Noblest Intentions : A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Monica Fairview

When Fitzwilliam Darcy meets a young lady following an unfortunate event, he is strongly attracted to her. Unfortunately, a relationship with her is absolutely out of the question, given her circumstances. She is completely out of his reach.Or is she? First appearances may be deceptive. As they each discover more about each other, Elizabeth and Darcy's mutual attraction grows. Just as romance begins to blossom, an unexpected scandal brews, and Elizabeth may be forced to choose between love and practicality. What will she choose?

Noblest Intentions is an Elizabeth and Darcy first impressions, Regency variation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
It is a low angst, full-length novel with a touch of comedy and a warm, sweet ending.

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2026

About the author

Monica Fairview writes Jane Austen variations and sequels as well as Fantasy P&P variations. After graduating from the University of Illinois, she worked as a literature professor and then as an acupuncturist in Boston before moving to London.

Monica enjoys reading Jane Austen, historical , fantasy and post-apocalyptic novels , but avoids zombies like the plague. She loves to laugh, drink lots of tea, and visit Regency houses, and she is convinced that her two cats can understand everything she says.

If you'd like to be notified of her latest release, please press the FOLLOW button on Monica Fairview's Amazon page.

If you'd like to find out more about Monica, you can find her at
http://www.darcyregencynovels.com/
http://austenvariations.com
http://monicafairview.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set almost entirely in London, where Elizabeth is visiting the Gardiners in the winter of 1811. Mr. Wickham, Mr. Collins, Miss Bingley, and Lady Catherine are absent. None of the other Bennets appear until late in the book (and even then it's only Mr. Bennet), so their behavior and Longbourn's entail also have no influence on Darcy's reluctance to pursue this young woman - a woman to whom he's almost immediately attracted. The problems here are self-inflicted with a strong assist from the London gossip about the two of them.

Their first encounter is dramatic - Elizabeth's six-year-old cousin, Maggie, falls into the Serpentine Lake at Hyde Park, and Darcy, who happens to be there with Georgiana at the same time, jumps into the frigid water to save her. Elizabeth does the same, and it takes their combined efforts to calm the wildly flailing child and get her to shore. It creates quite the spectacle for the many onlookers, especially when Darcy, having carried little Maggie to safety, goes back in after Elizabeth, who has briefly stumbled, and he gallantly carries her to dry land, too. With only one carriage to get them all to warmth and dry clothes, Elizabeth and Darcy must set propriety aside and ride without a chaperone to his town home, which is closer than the Gardiners' Cheapside residence.

Darcy's experience of holding Elizabeth - and Elizabeth's experience of being held by Mr. Darcy - affect both of them deeply. However, Darcy believes she is Maggie's mother and, therefore, married. Her Cheapside address indicates she is not a member of the gentry, anyway. Not wanting to feel more tempted than he already is, he never asks her name and makes it clear that their acquaintance is at an end. Elizabeth is sorely disappointed, but his London neighborhood is only for those on the highest rungs of Society and, having noted the tasteful display of obvious wealth in his home, she will not impose further on him when he has already been so kind.

As you might expect, despite Darcy's initial intention, that's not the end of their acquaintance.

Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana get plenty to say, and the Gardiners' friend Mr. Millett is a viable suitor for Elizabeth. Maggie has two older brothers, but she steals every scene in which she appears. Darcy and Elizabeth's romance is sweet but fraught with misunderstanding and a little bit of manipulation by well-meaning relations providing a wee bit of misdirection.

I really enjoyed this plot. Ms. Fairview is a capable storyteller, and I always appreciate how nicely her writing flows.

Though it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story, this would benefit from better proofreading. I found quite a few errors sprinkled throughout - there are occasional missing words, extra words, verbs incorrectly switched from past tense to present tense, "defense" (American) also spelled "defence" (British), Miss Bennet once identified as "Miss Darcy," and others. There's also a minor inconsistency regarding Darcy's concern about Colonel Fitzwilliam's opinion. The copy I read was an ARC, so it's possible these have been corrected in the published version, but my rating is based on what I read.

Content is clean.

I received a free copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[CEK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and low angst

Very light characterization and a somewhat immature Elizabeth as our dear couple meet and save each other as they are feeding ducks in London. Darcy also saves a Gardiner daughter and, after Darcy comes down from his high horse, we have a happy ending!Extended Bennet family is not part of the story, although Georgiana and the Colonel stir the plot.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set entirely in London, where Darcy and Elizabeth first meet as her cousin, Margaret falls into the Serpentine waters and then Elizabeth follows in an attempt to save her. Of course, Darcy ends up helping both. But, he thinks Elizabeth is Margaret's mother. He does take them back to Darcy House to dry off and put on borrowed clothes before they return to the Gardiners where Elizabeth is having a long visit.

Darcy is drawn to Elizabeth and so we have another "Hunsford" type proposal and the same type of response from our girl. Georgiana becomes friends with Elizabeth and helps bring the couple together as visits are exchanged and dinner invites are made.

Elizabeth, having turned down Darcy, does regret doing so finally and has no hope he will offer again.

This was a sweet story with little real angst. We have no Wickham, Catherine de Bourgh or even Caroline Bingley and we do have a HEA and a short epilogue.

As another review stated there are some minor errors which could have been caught by a good proofreader.

[Donna Beveridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who saved whom?

What a delightful book! I love variations that are a quick read, have no villains and end in a HEA. It almost makes me want to fall in a lake and have a handsome hero save me. With my luck, my service dog, a Labrador Retriever would drag me in! I highly recommend reading this sweet novel and don't forget to get some strawberry ices to read with it.

[Carole (in Canada) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“She had wrapped him in kindness. He did not recall the last time anyone had been truly concerned about his well-being…It was a nice feeling.” (quote from the book)

This is a sweet romantic tale that has Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet meeting in Hyde Park in London under some very dramatic circumstances. First impressions play a large part in this meeting as well…for Mr. Darcy believes the woman and the child he sees are mother and daughter. But when the child falls into the Serpentine, Mr. Darcy is quickly running to rescue the child. The whole scene plays out with a growing audience and a very heroic Mr. Darcy!

“A gentleman who kept his promise under those conditions was a noble gentleman indeed.” (quote from the book)

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this story. Elizabeth has a bit more maturity in her interactions with Mr. Darcy. Both feel the pull of their connection to each other; however, both have their pride in fighting that connection.

“They are calling her the Siren of the Serpentine.” (quote from the book)

When betting is being placed on Mr. Darcy and his ‘siren’, he feels he must offer for her. His Hunsford moment is at hand. I thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth’s response! Overall, this was a gentle read with little angst. Relatives stir the pot providing us with an entertaining variation.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 52%