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A Fair Prospect #1, 2 & 3

A Fair Prospect: Volume I, II & III

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This is an eBook 'boxed set' that includes all three volumes of A Fair Prospect.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, A Fair Prospect is a tale of Darcy and Elizabeth.

Nursing his wounds after his rejection by Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to London, a devastated and humbled man. The lady, meanwhile, is battling the unprecedented feelings stirred by having endured an innocent but intimate encounter with the gentleman in the aftermath of his proposal. Soon on her way to Town herself for an unanticipated stay, she is comforted by the presence of an old family friend, one Nicholas Harington – the son of a wealthy family whose position in society rivals that of the Darcys of Pemberley.

Circumstance soon throws Darcy back into Elizabeth’s company, much to their mutual consternation, and also introduces him to Harington who has emerged as a potential suitor for Elizabeth.

With his friend, Bingley, now in hot pursuit of Elizabeth’s sister, Darcy finds his best endeavours to relieve the lady of his unwelcome presence come to naught. As the encounters continue, they seem to be developing a better appreciation of each other, but is there any future for them in the face of their previous misunderstandings, and what of Harington, the man who is deemed by all a fair prospect for Elizabeth’s hand?

680 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2013

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About the author

Cassandra Grafton

13 books107 followers
Note: this author also writes as Cass Grafton

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5 stars
76 (36%)
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85 (41%)
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35 (16%)
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for J. W. Garrett.
1,736 reviews137 followers
February 4, 2018
Volume l: Disappointed Hopes: 3-stars: ended at 38%

“When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.” Ryan Reynolds

Post [DHP] Disastrous Hunsford Proposal… it started out OK, then crashed and burned, but picked back up again, leaving us with unfinished business [cliffhanger]. We could probably cut out about a fourth of the middle and still have a great story.

Mr. Darcy had expectations and boy was he ever disappointed. He couldn’t have been more surprised if she had hit him up-side-the-head with a two-by-four. After his letter to Elizabeth, several things happened. He now realized he was an ass. Let me count the ways: first, while he was at Meryton and his insulting comment regarding Elizabeth; second, his interfering in Bingley’s relationship with Jane and keeping her visit to her London relations a secret, and finally, with his mode of proposal to Elizabeth. Yeah, he was a mess.

Elizabeth realized she was an… wait, what is a lady? OK, she was foolish and now realized that she was so very wrong about him. She now questioned her own character and actions toward Darcy, first in being so angry with his insult and holding it against him for all eternity. Second, in believing Wickham’s [she now knows] lies, and finally, her harsh accusations to Darcy’s face after his proposal. Yeah, she was a mess.

That middle part I mentioned that needed to be cut/trimmed/pruned or something. It was full of redundant… retelling of the same story over and over again by different people. I found myself cringing when someone new needed to be told ‘what happened at Kent’ because I knew it was rehashing of the same thing. What happed at Kent should have stayed at Kent. Oh, well…

The misunderstandings were cute but became trite after a while. The Colonel was supposed to add comedic relief but he got on my nerves as he badgered Darcy trying to find out what happened in Kent. Poor Darcy closed up like a clam and wouldn’t let anyone in. He began to get on my nerves. It got so bad, any minute I expected to see a whip or braided cord for his penance and flagellation.


There were nuggets, every once in a while, that grabbed the interest and sparked the imagination and pulled the reader from a drugged haze. I am so sorry but, this was not a ‘could-not-put-it-down’ story. In fact, I kept putting it down. I even considered running the vacuum or something like that. Shudder… it was a close call, but I resisted.
Volume ll: Darcy’s Dilemma: 3-stars: ends at 66%

“The human dilemma is that which arises out of a man’s capacity to experience himself as both subject and object at the same time.” –Rollo May

This immediately picks up at the conclusion of Volume l. The angst from the first story continues in this one and is driving me crazy. Everyone misunderstands everything. Darcy has been on so many rabbit trails with his feelings and emotions and Elizabeth is just as bad. Their self-censuring, constant grieving is getting on my last nerve. We spend way too much time in their heads and I didn’t like the scenery. It was depressing as heck and I just wanted to run away.

Once again, this second volume is full of fluff that is unnecessary to the forwarding of the story. It distracts from the true story of Elizabeth and Darcy and I wanted to pull my hair out. Can they not have a conversation without someone interrupting them? I wanted to scream every time someone approached them and stopped their conversation. Grrrrr!!

I love the Gardiners and they have been received well by Darcy. Even Lady Catherine found a use for Lizzy’s uncle. That was surprising. Caroline was able to ingratiate herself into the company. Always mindful of letting everyone know of her disdain... wicked witch of the north.

Lizzy received a startling letter from Longbourn and he-who-shall-not-be-named is hiding out in Meryton. Lawd!! That man! This threw a wrench into the works and Darcy and the Colonel went into plans as to how they would approach the situation.

Volume lll: Desperate Measures: 3-stars: ends at 100%

Kill me now!! I am so angry with this story. We are talking about the angst being drawn out until the 90% mark before ODC [our dear couple] straightens out their differences. I-wanted-time-with-ODC!!! This was a maze or labyrinth of hits and misses, twists and turns, roadblocks and deadends. The range of misunderstandings was maddening. This became a ‘How Many Different Ways Can We Screw With ODC’ before they finally get together. Lawd, help me!!

The side story finally had its own conclusion. The epilogue was nice and wrapped up the loose threads. We were told what happened with the rest of the characters. I just wanted it to be over. I did not enjoy this journey. I wanted to pull out my hair.
Profile Image for Victoria.
519 reviews7 followers
December 11, 2019
This is a well written long haul story. It's 3 volumes that cover two weeks of time. Darcy and Elizabeth are emotional and introspective but not overly so, and not to the point where it becomes tedious. Grafton has done an excellent job with her supporting characters as well. Everyone is characterized very well and very believable. There are a couple new faces (Nicholas and Serena) who were interesting enough but I can honestly say I didn't care about them as a much as our canon characters. That's more on me though than their characterization.

There comes a point in the third volume where I started skimming because I needed to "get to the good part"! Then when our dear couple cleared the air I felt much more regulated hahaha!

This was a great read, and one that had been on my TBR list since 2014! I'm so glad I dedicated the time to enjoy it.
180 reviews2 followers
February 15, 2018
Oh what a twisted road Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet had to traverse on. A few new characters to enjoy. An overall great book.
Profile Image for Elin Eriksen.
Author 24 books159 followers
January 26, 2018
I was intent on loving this book but I did not...
Although filled with thoughtfulness, anguish, depth, a lovely character development and some humorous dry wit remarks it just did not engage me.

The excess of detailed discription of surroundings, the fact that ODC interpreted every interaction with each other in the worst possible way, the predictability, and lagging of the story started grating on me. It would have benefited a trim down in editing.

Entering at the Hunsford proposal which were similar to canon but not exactly the same.
ODC keep being thrown into each others company, regardless of how much they try to avoid it. Slowly learning to know one another on a deeper level, the missunderstandings however are not at an end... They continue unabated to the very end, if it continued beyond is hard to tell since the story never really tells.The sensory discription are lovely though and the anguish and torment that both Elizabeth and Darcy experience are keenly felt. Being a lot inside their heads, learning how they felt and thought was lovely but it became some what repetitive along the way and predictable. It felt like one step forward and then two steps back over and over again. This book reminded me of a song I have listened to resently. "I hit my head up against the wall, over and over and over again and again..."
A dinner party at Rosings after the proposal, gives Elizabeth an opportunity to apologise for her misjudgement. Elizabeth is however, called back to town as the Gardiners are expecting a visit from their godson, Harrington. As Darcy waists no time in acquainting Bingley with his interference as soon as he is back in town. ODC bump into each other repeatedly. Darcy withdrawing as not to invade Elizabeth with his presumably unwanted attention is perceived as Darcy losing his affection for her. Add jealousy as a consequence to several misunderstandings and misperceptions they are driven further appart. Several near encounters that could have avoided the missunderstandings felt like stalling.
The ending was lovely though except for the epilogue. The epilogue was a listing on who married who and a lot of new characters was thrown into the matchmaking pond. Very little of it contained any information on ODC which was disappointing.

I have read several of the other reviews and see that the book is generally loved, personally I will not reread this but since this is my first of this author I will try another to see if that might be more to my liking...
Profile Image for Les.
2,911 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2013
This is a very well written and edited Pride and Prejudice what if...

And our what if is what if Lizzy and Darcy didn't separate immediately following his proposal at Hunsford parsonage but instead were thrust into one another's path constantly.

These are books full of coincidence, misunderstanding and miscommunications. 99% of the story covers barely 2 weeks of time. A full 92% covers (~ 625 pages) 14 days and that means the pacing is glacial. If you are a slow reader you might read it in real time.

In order to fill three books with 14 days of content we are privy to almost every aspect of their lives except usage of the chamber pot.

I really don't like this Darcy he is whiny, angsty and immature. He can't eat, he can't sleep, he can't function. He sulks, he weeps and he runs away; once to London, once to Bath and is planning to run to Ireland. I honestly wanted Col. Fitzwilliam to tell him to “man up”, there is sensitive and then there is wussy and this is a wussy Darcy. A man of 8 & 20 years would have had some disappointment in life. So why is he carrying on like a 13 year old girl with her first crush?

Conversely I love the fun and vibrant Georgiana and Anne deBough. They are smart, sharp witted and confrontational.

There are two new characters introduced; Nicholas Harington, Madeline Gardiner's god son and school chum of Bingley, and Serena, Madeline Gardiner's mildly disabled half sister. Both are used to create havoc between Darcy & Lizzy. This Mrs. Gardiner is a the daughter of a gentleman and childless.

If you like lots of drama this is a perfect set of books but if you prefer some action then you will probably be disappointed.
161 reviews9 followers
November 14, 2013
I finished this book or these three books really last night. It was good. I enjoyed book 1 and 2 a lot because Elizabeth and Darcy were constantly in each others company. They still had their misunderstandings but they came to the truth pretty quickly. For some reason book 3 was a much slower read for me. There were so many misunderstandings and Darcy and Elizabeth's personal thoughts seemed redundant. Over and over they kept thinking the same things and doing nothing about it. However it got better in the last part of the book. There were many touching scenes in the book and no bodice ripper scenes which was pleasant. I would definitely recommend this but it is not a one afternoon read.
Profile Image for E Brookhouse.
168 reviews7 followers
July 29, 2017
Very long but worth it and wonderful!!

I cannot coherently express all of the emotions I felt reading this. It is very thorough, and you are rarely left wondering what a character is thinking, however when you do, it is absolutely gripping. So often you can guess how something will play out but on one occasion specifically, I was practically sick with anticipation. I mean this as a compliment!! Surprises do happen in these variations, but I have never read an author who successfully draws them out so delightfully as Ms Grafton. Absolutely wonderful, with fun new characters and thankfully not an overwhelming amount of the Longbourn crew. Such a nice reprieve!!
Profile Image for Blodeuedd Finland.
3,673 reviews310 followers
dnf
November 19, 2014
I am a bit of a DNF-o-holic now.

My issues with this one was that it was nothing new, if I wanted to read Pride and prejudice, I would read PP. It seems to change later but too late for me. I thought about skipping to book 2, but arghh, damn ebooks making it harder to do that.
6 reviews
June 10, 2020
I really enjoyed this one! There is a very funny line in Volume 1. It is a variation of the oft-quoted line in the Austen's original P&P where Lady Catherine brags about how proficient she and Anne could have been had they not had so many numerous obstacles. Every variation of P&P that I have read has a similar conversation from Lady Catherine. But this one was hilarious. I loved it. I actually laughed out loud.

Quote by Lady Catherine:
" Calligraphy, you say? I am, of course, a renowned proficient with pen and ink. No one has a finer hand than I. And Anne would be equally lauded, had she the strength to hold an implement for such time as would be required to fully display her talents."

I mean, isn't that the best quote ever!! I have only completed Vol 1, but am hooked, and will immediately begin Vol 2. I will look for more from this author.

10 reviews
January 20, 2018
Good for the most part

There were aspects of this story I loved, but I found it painful to read. Elizabeth and Darcy's reconciliation was delayed unnecessarily. There were a lot of new characters introduced that although nice, I felt added nothing extra to the story. I found both Elizabeth and Darcy's stubborness to be incredibly annoying. There were some character variations I enjoyed such as Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne Darcy.

I wanted to love the while of this variation, as I have I loved many others. But for the most part, I found it only tolerable, and I was never tempted to love it!
Profile Image for Staciel.
767 reviews8 followers
June 10, 2017

Wow-- let me just say, wow!

This was a great book (or books as it is in 3 volumes), and is what Jane Austen fan fiction should be, in my opinion.

BUT-- Let me say this;

It moves extremely slowly-- lots of tea drinking, getting in and out of carriages, etc.. but, I love that kind of stuff.



Profile Image for Susanne.
428 reviews23 followers
August 19, 2017
A three-volume set of Pride and Prejudice variations in which Darcy, after his disastrous proposal and Elizabeth's rejection, is thrown into her path by Bingley's pursuit of Jane Bennet in London. But a childhood friend of Elizabeth's now seems to be pursuing her, a gentlemen of wealth and good looks, so Darcy has competition this time around.
Profile Image for Nicole Reads Romance.
551 reviews9 followers
April 19, 2014
A sweet take on the classic tale, I enjoyed this variation immensely. Darcy and Elizabeth's romance was sweet, the new characters introduced were believable and their story-line interesting. I read all three volumes together, so do admit I skimmed a good portion of book three - but overall thoroughly enjoyed both the writing and where it took Darcy and Elizabeth.

A definite recommend to any fan of P&P variations.
Profile Image for Amanda.
79 reviews5 followers
December 17, 2013
I loved this. It's so sweet. And I laughed. The whole book long. I don't think that was the intention of the author but Darcy is just so... It makes me giggle just thinking about it. It is, however, very slow moving. But so funny. Hahahaha. I would recommend this to all my P&P reading friends.
311 reviews
January 13, 2014
I really really enjoyed this 3 novel package. I felt the author added so much to the characters lives that we could really feel we were involved. It fleshed out the characters. Read it and you'll enjoy it.
Profile Image for Evei.
1 review1 follower
April 29, 2016
Wonderful

Elizabeth and Darcy at their BEST! My favourite P&P variation so far! Highly recommended, characterisations are truly flawless, Darcy in particular is fascinating and love Colonel Fitzwilliam's role in this!
Profile Image for Suze JA.
86 reviews
September 10, 2015
oh what to say about this story I love it and then I didn't. At times I wanted it to move on already! It was a little to wordy for my taste.
Profile Image for obsessedwithbooks .
152 reviews14 followers
April 17, 2016
Almost as good as the Pamela Aiden series but a little too slow at times. Better than most Austen fanfic. I enjoyed the writing. Highly recommend to readers who love Austen variations.
Profile Image for Sandra Gebhard.
95 reviews
July 31, 2016
Good story

I liked the additional characters but felt the book was a little long and I would have liked a few less misunderstandings
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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