An Interrupted Proposal: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Bronwen Chisholm

Fitzwilliam Darcy was certain of his reception when he entered the Hunsford parsonage and began his proposal to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, though he knew she was not what his family or society expected of his future wife. When his proposal was interrupted before it had properly begun, he began to question his assurance and whether he was worthy of her.

Join this low angst What If? retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at the point of Mr. Darcy’s greatest faux pas and journey with him as he tries to gain the lady’s admiration while righting any wrongs along the way.

162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2025

About the author

Bronwen Chisholm was raised in Central Pennsylvania, the youngest of four sisters. Though she was not introduced to Jane Austen's work until later in life, she grew up reading the Bronte sisters, Gone With the Wind, and other classics as well as watching vintage Hollywood movies. Her love of books and literature almost led her to a career as a librarian. Instead, life and love carried her to Virginia where she took a position as a state employee and began raising her family.

As her children grew and became involved in their own interests, Bronwen returned to her love of the written word. No longer content to simply read it, she began writing. Though the first attempts ended up on a shelf for now, she would not be discouraged. Deciding to set aside her Women's Fiction and Suspense Romance for a time, she finally became a published author with her Pride and Prejudice Alternatives. Bronwen was thrilled with the acceptance of her first offering, The Ball At Meryton: A Pride and Prejudice Alternative Novella. She takes great pleasure in searching for potential "plot twists" and finding the way back to a happy ending. Her current work is told entirely from Georgiana Darcy's point of view and has been well received.

Her love of writing has led her to several writing groups, and she is currently serving as the Vice President of The Riverside Writers.

For more information, visit her at www.bronwenchisholm.wordpress.com.

Reviews

[lori huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet

A fairly bland but nice tale about "what if" Elizabeth interrupts Darcy's marriage proposal at the Hunsford Parsonage, and they discuss his feelings and hers, leading Darcy to realize that Elizabeth doesn't even like him, and that he needs to court her properly. What follows is Darcy bending over backwards to improve Elizabeth's opinion of him, and setting things right that are in his control, such as reuniting Bingley and Jane, and taking care of the Wickham problem.

The romance is lovely, if a little sappy at times. The progress of the relationship of ODC moves along very quickly since Darcy manages to play the hero in many different ways. The book is well written and well edited. There's not much new, and no real crises. It's a quick read, bland but pleasant. If you're in the mood for very light entertainment, I recommend it.

[Michelle David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming

A charming and low angst variation inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Bronwen Chisholm. I liked it.

[James S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can Lizzy and Darcy marry given Lizzy’s low status

Very pleasant story about the fallout of Lizzy’s lowly status. Things begin to change and the Bennet daughter mature and help Lizzy and Georgiana. Shortish story which enhances the story because there is no room for boring talk. I liked it.

[Maria Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting ideas in this book. I liked the forward thinking of it and loved seeing Mr. Bennet finally step up. I also liked that when Darcy overstepped, he was able to step back and see where his fault lay and then Mr. Bennet was willing to do the same. From there they worked more as a team.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet low angst story. Darcy performs a quick courtship and the last third of the book deals with various plans to improve the Bennets

[Suzan Lauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editing was good.