How It Would Be: A Short, Sweet Pride and Prejudice Birthday Story in Celebration of Jane Austen's 250th

by Caroline Cartier

Written in honor of Jane Austen's 250th Birthday, "How It Would Be" is a short story of 11,000 words.

As Mrs. Bennet's forty-sixth birthday approaches, her one birthday wish is simple...or so she claims. To see her last unmarried daughter finally wed. With Elizabeth Darcy hosting a splendid garden party in Ramsgate in her mother’s honor, Mrs. Bennet declares it the perfect occasion to double as a wedding breakfast for Mary...if only a suitable groom can be found in time. Unfortunately for Mary, her mother’s idea of “suitable” is the most intolerable man visiting Ramsgate. Mortified by her mother’s schemes, Mary finds herself retreating into unexpectedly easy conversation with the one gentleman she has always found interesting, though she would never admit it aloud. As the summer unfolds, with Mrs. Bennet plotting schemes at a dizzying pace, Mary must decide whether to open her heart. Will the visit end with the sound of wedding bells or another of Mrs. Bennet’s melodramatic sighs? A witty, romantic short story of mistaken intentions, meddling mothers, and a quiet young woman’s discovery that the best love stories are sometimes the ones that bloom under everyone’s nose.

Genres: Audiobook

52 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 16, 2025

Reviews

[Sam H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet

"I knew how it would be...." Mrs. Bennet favorite prideful cry whenever she successfully married off a daughter.

Well successfully in hers eyes.

While it was sad to learn of Wentworth'S first wife. Mary seemed the perfect replacement.

[Jen B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat reformed but also misguided Mrs Bennet. Gotta love her though in this one - a P&P and Persuasion crossover sequel. While I want to say more, I won't because it will give away too much before you start (it wasn't too difficult to figure out where this was going but it was an entertaining journey - except for one aspect which was disappointing from a certain perspective). This is the second Mary Bennet story I have read in the past few days where I appreciated her depiction and more well rounded personality.
And who knew that Sir Walter would prove himself so useful?

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 1 out of 5]

Four ay em insomnia leads one to unexpected reading material. This is the most ridiculous specimen of fanfiction I have ever encountered. A P&P-Persuasion mashup sequel, it completely misunderstands/misrepresents every character. Lady Russell once expressed contempt over Captain Wentworth's apparent attraction to the Musgrove girls, which she deemed a sign that he'd never been worthy of a woman of Anne's quality. Now Anne has been unceremoniously killed off in childbirth, and we're supposed to believe that Wentworth is attracted to...Mary Bennet! Are you not exceedingly diverted??? 😆😆😆

[Mustang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet P&P with a little Persuasion

Four stars rounded to five due to the fantastic audiobook.

In this Pride and Prejudice sequel, we get to enjoy some characters from Persuasion. This was a fun sweet little mashup that helps Mary find her happily ever after and then a very fun surprise for the Bennet family.

I borrowed the book on KU, but the audiobook fantastically narrated by Harry Frost is available on the author’s YouTube channel. I think the audiobook made this book even better.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat for Jane Austen's 250th birthday! This was a sweet, well-written mash-up of Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. It features my favorite character from P+P...Mary Bennet. It was fun to catch up on characters from both novels and it a happy ending with a surprising and happy epilogue! Thank you to author Caroline Cartier for this lovely little gem!

[Katja]

I listened to this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD0Ns...
It's a pleasant narration and a sweet story.
There is some sadness because we learn that a favourite character has died, but also happiness as Mary finds her match.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly disapprove of
a certain element of the backstory.
The happiness of a certain character
resulting from that is of paramount importance
to me!

[Arlene Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs Fanny Bennet and Mary travel to the Darcy's to celebrate Mrs Bennet's 46th birthday. Fanny is making plans to find a husband for Mary. This is a fun short story.