Caught Swimming by Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Jane Adell

To escape the sweltering heat, the ever-independent Elizabeth Bennet seeks solace in a refreshing swim, never imagining that the proud Mr. Darcy would discover her in such a vulnerable state. A scandalous and mortifying encounter ensues, but the sparks fly, igniting a passion that neither can deny. However, when Mr. Darcy, driven by duty and honor, insists they must marry, Elizabeth, true to her convictions, refuses him. Haunted by his past behavior and the lingering stain of Mr. Wickham's revelations regarding Mr. Darcy, she cannot bring herself to accept his proposal.

Fate, it seems, has other plans. As they find themselves thrown together time and time again – at the pond, in Meryton, and at the lively Lucas Lodge – the tension between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy reaches a boiling point. As they navigate the treacherous waters of society's expectations and their own burgeoning feelings, startling revelations come to light. Slowly, Elizabeth begins to see beneath Mr. Darcy's proud exterior, unraveling the man behind the enigma, and opening her heart to the possibility of love.

This clean and sweet Pride and Prejudice variation novella is over 27,000 words and has a happily ever after but not without Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins trying to cause trouble.

176 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2023

Reviews

[J. W. Garrett]

“I hate swimming. Swimming is horrible. It is the only activity that I can think of that is exhausting, boring, and life-threatening all at the same time.” –Michael Ian Black, Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine

>>Rating: clean of sexual content but smoldering with sexual tension. Yep, it was pretty steamy.
>>Angst Level: tense but only when Lydia did her thing and the reader wondered how it would be resolved.
>>Cover Art: I love that cover art. What a handsome Mr. Darcy. Fan points.
>>Source: ARC via Booksprout [5-7-23]: I volunteered to provide an honest review. The views and opinions expressed are my own. A short read with 12 chapters, and some editing issues. [3.5-stars, rounds to 4]

Because this was a quick read, actions moved quickly and problems were resolved just as quickly. Any angst would be short-lived. It was very entertaining as the reader watched as a relationship built between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

“I’ve been in the water so much these past few days, I swear I’m growing fins & scales.” –April Mae Monterrosa

Anyone who has suffered through a hot sultry summer can sympathize with Miss Elizabeth wanting to take a dip in the nearby pond. Lo and behold, Mr. Darcy happened to be riding by when he caught a glimpse of the water nymph as she swam in the pond. That’s all it took. He was caught, hook, line, and sinker.

[Melanie]

It is a hot summer day, therefore Elizabeth decides to go swimming in the nearby pond. Suddenly Mr. Darcy arrives and caught her in her state of undress. Both are aware of the tension between and them they promise not to tell anyone about their encounter. Some days later they meet again by chance at the very pond, Elizabeth is once again not properly attired. Mr. Darcy now does the, in his opinion, only honorable thing – he proposes to Elizabeth to save her reputation ... and is refused.
Over the next days and weeks they often meet unexpectedly. The attraction between them is growing and they begin to understand each other better. But than there is an incident at Longbourn which may torn them apart forever. Is there a chance for their growing love and a future together?

The author has created a very nice, well written story. I like very much that in this story Darcy admits his attraction to Elizabeth nearly from the beginning. I can very well imagine that Jane Austen’s story could have had developed in that way if Darcy had not fought his growing love.

With Darcy admitting his love he doesn’t flee Netherfield and he alerts Elizabeth about Wickham after she had first met the Lieutenant. Elizabeth believes Darcy and is now cautious and Wickham’s lies are not able to put her against Darcy. Elizabeth soon also develops feelings for Darcy and so they don’t have many misunderstandings to sort out. This means falling in love was easy for them and also the story was very easy for me to read. I really like stories when they are not thus at odds with each other.

If you are looking for a clean story (only kisses) without many misunderstandings between Darcy and Elizabeth – this is your story. I highly recommend is.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Gill M]

Review also posted on my blog

https://myjaffobsession.blogspot.com/...

3.5 rounded up to 4

During a heatwave in Hertfordshire, Elizabeth Bennet is desperate to cool off.
A skinny dip in a secluded pond is too enticing to resist.

Unfortunately, the haughty, handsome Fitzwilliam Darcy has the same idea.
Darcy hears splashing and a giggle. Despite seeing a woman’s clothes on the shore, he doesn’t leave.
His eyes move to the water and he is entranced by the sight of Elizabeth, who has haunted his fevered dreams for some time.
He knows that a gentleman would walk away, but he is transfixed, right up until he is spotted by Elizabeth, who screams.

Elizabeth is mortified to have Mr Darcy, of all people witness such a sight. However, over the next few days she is drawn back to the memory of the desire and passion in his eyes.

After two days, the heat drives Elizabeth back to the pond. Darcy finds her again and declares that in witnessing her déshabillé, he has compromised her and as a gentleman he is duty bound to marry her.

Darcy is distinctly put out when Elizabeth declines his offer.

The couple continue to meet at social functions, with both feeling a magnetic connection.

The author captures perfectly, their simmering fire of mutual desire.

The story progresses as those with the appearance of goodness, are revealed to be villains and the haughty, proud Darcy shows himself to be the best of men.

An enjoyable debut novella. There are a few failures of editing but they are not too jarring.

Worth reading.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shelley]

Audible

[Jean Stillman]

If this is the author's first book, I am impressed. I enjoyed the book in spite of some obvious problems with the flow. I see a great deal of potential and look forward to reading more books from this author in the future.

[Madenna U]

Taking place entirely near Longbourn, Fitzwilliam Darcy is more open with Elizabeth Bennet which creates a variation of their courtship.

[mikaela (spinebreaker)]

just some nothingness. an interesting enough start but it's a loooot of wickham and not much romance

[Peg]

DNF at 18%.

[Katja]

In this story, there's a heat wave and Darcy catches Elizabeth in déshabillé at the pond. He would be willing to marry her in order to avoid a scandal. Elizabeth is unwilling but they avoid a scandal anyway. Afterwards, they meet in various Meryton settings and discuss Wickham. In terms of page count, this is pretty short and one could easily breeze through it in one sitting but I put it down several times. It was OK, just not a very engaging read for me. Things happen and then some other things happen. There's a ball, and Mr Collins, and Lydia, and Bingley, all the usual elements. This could be your book if you want something short with low angst levels, in which Darcy and Elizabeth don't fight much. Some of the prose is a bit flowery but the writing is cleanly edited and flows pretty nicely.
Steam level: there might be some ogling.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bello Valérie]

A boring retelling of P&P. The initial encounters at the pond were well written (clean but hot nonetheless). These encounters are the only original idea of this variation. I would have preferred Darcy not going back to the pond a second time though. What does this tell of his character? Creepy. After that it felt like the author realised she had to finish the book in one way or another and decided to retell Lydia's elopement. Why bother? It has been done so many times. I started to skip. I completely lost interest at 80%. I wonder: is it still possible to write a good and original P&P variation? I understand the appeal for writers, as I am crazy for them as a reader, but it is getting harder and harder to write/read something truly different.

[Sheila Majczan]

Darcy comes upon Elizabeth not once but twice as she enjoys a cooling dip in a pond, thinking that no one is around to see her. He offers for her, as obviously propriety has been broken but she refuses him.

This short story is not too different from parts of canon. We have Darcy informing Elizabeth about Wickham, Mr. Bennet ignoring Elizabeth as she tells him about Wickham that and then the Lydia/Wickham debacle.

Throughout both Elizabeth and Darcy find themselves falling in love. Jane and Bingley have their romance with Bingley disappearing for a short time after Lydia's elopement.

There was really no angst for me. Short and sweet with no surprises.

[Patty]

Darcy unexpectedly encountering Elizabeth swimming in a pond is a very interesting variation on this classic story. It seemed like the connection between Darcy and Lizzy is much less adversarial and more genuine curiosity as they considered each other. With some classic lines as well as well-known characters and situations, this was a lovely sweet story to read!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sheila Schwartz]

Wet romance

I !oved this adaptation as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were less at each others throats as in the original. Nothing will ever take the place of Ms. Austin's story but it is still fun to read "what ifs"

[Candice Waite]

Fun variation

Interesting twist on pride and prejudice having Mr Darcy come upon Elizabeth swimming in the pond. I liked that she listened to him and his warnings sooner.
A fun adventure.

[Yvette Stait]

Oh dear. The author needed either a very good cold reader or an editor. Things were said or done and contridicted a paragraph later. I also doubt, very much, Mr. Bennet would have 'grounded' Kitty.

Also, it would be going against etiquette to kiss in front of family.

[Nikki]

Another funny and out-of-character novel. Elizabeth goes swimming and is caught nearly three times by Darcy, the third time he, of course, joins her and we get our wet, mud-soaked couple shocking the entire Longbourn. It's a fun and quick read!

[Julie Goodman]

Loved the passion in this book. Well written, fun story. I read in one sitting. Highly recommend!

[Gwen Mitchell]

It was an enjoyable quick read. Low angst.

[Teresita]

Lovely

A slightly different timeline and the abbreviated or omitted appearances of some obnoxious characters allow for a more streamlined variation. Entertaining!

[Valerie]

3.5 stars. This was fun for a short retelling. I enjoyed the bit of lightheartedness. A great pallet cleanser in between books.

[Diana Hudson]

So sweet

No angst..no Lady Catherine.. Who I usually abhor.. It was sweet and very OFC. A lovely excussion
Into the Hertfordshire countyshire. Elizabeth and Darcy shine!

[linda bender]

Lovely ,well told

.This was a great story,tale of it was very well told. I give it a A+. .Looking for more stories from j
Jane.

[Talia]

With a title like this, I expected more humour and surprises. It was a bit dull for me. Sorry!

[Mrs. Elliott]

“It seems I cannot escape you no matter where my path leads,” he grated.”

Thoughts/Review: This was a quick read, actions moved quickly and problems were resolved just as quickly. It was entertaining. I am a Jane Austen fan threw and threw, and this Pride and Prejudice retelling had me hooked from page one. It’s a hot summer day, therefore Elizabeth decides to go swimming in a near pond. Suddenly Mr. Dary arrives and caught her in start of undress.@

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice Rating:

[Pet]

I really enjoyed this variation, I liked this Darcy a lot more than most and really enjoyed the heat and suppressed passion.