The Second Mrs. Bennet: Pride & Prejudice Variation

by Gayle Buck

Charlotte Lucas thought she could handle a man of such quicksilver parts as Mr. Bennet better than did Mrs. Bennet - and then she gets the chance!Charlotte Lucas was past the age of expecting a proposal of marriage. She has given up all idea of romance and resigned herself to be an old maid. When a tragic accident occurs, her resignation is swept away. Can she find happiness in what begins as a marriage of convenience?

Thomas Bennet was trapped in an unhappy marriage. When his wife unexpectedly dies, he has no inclination to marry again. But he must think of his girls. Unwed and without fortune, they faced an impoverished future. He needed someone to chaperone his five daughters, see them married, and manage Longbourn. Is Miss Lucas the one who can fill the role of The Second Mrs. Bennet?

"Mr. Bennet, I am not certain how I should reply. You-you have surprised me."

"Pray let me speak, then. Miss Lucas, I need someone to sensibly manage Longbourn and to give good advice to my daughters. I believe it to be an advantage you are so well thought of by Lizzy and Jane. They will not need you, but must surely be companionable, and help you with the younger girls."

Charlotte sternly reminded herself that she was not a romanticist. It was her first proposal; undoubtedly, the only one she would ever receive. There were no flowery speeches, of course. She did not expect there to be. Still, should there not be some lip-service to sentimentality?

She swallowed a sigh.

Mr. Bennet spoke of managing Longbourn, of being of use with his daughters. He had not implied anything more in a union. She honestly could not put a name to her feelings. She clasped and unclasped her hands. I am plain of face and on the shelf. She knew these things about herself to be true. Mr. Bennet did not approach her as a man in love.

Something inside her wailed. Oh, how I wish it was different! Perhaps the silly young girl she had once been still existed, buried somewhere deep inside of her. Foolish, Charlotte! She could scarce expect him to admit to passion for her, yet she felt a strange measure of hurt.

She castigated herself for such foolishness. She resolutely set aside the slur against her femininity and began to consider the incredible opportunity which was so unexpectedly being offered to her. She would be mistress of her own home. She would no longer be a burden and a drain upon her family's purse. She would not become an aging spinster, losing year by year her social stature and the dwindling of her small portion, sinking finally into genteel poverty.

An outward calm belied her swift-shifting thoughts and emotions. "Mr. Bennet, I accept your offer of marriage."

677 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2024

About the author

Gayle Buck has freelanced for regional publications, worked for a radio station and as a secretary. Until recently, she was involved in public relations for a major Texas university. Besides her Regencies, she also writes fantasy and romantic suspense. She lives in Bandera, Texas.

Reviews

[Terri Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant plot I really like Charlotte to get a better ending than Mr Collins.

[Jill Marfleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very satisfying read!

This is possibly the best novel I have read with the “Charlotte marries Mr Bennet” trope - the characters stayed true to canon but some changed in perfectly believable ways, some not at all.
I see the author has experience in writing historical romance fiction and that explains the excellent writing as well as the research - I was interested to read the description of a simple country shoot at that time, early in the book which was one of the most realistic I’ve read. It was one of the reasons I bought it just from reading the sample - I usually get books on KU unless it’s an author I’ve read and liked before.
I look forward to the possibility of more books like this!

[lori huff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cuppa tea

Mrs Bennett trips, falls, and hits her head on the hearth stone while waiting to hear the outcome of Mr Collins' marriage proposal to Elizabeth. She's mortally wounded, and dies a few days later. Mr Bennett decides to remarry immediately in order to have a hostess at Longbourn to handle visitors, and to manage his daughters. He chooses Charlotte Lucas, who accepts the proposal even though she's shocked by the haste and the awkwardness of becoming stepmother to her best friend Elizabeth.

Charlotte Lucas is a beloved character from P&P, but I felt that she was given a bad deal here. Instead of being a sensible and improving influence on her new family, this author has decided that the only real benefit she'll be is to Mr Bennett as a sexual partner. Otherwise, nothing better results from her inclusion, and in fact just a lot of annoyance results. I couldn't figure out why the character of Augusta Hawkins was introduced, a character who we know from "Emma" as someone whose only job is to be annoying, and she's in fine form here. Then there's the horrible character of Elizabeth, who turns into a verbally abusive shrew when she learns that Charlotte will marry her father. It's awful.

I always have a problem with authors who use an excessive amount of Jane Austen's prose verbatim, and that's the case here. I already know what Ms Austen wrote, this book should be the creation of its writer. The author even attempts to incorporate what Jane Austen's characters are thinking, and turns it into dialogue that sounds stilted and awkward. Although the book is titled The Second Mrs Bennett, that particular story doesn't begin until the halfway point of the book. The first half is simply rehashing what we already know with scarcely anything different. Although the book is written well enough, I can't recommend it.

[Mariska · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't Bother!!

For a book named The Second Mrs Bennet It dwelled far too much on the first Mrs Bennet. I made it a little past 1/4 of the 371 pages and the First Mrs Bennet is still alive and it's mostly a rehash of the original Pride and Prejudice with precious little original material added. Frankly I grew bored reading it. It's potential is wasted in my opinion.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hopes for this, but was disappointed to find it vastly inferior to most of this author's work. It is almost entirely a reiteration of the original novel, without Jane Austen's richness and sparkle. The death and replacement of Mrs. Bennett does not even happen until 40% into the book, and while the second wife is far superior to the first, in the end she makes little difference to the lives of the daughters. The addition of the ghost is just bizarre.

[Bekka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is okay but could be better. The first chapter or two was nearly word for word from Jane Austen’s work and, in my opinion, could’ve been cut from this. We didn’t even get to the premise of the book (Mrs. Bennet’s death) until over a quarter already into the book.

I didn’t really see any point in having Anne De Bourgh dead. It added nothing to the plot, Kitty could’ve been taken on as a companion regardless. I do, however, like this alternative path for Kitty.

I think the concept of Mrs. Bennet’s ghost was unique but again this really went nowhere. There was no resolution with this character. Did she move on? Stick around? She also didn’t do much other than make her presence known. She didn’t really help or hinder in anyway, was just there.

Same with the author’s original character. Love the idea, didn’t really do much for the plot. Was slightly better than the ghost.

Would have liked more insight into Mr. Bennet’s thoughts after about halfway into the book. Why all of a sudden did he want to press his marital right immediately? What changed? What was his line of thinking?
I feel like this sped up change was to have an excuse to have Charlotte pregnant without altering the original timeline of events overmuch. Which is understandable but it just comes from left field a little.

Also, I did like that the author gave us a darker vision of Elizabeth’s personality. It was refreshing to have the character’s faults highlighted.

Would I read this book again? With some changes, yes. I think I saw and understood the author’s vision and there were some parts I did enjoy.

[Natalie S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love this author so much, and I hate that I hate this story so much. I understand that these stories have to play with the canon, but what she did to Jane was unforgivable. Up until the first Mrs Bennet died I liked the book well enough - it fleshed out Mr Bennet and looked like it was giving Mary more depth. There were possibilities in how the characters would unfold when pushed in different directions than the original plot. Then it all fell apart. Lizzie simply wasn't believable. I could see why Buck made Lizzie act the way she did, but in PnP Lizzie is reacting to things that people actually said and to things they actually did. Not so much in this version. There's enough already present in the canon to set up some interesting dynamics without making Lizzie completely lose grip on reality. I could imagine a wonderfully interesting and subtle dynamic playing out with Charlotte moving from marrying Mr Bennet for practical reasons to falling in love in a way that simultaneously wins Lizzie's respect while angering her because Lizzie is no longer her father's favorite female. Throw in Charlotte very practically trying to get Jane wed to someone else, and you could have had a very compelling story arc. (Not to mention all the interesting things you could do with the younger girls).

Also, Jane didn't deserve that.

I need to go re-read Cupid's Choice to try and get the bad taste out of my mouth.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself was not bad, but the author turned Elizabeth into a shrew, and I can't get past that. Darcy is almost nonexistent, except when he moves the plot along off-screen. Lydia ends up almost the same, Mary improves, and poor Jane has a huge lapse in judgment that also sends her off-screen for almost the entire book. We do get an Emma crossover with the addition of dear Mrs. Elton (pre-marriage), and I guess that was worth something.

I know that this is supposed to be Charlotte's story, but I also personally did not need to know quite so much about how randy Mr. Bennet becomes. It's a lot to take in.

If you are a Charlotte fan, know that she does get her HEA. And Mr. Collins is cheated out of Longbourn.

I am just bitter about how my favorite character Elizabeth is twisted, and that took most of the enjoyment of the book out of it for me.

[Rosanne M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an Elizabeth & Darcy Variation

Yes Mrs. Bennet dies, but does not leave. There are also twist in emotions from the daughters. Elizabeth is not mature and Jane is not Jane. This is a Bennett & Charlotte love story. I did enjoy it but it is only for MATURE readers.