What do you think?
Rate this book
Lieutenant Bennet: A Pride & Prejudice Variation
What if Elizabeth Bennet took her cousin’s name and his place in the army?
When Napoleon’s war creeps closer to Hertfordshire, every parish is ordered to supply men for the militia. Whispers of a draft spread fear through Meryton, and every family wonders who will be called next. Elizabeth Bennet refuses to sit idle while her household is measured and found wanting. Instead, she seizes upon a daring to claim the name of her dead cousin, Thomas Bennet, and enlist in disguise.
Together with her loyal friend William Lucas, Elizabeth exchanges petticoats for breeches and enters a world of drills, danger, and deception. Passing as a young lieutenant is harder than she imagined, and grows riskier still under the sharp eye of Major Darcy, who seems determined to uncover what others miss.
Inspired by the legend of Mulan, reimagined in Regency England, Lieutenant Bennet is a bold tale of disguise, devotion, and the courage to fight for more than one’s own destiny.
When Napoleon’s war creeps closer to Hertfordshire, every parish is ordered to supply men for the militia. Whispers of a draft spread fear through Meryton, and every family wonders who will be called next. Elizabeth Bennet refuses to sit idle while her household is measured and found wanting. Instead, she seizes upon a daring to claim the name of her dead cousin, Thomas Bennet, and enlist in disguise.
Together with her loyal friend William Lucas, Elizabeth exchanges petticoats for breeches and enters a world of drills, danger, and deception. Passing as a young lieutenant is harder than she imagined, and grows riskier still under the sharp eye of Major Darcy, who seems determined to uncover what others miss.
Inspired by the legend of Mulan, reimagined in Regency England, Lieutenant Bennet is a bold tale of disguise, devotion, and the courage to fight for more than one’s own destiny.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 27, 2025
33 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 24, 2025
I picked this up without much in the way of expectations. I mean, I like Mulan, but I had trouble picturing Elizabeth Bennet in that role, especially in a traditional Regency setting.
The author manages it by enlarging the threat from Napoleon, and thus England requires more soldiers to fill its ranks. Elizabeth, with the help of her good friend, William Lucas, manages to pass herself off as a young man but must make it through their training without her commanding officer, Major Darcy, discovering her secret and/or booting her out.
The writing itself is vivid and quite well edited. This is NOT quite as sweet as the Disney concoction. The horrors of war aren't sugar coated; a significant character even dies in battle. And the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy hits just the right balance, given their circumstances.
There is a glaring edit glitch where several pages suddenly repeat. It was simple enough to skip ahead and pick up where the new material appeared - took about 1-2 minutes to resume reading. Didn't significantly affect my pleasure in the entire book.
Original premise executed well.
Content is clean.
The author manages it by enlarging the threat from Napoleon, and thus England requires more soldiers to fill its ranks. Elizabeth, with the help of her good friend, William Lucas, manages to pass herself off as a young man but must make it through their training without her commanding officer, Major Darcy, discovering her secret and/or booting her out.
The writing itself is vivid and quite well edited. This is NOT quite as sweet as the Disney concoction. The horrors of war aren't sugar coated; a significant character even dies in battle. And the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy hits just the right balance, given their circumstances.
There is a glaring edit glitch where several pages suddenly repeat. It was simple enough to skip ahead and pick up where the new material appeared - took about 1-2 minutes to resume reading. Didn't significantly affect my pleasure in the entire book.
Original premise executed well.
Content is clean.
November 6, 2025
A delightful read!
I loved this book. It’s such a clever twist on Pride and Prejudice, blending Austen’s world with a with the legend of Mulan. Elizabeth’s journey of disguising herself, fighting, and still holding onto her heart had me cheering her one while falling in love with the additional layers on all my favourite Pride and Prejudice characters. The writing is vivid, the romance is heartfelt, and it all comes together beautifully. Highly recommend!
I loved this book. It’s such a clever twist on Pride and Prejudice, blending Austen’s world with a with the legend of Mulan. Elizabeth’s journey of disguising herself, fighting, and still holding onto her heart had me cheering her one while falling in love with the additional layers on all my favourite Pride and Prejudice characters. The writing is vivid, the romance is heartfelt, and it all comes together beautifully. Highly recommend!
November 6, 2025
A rip roaring adventure
Many of our favorite characters are present in this alternate universe, where Lizzy steps forward disguised as het cousin in order to join the army when England is threatened by the French. Lots of excitement, many trials for Lizzy, and plenty of romance.
Many of our favorite characters are present in this alternate universe, where Lizzy steps forward disguised as het cousin in order to join the army when England is threatened by the French. Lots of excitement, many trials for Lizzy, and plenty of romance.
November 4, 2025
P&P meets a fairy tale…
The story of Mulan written with our favorite P&P characters. Easy, low angst read. If you are looking for a fun easy read pick this book up.
The story of Mulan written with our favorite P&P characters. Easy, low angst read. If you are looking for a fun easy read pick this book up.
November 6, 2025
Lieutenant Bennet
This storyline is the love child of Mulan and P&P almost verbatim. Yet I enjoyed it immensely, even without the dragon!
This storyline is the love child of Mulan and P&P almost verbatim. Yet I enjoyed it immensely, even without the dragon!
October 24, 2025
Loved this, I was wondering how close to either story it would be, but it was a perfect blend of the essence of Mulan and Pride & Prejudice.
November 11, 2025
This is a bad, bad read.
The story's premise is misleading; rather than drawing from the original Mulan legend, the plot is a direct copy of the Disney animation. This lack of originality is compounded by a poorly developed romantic arc, leaving one to wonder at what point the protagonists formed their attachment. I don't think they know either. Fortunately, Darcy, Elizabeth, and the surrounding cast of forgettable soldiers are too underdeveloped for this lack of romantic chemistry to have any impact on the enjoyment of the read.
The manuscript also suffers from a pronounced inconsistency in its prose. Passages of suspiciously well-written descriptions frequently juxtaposed with awkward and unrefined writing, an issue exacerbated by the excessive repetition of words and a disjointed narrative that makes the action difficult to follow. The numerous continuity errors and recycled phrases makes the story read as if it were written by an author with no memory of their own previous sentences.
The story's premise is misleading; rather than drawing from the original Mulan legend, the plot is a direct copy of the Disney animation. This lack of originality is compounded by a poorly developed romantic arc, leaving one to wonder at what point the protagonists formed their attachment. I don't think they know either. Fortunately, Darcy, Elizabeth, and the surrounding cast of forgettable soldiers are too underdeveloped for this lack of romantic chemistry to have any impact on the enjoyment of the read.
The manuscript also suffers from a pronounced inconsistency in its prose. Passages of suspiciously well-written descriptions frequently juxtaposed with awkward and unrefined writing, an issue exacerbated by the excessive repetition of words and a disjointed narrative that makes the action difficult to follow. The numerous continuity errors and recycled phrases makes the story read as if it were written by an author with no memory of their own previous sentences.
October 28, 2025
Well worth the read
Overall, this is a lovely story with the characters keeping enough characters from canon to be recognizable, but believable alterations. That being said, the first half can be repetitive which got annoying. Darcy says the same sentence like 8 times. The way the characters speak is also quite odd at times. Almost like they are trying to be poetic which I did not love. Despite this, the story is enjoyable and I really liked this Elizabeth and Darcy. William Lucas also shines.
Overall, this is a lovely story with the characters keeping enough characters from canon to be recognizable, but believable alterations. That being said, the first half can be repetitive which got annoying. Darcy says the same sentence like 8 times. The way the characters speak is also quite odd at times. Almost like they are trying to be poetic which I did not love. Despite this, the story is enjoyable and I really liked this Elizabeth and Darcy. William Lucas also shines.
November 12, 2025
excellent mash-up but needs editing
I agree with an earlier review that there is too much repetition. That said, I actually appreciate the staccato writing style as it gives a sense of urgency to the story-line. I would give this five stars, but it needs a good editing. Still, I think it is brilliant to mesh Mulan with Pride and Prejudice- great job author!
I agree with an earlier review that there is too much repetition. That said, I actually appreciate the staccato writing style as it gives a sense of urgency to the story-line. I would give this five stars, but it needs a good editing. Still, I think it is brilliant to mesh Mulan with Pride and Prejudice- great job author!
November 10, 2025
Lieutenant Bennet
Very entertaining different version that I enjoyed...except the sections that were repeats. That is annoying. Such a great story to ruin with repeats.
Very entertaining different version that I enjoyed...except the sections that were repeats. That is annoying. Such a great story to ruin with repeats.
November 18, 2025
Made me want to watch live action mulan
December 16, 2025
DNF.
100% sure it's written by AI.
100% sure it's written by AI.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews