When Elizabeth Bennet was only 17, she was forced to marry William Collins, who took her to Hunsford. After a disastrous year of marriage Elizabeth finds herself both widowed and master of Longbourn. When Bingley brings his party to Netherfield, Darcy and Elizabeth meet as equals because of having previously met at Rosings Park. Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth only to discover that she is reluctant to marry again. To what lengths must Darcy go to win the trust of this remarkable young lady? Can Elizabeth overcome her past to allow her to follow her heart which draws her to Darcy? Watch as she rises from the ashes like a phoenix and rebuilds both her life and the fortunes of Longbourn.
The first chapter contains scenes of domestic violence. I recommend that you use the ‘Look inside’ function to determine whether this book is for you.
“Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Is that all?” –Dejan Stojanovic
>>Rating: M: That’s Mature with a capital M. Do not ignore that: Trigger warning for those sensitive to stories of abuse, especially spousal abuse: 4.5-stars [rounds to 5-stars] >>Angst Level: Only at the beginning: short-lived. There are stressors for sure. >>Source: Borrowed KU 6-26-23: I volunteered to leave a review. The opinions and thoughts are my own. >>Trope: Elizabeth married another
“From the ashes of her anger, a new creature was born, creating itself from the cinders and dust. A feeling that fell between terror and doubt, between chaos and logic.” –Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Stories, where Elizabeth is forced to marry Mr. Collins, are tough in the best of times. This was not the best of times. Her mother wanted security at Longbourn. She would not relinquish her position as mistress and sold her daughter to the heir. That marriage solved several problems. It assured the family could stay at Longbourn. It saved her favorite daughters, Jane and Lydia, from their horrid cousin. And, it removed her least favorite daughter from Longbourn. It was a win-win situation for her. Fate, on the other hand, had other plans. Oh, Mrs. Bennet, you reap what you sow.
“All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” –Cormac McCarthy, The Road
DNF at 75% because I’m bored AF. This story just kinda rambles on and on. This happens and that happens and then something else happens. Apparently EVERYBODY falls in luuurve.
With strong trigger warnings I recommend this story with a strong Lizzy following a horrific marriage. Some will complain that Lizzy is Super Woman in this tale and I know that turns some people off so be warned. I happen to love that in a story. I love that Lizzy took over Longbourn and her sisters’ care and education.
And I love this Darcy. He had to get lots of help to win her but in the end it was his love and patience that won out.
Elizabeth has a galling lack of sorrow for the death of her infant son. I could not willingly suspend disbelief. That said, the book gave off cozy vibes, but it’s not one I’ll be buying for my permanent collection.
Elizabeth is forced to marry Mr Collins, who turns out to be an abusive husband. After one year of her horrible marriage, Mr Bennett dies, then Mr Collins dies, and the baby son that Elizabeth has also dies, leaving Elizabeth with ownership of Longbourn. She throws Mrs Bennett out of the house after that terrible woman tries to usurp Elizabeth's place as mistress, and Elizabeth takes her sisters in hand and improves their lives, while she proves that she's a better master of Longbourn than her father ever was. Unfortunately, Elizabeth was profoundly traumatized by her abusive husband, so when Darcy comes along, Elizabeth has many demons to overcome in order to be able to ever trust any man again.
This author is an automatic purchase for me. Her characters are satisfyingly forthright, as opposed to the usual Regency era fare. The book summary makes no secret that there's spousal abuse in the beginning of the story. However, the period of time during which these distressing circumstances occur is sort of skimmed over, and presented as a narrative, which helps to make the impact of these events on the reader minimal. This is both good and bad, good because some readers may be hyper sensitive to these kinds of triggers, but bad because these events are vitally important to the story. The entire premise is colored by Elizabeth's unfortunate experiences.
It's wonderful and satisfying when Elizabeth takes over Longbourn, and you want to cheer when she lays down the law and takes out the trash. The romance is lovely, and ODC become friends almost from the start. The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.
A selfish Mrs Bennet ensures that her daughter Elizabeth is forced to marry Mr Collins. As a result, she is abused for each perceived infraction. A series of unfortunate events, allows Elizabeth to rise from the ashes and take ownership of Longbourn and guardianship of her sisters. She must also overcome or rather deal with her PTSD from her marriage in order to find her happily ever after. All those around her become stronger versions of themselves a result of Elizabeth's transformation.
Lacks romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. Their relationship was more friendship than deep affection and love.
The pacing was very uneven with too much focus on the romances of secondary characters at the expense of Darcy and Elizabeth. Even Jane and Bingley were too often lost in the background.
Prepare for a most unusual and delightful story featuring our much-loved and most-hated characters from Pride and Prejudice. This story is not for everyone as some readers are unable to deal with forced marriage, rape and abuse.
The rest of Jane Austen fans will enjoy the courage and resourcefulness of the characters in dealing with adversity. There are multiple romances and happily ever afters, as well as not-so-happy endings for others.
But there are many editing errors. Also a little too much narrative and not enough conversation between characters. I especially would have liked more dialog between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins to explain their relationship rather than having the narrator describe the situation. It would make it more believable.
While my first thought for the title of this review was “immersive”, that was not entirely correct. The author made the decision not to go into detail about the abuse Lizzy suffered, enough was said to give credence to Lizzy’s decisions. That being said, this was a wonderful tale of Lizzy’s coming of age a lot quicker than JA’s original story. I am a little disappointed with the lack of real conflict other than the confrontations with Mrs. Bennet; however, those were the real spice to this story. I had always thought that Lizzy could shut her mother up by telling her if she continued to harp on Lizzy’s accepting Mr. Collins, that the first thing she would do is throw her mother off the estate. I am glad to see that wish realized by this author. So to summarize, very entertaining and enjoyable story (with the exception of the abuse) and well worth purchasing.
This is the opposite of "show, don't tell." It reads like iffy fan fiction, where the author revised it a lot in the initial chapters but edited less and less as the manuscript lengthened. Not worth anyone's time.
This book is very different than what I’ve come to expect from Sydney Salier. The one element that is per usual is the characters’ plain speaking, which I really like. But otherwise this story is much darker.
If you haven’t read the author’s blurb, be sure to note that this book starts out with some domestic physical and mental abuse. Elizabeth at age 17 is forced into marriage with Mr Collins and he is encouraged by her mother and Lady Catherine to use physical discipline on her. He doesn’t hesitate in the least to comply. Mr Bennet supported the marriage. He wasn’t aware of what was to come, but did know he would soon die and did it to protect his daughters. Nevertheless Elizabeth is severely traumatized by her experiences, hates her parents, and has learned that she can never trust another man.
Within a year of her marriage, both her father and Collins are dead. She bore a son who initially inherited Longbourn, but he also died. Elizabeth is now the owner and master of Longbourn and the estate. She begins to make changes, improving the estate, bringing her sisters under her control and kicking her mother (who refuses to cede control to Elizabeth) out. She makes Jane the Mistress of the estate and brings in a governess for the younger girls.
Bingley leases Netherfield bringing his sisters and friend Darcy with him. Darcy and Elizabeth are previously acquainted from her time in Hunsford so he feels comfortable with her. Also as a land owner she is more on a par with him socially. They strike up a friendship and become close. Neither are interested in marriage, although both are attracted to each other. Darcy leaves as usual after the ball and returns with Georgiana to Pemberley.
Between Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy is encouraged to consider and act on his feelings. He soon proposes to Elizabeth (without any insults) but she is far from eager to give herself into ANY man’s control, no matter how much she loves him. Will Darcy ever be able to break through her very strong aversion to marriage? Will Elizabeth be too scarred to ever truly give herself the chance for love? How will the Bennet sisters fare without any parents? If you can bear to see a broken Elizabeth rise from the ashes, then this is a story you will relish.
I have now read 10 of this author's stories. The story description does give a good overview of this story's premise. However, being 369 pages long you must know that there is much more than what is presented.
SPOILER: There is a warning about domestic violence and although it is not described in detail just know that it brought horrid pictures to mind. Elizabeth is FORCED to marry Collins and he considers it his "duty" to correct her by a strike of his cane...one strike for every offense: against him, against Lady Catherine and even if it is just that she speaks her opinion on a matter and he does not agree with it! And then he does his marital duty forcing her to lie on her bloody back for such. END OF SPOILER
She bears a son, her father dies and the couple travels to Longbourn. Two more deaths follow and in the end Elizabeth takes over as Master of Longbourn. Lady Catherine, Anne and Wickham have roles but don't expect those to reflect canon. Both Uncles support Elizabeth and she earns the respect of not only her sisters but also the community.
Elizabeth does all the things her father should have done and her mother is exiled to the dower cottage. Jane becomes Mistress, a governess is hired, Lydia is found to have math skills, Mary's horizons are expanded and Kitty changes.
There is more than one romance in this story, not counting Jane and Bingley. Georgiana makes friends with the Bennet sisters and comes out of her shyness. Oh, and BTW: Elizabeth does not use her maiden name nor her married name when she becomes Master of Longbourn.
Considering her experience in marriage is it any wonder that she does not trust any man?
This was the toughest P&P variation yet. There were some heavy topics touched on for a bit. The characters that we expect to be villains in the book were not as villainous and by that I mean Wickham. While he is still a gambler and plans something that would harm Darcy, he was not the worst of the lot. It was Mrs Bennet and by his inaction Mr Bennet who were mainly the antagonists in this book. But Mrs. Bennets comeuppance comes within the first 3 chapters or so, which I appreciated.
The Pride and Prejudice part of the book mostly came from the behaviours of the people who thought Elizabeth was not upto being a Master of Longbourn and to a point Darcy as he still thinks no woman would reject his suit, even in this version of the book. The issues were handled well and the interactions between the sisters was well done.
It's a good story that fluctuates between engaging and dry.
Engaging - Elizabeth's story. I liked reading about how Elizabeth was able to rise from the ashes and provide a better life for her sisters. It did come across as preachy at times.
What I liked: - Darcy and Elizabeth's friendship. - Richard and Margaret.
Dry - The other couples. Anne and Charlotte's romance didn't add anything to the story (Charlotte's was a stretch). I was curious about how Mary, Kitty, and Lydia will navigate life and love with the new knowledge and accomplishments passed on from Elizabeth and how it paid off, but it wasn't truly covered. Anne and Charlotte's love life was out of place in this story and was more like fillers.
HEA but through a tough journey but worth the read
Trigger warning for those who might need it. The sample of the book will show you what that is (spousal abuse and domestic violence); thankfully, that is only at the beginning. The rest of the book deals with the outcomes of these actions. There's leaps and bounds growth for the majority of the characters. This is outside Canon as it starts several years prior with a forced marriage for Elizabeth. The addition of several new characters was a nice addition to the story. I love how the community, along with others, rallied their support for Elizabeth even if they didn't know all the details of what happened. Have the courage to read this story.
I agree with the author that not every reader will enjoy this book, but I am not one of them. Yes it dealt with intense and difficult topics, but Elizabeth finally deals with her mother forcefully. The story reminded me of a mashup of themes from the Denton series and The Lady and that Colonel with more detailed descriptions of characters’ emotions.
The situation of Caroline and Darcy was different and amusing with an unexpected ending for Caroline.
No, not a book for everyone, but highly recommended for JAFF readers who appreciate a book with emotional maturity and HEA for many couples.
This book does a decent job of portraying the trust issues related to PTSD, along with some of the flashbacks and thoughts. I can't say it encompasses a true PTSD portrayal as Elizabeth moves through the issues fairly quickly. However I did enjoy the book. Mrs. Bennet is atrocious, Caroline is up to a slightly different trick this time, and Wickham is slightly different and barely involved. Mostly this is how Elizabeth finds love again after a terrible marriage and takes care of her sisters. I particularly liked the governess and Lydia. Overall it was a good book.
While I did enjoy the premise of the story, I must be honest and say that it dragged on and on in places. I found that I just wanted the story to end.
Here's why: I know Elizabeth suffered a major ordeal. I get that, but in my opinion, she came across more like Mary, as she became so preachy. And the settlement documents, absurd.
Darcy, while true to form for the most part, seemed progressive in his thinking but reverted back to his arrogant thinking, after he decided he was in love with all the things that attracted him to Elizabeth.
I adored Colonel Fitzwilliam and particularly Lydia and Kitty. They were so refreshing.
While not too explicitly detailed, this variation dealt with spousal abuse. Does one feel joy when the abuser dies? Or do we just feel relief and hope for healing?
The post traumatic stress disorder that is part of the life after abuse is realistically depicted as well. If you have a problem with that type of book, DO NOT READ THIS! If you are interested in understanding what those who have been abused endure just to continue living, read this variation!!
When I see that it is from this author it is a must buy. The first chapter has violence in it and a forced marriage to Mr Collins. Once Mr Bennet does and so does Mr Collins Elizabeth becomes owner of Longbourn Estate which her mother true to take from here but is thrown out of the estate and is not allowed back in. Elizabeth then gets a woman governess to teach her her sister the correct ways to act in society but she suffers nightmares from her terrible marriage.
Wonderful book. Darcy and E meets briefly at rosings when she is married to Collins at tender age of 17.
As the name suggests the story is of Elizabeth who rises from her dreadful marriage and becomes a competent master of an estate as well as a good parent for her sisters. I loved the bond between the sisters and even between Darcy and the Fitzwilliam cousins
The wickham, Caroline storyline was not needed but i guess when we read P&P variations, its difficult to leave them out
Rather dark storyline, that detailed Elizabeth's struggles of an abusive marriage and ultimately was the larger struggle of women and land ownership, it struggled to have any romance and although Darcy and Elizabeth finally came together, it rushed to the end and lost all romantic moments for all the characters.
This story contains a dramatic romance as well as the historical detail to demonstrate how unequal women and men were in the eyes of English law during the greater part of the nineteenth century. Well-written and based upon solid research. Also, a very good read!
Out of the ashes rises the Phoenix. Elizabeth is that wonderful strong phoenix.
Warning: sadly there is abuse that Elizabeth must conquer.
Elizabeth is forced to do as she was bid. How horrible. But she rises to the occasion and conquers all of her horrors and the rights or lack of for women.
I am a serious fan of this author. I have truly enjoyed all of the P&P fan fiction that she has written. This work is no exception. Filled with heartbroken moments, betrayal, trauma, misunderstandings and romance, it is impossible not to laugh, cry and left with nice warmth inside. I know you will enjoy it.
This one is dark, and hard to read. It’s got things in it that make me feel slightly ill reading them and goes against the actual canon which was far from dark. But it’s gripping and I sit here now at 4am having sat up all night reading, I simply could not put it down. ODC get a HEA, they fought so hard for it.