Longbourn to go to ruin while he focuses only on his precious books and port. Even his choice of wife was driven by the desire to find the most unsuitable woman he could convince to marry him.

Fortunately, his mother took the younger Mrs. Bennet in hand and trained her how to be an effective estate mistress. Stipulations in his father's Will prevents him from access to the money provided to his wife and daughters, much of which they spend tending to the estate's tenants without his knowledge. Mr. Bennet bullies and belittles the rest of his family with no favorites. As a result, the Bennet ladies have bonded together to protect and support one another.

Mr. Darcy also suffered verbal abuse from his parents because of his ongoing shyness and tendency to say the wrong thing around strangers. Un the Bennets, he had no one to diffuse the stinging insults. It's Mary who convinces Elizabeth to notice Mr. Darcy's subtle symptoms suggestive of a panic attack instead of dismissing him as arrogant and rude.

It's an interesting, event-filled story. Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham both prove to be more malevolent than canon, and Caroline Bingley doesn't attempt to hide her poor opinion of Netherfield's neighbors. However, it's Mr. Bennet who remains the primary antagonist throughout. He gets a very satisfying comeuppance.

I wish the writing was as good as the plot. There's too much telling rather than showing, too often stating the obvious, and too much repetition. The language is modern American rather than Regency British, which is particularly noticeable in the dialogue. Characters seem either all good or all bad with minimal effort to offer shades of gray, making them less than three-dimensional. There are grammar and spelling errors sprinkled about.

Great story. Less than stellar writing.

Content is clean.jaff kindle-unlimited8 s lori huff998 22

Intriguing

I had very mixed feelings about this JAFF variation. So many of the characters that we're familiar with are damaged people in some way. This is a high angst story, featuring an evil Mr Bennett. He resents having been forced to inherit Longbourn, and decides his revenge will take the form of abusing his family verbally, emotionally, and in one related incident physically. Thankfully Mrs Bennett has her grandmother-in-law for a while to teach and advise her, so she learns to cope with the abuse and protect her daughters as best she can. The daughters all turn out exemplary, except that they fear their father.

Meanwhile, Darcy also has a rough childhood resulting in crippling fear of strangers, and inability to converse in a crowd. Bingley has his usual trouble with Caroline, and she's cartoonishly bad here. Wickham gets his screen time, and he's extra evil here as well. Darcy has an interesting meeting with Elizabeth, and discovers that she's kind and compassionate, so it's not long before they find their way.

This tale is about mental health, and the importance of the support of family and friends. It's also about the power of kindness. It's wonderful how many lives are changed and improved by the positive impact of the Bennett women, even in the face of their own adversity. There are some shockingly horrible events in this tale. Fortunately, the author has made everyone more forthright, with backbones of steel where needed, and the comeuppances for the villains are superb. My only reservation was with the extremely handicapped Darcy character. It was difficult to accept.

The book is well written. There are a lot of editing errors, a lot of sentence fragments and punctuation errors. It could use some cleaning up. However, I recommend it for an engaging tale. Katie294 27

Mr. Bennet is an abusive husband and father who enjoys ensuring everyone is miserable around him. He hides in his study thinking he is the most intelligent scholar and best chess player only coming out when he can ruin the day for his family. He encourages Mr. Collins to try to compromise Elizabeth only to have two tenant farmer's sons hide in her room instead. The women of the house have banded together to ensure the tenants and house are taken care of and watching out for each other. Kitty in particular is very fearful of her father due to him squeezing her wrist so bad for so long her hand turned black. Darcy suffers from extreme social anxiety and Elizabeth is able to recognize this and look past his words to his intentions. They are soon falling for each other with the help of Kiernan, a tenant's son who has adopted Elizabeth as a sister. Darcy quickly puts a stop to Wickham in town causing Wickham to go looney tunes. He tries to shoot Darcy while black out drunk and ends up knocking Elizabeth off the cliff at Oakham Mount. She recovers at Netherfield from a broken arm and a concussion. Darcy sent Kiernan for help but Caroline Bingley slaps him and sends him away only for him to run into Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana who are arriving. While at Netherfield, Darcy realizes he loves Elizabeth and asks for a courtship only to have Mr. Bennet refuse. The family works out that Darcy will gamble a book for control of the women of the house and beats Mr. Bennet at chess rather easily, ensuring the women now fall under the control of Mr. Phillips and Gardiner.2023 emotional-abuse ja-2023 ...more Joanne86 12

I read this book on my KIndle but that edition isn't available so I'm leaving my review on the paperback edition.

Overall, I enjoyed the book because I d Darcy and Lizzy. I also d Kiernan.

This book provided an extremely different version of Mr. Bennet. While I see Mr. Bennet as somewhat abusive to Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, his abuse of his wife and daughters can't be disputed in this book. He is a horrible, reprehensible character. The other villai
ns - Caroline Bingley, Mr. Collins, Wickham and Lady Catherine - are a bit over the top, especially Caroline.

I have some criticisms. First, in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is called "Lizzy" by her family. It's curious that the author decided to use "Lizzie". I not sure why but it struck me as very odd.

I'm going to point this out and some people might think I'm just nitpicking but using the wrong word is a big pet peeve for me. I'm aware that other people might not care about and may not even notice. However, I think the book would have benefited from an editor or beta reader because they would have noticed incorrect word usage - content instead of continent, morning instead of mourning, fiance instead of fiancee (to describe an engaged woman). Also, and this one made me pause - carriage would be described as a conveyance, not a convenience.jane-austen-continuation-variation Tori124 2

Excellent piece of JAFF. We have our usual villainous suspects of Wickham, Caroline, and Lady Catherine but Mr. Bennet joins in as an emotionally abusive husband and father, with a few instances of physical abuse. The emotional abuse is present in every scene that includes Bennet, while the physical abuse is less detailed.

Mrs. Bennet shines in this variation. This is one of the best depictions of her character I have read. She was of mean understanding as a young woman, and paid the price in her poor choice of a spouse. She learns what she needs to be mistress of the estate and to educate her daughters, and does all in her power to help them and the tenants.

I agree with a previous review mentioning Pollyanna, but I also the rising above adversity character of the Bennet women in this book. Jacqueline L16

I just love this version of Darcy. Having social anxiety in the regency period would definitely been seen as arrogance and pride. I do also the difference in Mrs. Bennet of loving all her daughters equally. Mr. Bennet has gone from being indolent to being cruel with his words, but Mrs. Bennet has raised her girls to be strong and withstand his cruelty. All the usual characters are here and some are worse than in the original Jane Austin work, some turn out better. Everyone does get what is coming to them in some way or other. I highly recommend this book if you to see OOC variation of Pride and Prejudice. 3 s Dawn628 27

Not really my kind of P&P variation. I that Austen’s characters were not perfect, but human and experience growth through experiences and mistakes. I’m also not a fan of characters that are all bad or all good. Just not relatable to me because I believe all people are a good mix of both. Here I felt there was too many Pollyanna characters that had no flaws- they were only misunderstood in their perfection or the opposite. I had to do a lot of skimming to get to the end of this one. 2023-jaff2 s CharlotteReads206

I loved this book soooo much! It was ly one of the freshest & most creative takes on Pride & Prejudice and I've read some really amazing variants!

The viewpoints and vignettes are mostly from the female perspective. I love the strong and caring Bennet women and how they rise up to find and make their happily ever afters <3

There were delightful cast members: Kiernan, a child from the Longbourn tenants is a great addition to the tale - he has a lovely heart and voice. The horse named Crumpet was delightful. Aunt Guthrie was a delight, in her polite, unwavering strength. Helen Homer132 2 Read

Not one of my preferred variations. It's nice enough, I d the Darcy characterisation, but everything is a bit too nice. The couple fall very quickly, everything goes as they plan, they always know exactly what to do, neither of them have any real faults to recognise or overcome. I'm not a fan of over the top extended angst, but this goes a bit too far the other way and leads to a not very natural feeling in the progression of their relationship.pandp-variation Rosanna L. Thornton6 1 follower

This is one of my favorite variations. I enjoyed how the Bennet women outsmarted their lazy husband/father. And the explanation for Darcy's behavior in social situations was very intriguing. While much of the original story is present, I d the changes. I felt that they provided a whole new perspective on the characters and their actions.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Linda K Goodwin348 3

I did this story. A very good feel good book. You can't help but switch your allegiance from Mr. Bennet, whom is a bad guy, to dear wonderful Mrs. Bennet. All the girls are wonderful, as they have a very attentive mother.
I did subtract one star, because it really does need a very good proof reader. Carol1 review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Too bad I can’t award 4.5 stars; the deduction is caused by the overly frequent emphasis and repetition of how kind the Bennet ladies are. Their deeds speak for themselves. Doris Studer74 3

I simply loved this book
This book is full of love, support, trust, tenderness – it warmed my heart!
Of course there are bumps and holes, also bearable angst, but in essentials it is a book about love. I am looking forward to the next book by Jaime Marie Lang.
Michelle David2,239 12

A compelling story with an unexpected premise inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Jaime Marie Lang. An entertaining and enjoyable story and I hope she keeps writing.all-things-austen8 s Monica20

Enjoyable story, but it could do with slight editing as there is a number of typos. Sara (onourshelves)712 14

4.5

This variation was so incredibly cute. I love a variation with a random child that puts the plot along, and the strong and kind Bennet women were amazingpride-and-prejudice-variation Cindy582 70

A big change from the story yet quite enjoyable. I look forward to her next book.british historical-fiction kindle-or-e-book ...more Patty1,110 25

enjoyable variation mikaela (spinebreaker)1,226 39 Read

idk nothing is happening which isn't usually an issue but i was hoping darcy would . be shy for more than 10 pages i guess? not hitting this timednf its-fanfiction-baby Frankie S.Angell41

I don’t know why but for some reason the way this was written made them all seem very young. Charlene S. Robinson215 1 follower

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