Lady Catherine Helps!

by Lorraine Hetschel

In the original story, Mr. Darcy makes a fool of a proposal because of his pride and arrogance. What if Lady Catherine were to interfere and prevent Mr. Darcy making such a poor proposal? Could her outrage stem his arrogance, and would Elizabeth be sensible enough to keep her wits about her when attacked by Lady Catherine and defended by Mr. Darcy? What happens when Elizabeth finds she has no choice in who she will marry? Follow this story as our beloved hero and heroine embark on a journey of learning to love despite all obstacles.

421 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2013

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this version Darcy doesn't complete saying his disastrous proposal as lady Catherine barges in on them. All that Elizabeth heard at this point is that he ardently admires and loves her so he hasn't insulted her or her family. When Lady Catherine verbally attacks Elizabeth, Darcy defends her to his aunt in assumption that Elizabeth was to accept his suit. This scene witnessed by Mr Collins leads him to write a letter to mr Bennet and the Lucases. To avoid scandal and a ruined reputation Elizabeth is forced into an engagement with mr Darcy as soon as he realizes she doesn't care for him. Elizabeth will need to resolve her animosities against Darcy such as his separation of Bingley from Jane and his mistreatment of Wickham. Darcy is determined to please Elizabeth when he sees evidence of her daily tears. Darcy's aunt and uncle, the Fitzwilliams also make the engagement challenging and test Elizabeth's nerves but she makes a successful introduction to the ton with their help. She grows to respect Darcy by the time they are married but the path to love is not quick. Her growing attraction and physical response to Darcy does not signify love in Elizabeth's mind so Wickham stirring up trouble is what is needed to bring Elizabeth's true feelings forward.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet an other exemple of how words written in a certain way could easily show readers the passion between two very loving people.

I loved reading this book but yet was disapointed that in the épilogue we read about every character, but Richard and Anne.

Never the less à book i dearly enjoied reading.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise here: The story starts with a sort of a cross-breeding of the Hunsford proposal and Lady Catherine's verbal assault on Elizabeth. That formidable matron interrupts Darcy's proposal and supplies the insults that Darcy normally handles himself. Elizabeth is provoked into responding to Lady Catherine in a way that Darcy interprets as an agreement to marry. Mr. Collins takes Lady Catherine's insults as gospel and spreads nasty gossip about Elizabeth, so her reputation and her family would be ruined if she doesn't marry Darcy. So there is an engagement and during the weeks that the banns are being read she gets to know both Darcy and the more reasonable members of his family better. Darcy has a jealous streak because he knows she's not in love with him.

I was a little disappointed by both Darcy and Elizabeth's father because they are so blasé about the lies Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins spread about her, nobody's doing a damn thing to tell them off or give them any consequences or comeuppance. Darcy even wants to invite his aunt to the wedding... Just say no, Elizabeth. Have some self-respect. Just because your father is a useless wretch doesn't mean you shouldn't expect your husband to protect you and put you first.

I have enjoyed reading this but the most energy is at the beginning and at some point it starts to drag a bit. It's about 100-200 pages longer than it should be, in my opinion. At times, the author reports inconsequential conversations that don't really bring the story forward, and pointless detail like who entered the room in which order, who sat where, what they ate (they had breakfast pretty much every morning before anything else happened), which servants entered when, what time they woke up and dressed, who called for carriages to go wherever they were going and whether carriages swayed on the way over. Working on a strict need-to-know basis, I felt like I didn't need to know all this stuff.

The steam level is touching and kissing and implied steam. The reader gets the distinct impression that Darcy stares out of windows and walks out of rooms to cover aroused states and that Elizabeth is happy with whatever is going on in the bedroom when they marry but the finer details are left to your own imagination. Despite the overall wordiness, the eventual romantic climax is a bit of a blink-and-miss. She goes, "I love you", he's like, "Awesome!", and then he goes on to confer with his steward or something.

Pet peeve: Another round of professional editing wouldn't have hurt. These people have dinning parlors and shinning eyes.

I rated this four stars as a reflex but maybe three would be more accurate. I looked at my Kindle highlights and I didn't realize there was so much wonky editing.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

To jump start the courtship

This was a cute story in which Lady Catherine caused the issue of the marriage between Me Darcy and Elizabeth. The book takes you through the courtship, in which Far y and Elizabeth had to learn to deal with the other. The marriage came with issues but not one they could not handle. Cute, sweet, and a good read.

[James S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Catherine Helps

The title is unique enough and the author writes fun stories so I thought this would be a good book.

Well I’ve read it three times and I’ve enjoyed reading each time. I recommend it highly.

[Tamra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. First 3/4 of this story was a 5. The last part felt rushed but still an amazing P&P variation.