Darcy and Lizzy: Bewitched

by Mary McPhee

In this unique and charming spin-off of the beloved Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Lizzy are bewitched, not only with each other, but by the evil Nanny-Witch, a fearsome spectre from Darcy’s childhood whom he once played a prank upon. Now that prank has come back to haunt him. Nanny-Witch has the Regency couple dance like puppets on her string. She transports them to a dangerous place for their honeymoon where they might not be able to keep their heads about them. The unforgettable characters have new experiences but the wonderful essence of Darcy, Lizzy, Georgiana, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the Bingleys, and the disreputable pair, George and Lydia Wickham, is lovingly preserved.

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2015

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really, really, REALLY different variation... well, actually sequel... to Pride and Prejudice. Somehow it manages to incorporate elements of Alice in Wonderland, the movie Dirty Dancing and Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities into it. There's magic, time travel (both forward AND backward) and zapping to different geographical locations involved. Some time IS spent at Pemberley, and most of the major P&P characters appear. Some make only brief appearances, but others share in the strange experiences with the newlywed Darcy and Elizabeth. Lydia and Wickham have particularly interesting roles, especially near the end of the book.

It all starts on the wedding day of Darcy and Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Darcy really ticked off his nanny (who apparently is a REAL witch) when he was a child by putting a frog in her bed. For some unexplained reason, she picks this time to seek revenge. The early part of the book is very light and fluffy, but it gets pretty intense by the end. Colonel Fitzwilliam has a strong role in trying to block Nanny-Witch's spells, but there is also a strange foursome of new characters who lend assistance to the time-travelers.

The writing seems too modern and its flow a bit uneven, but I have to admit that the story itself grabbed me by the throat. I had started reading it late in the evening and just got too tired to continue, but I woke up several times during the night wondering what was going to happen in the story next. As soon as I was awake the next morning, I immediately had to grab the book to find out, even before my morning coffee!

There are some unexplained plot points. As I mentioned, I don't understand the witch's timing. It's an awful long time to wait for payback if she was that bothered by the frog 20 years ago! The presence and significance of the 4 new characters (Doc, Bud, Myrtle and Alice) is left up in the air, too, especially since they are so helpful. And some of the cute phrases Darcy and Lizzy pick up in the Catskills in 1963 weren't in use until decades later and are never mentioned during the "Dirty Dancing" phase of the book.

Despite the flaws, I have to rate any book highly when it captures my imagination so strongly. I don't think it's for everyone, but I did enjoy it a lot. It's not very long, and it's mysterious and spooky, good for the Halloween season. Explicit sexual content is limited to a married couple's morning-after nudity in their bed and description of fully clothed but very suggestive dirty dancing.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

This was a wild read...incorporating shades of several different stories as well as time traveling to both the future and the past. And the onus falls on NW...Nanny Witch from Darcy's childhood...in whose bed he put a frog and in the uproar caused her to lose her job. Her younger self uses a name from King Arthur's time.

Darcy and Lizzy think that they are on their way to a honeymoon in Paris; traveling on their wedding day Darcy soon discovers his coach has been shanghaied and his servants replaced. You have to laugh as you hear that they land at Kellerman's in the Catskills. But even when they finally find their way home NW is not done with them. A house party turns into a time-trip to the days of terror in Paris.

Some of the plot was not difficult to anticipate but the author deserves kudos for how she blended history and other novels in this mish-mash of a story.

This was not a long read and might be appropriate during the days of Halloween. But I was amused by it.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a traditional, sane, sensible P&P what if move along there is nothing to see her.

But if you delight, at least occasionally, in the silly, bizarre, absurd, nonsensical then you will want to read this book.

Big, giant, monstrous, massive, gargantuan disclaimer: This is a book chock full of anachronisms they are everywhere. I didn't even bother counting them. Language, places, things they are all anachronistic. It is like a SCA convention so ... if you are a purist then you won't like this book and /or your head will EXPLODE!

So get a glass or plastic cup of a non staining liquid, curl up in your favorite chair and drop by into an insane P&P what if that includes witches, Dirty Dancing (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092890/), time travel, the French Revolution and The Darcys, Bingleys, Wickhams and more.

This is an irreverent, witty, silly, absurd story. Which I loved.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darcy and Elizabeth have just married and are on their way to their honeymoon destination. When reality shifts. It seems that Darcy is under a spell due to his mis-treatment of his Nanny (witch) as a child. Now his family and friends are in danger. Who, and how can the spell be broken as they are transported first into the future, then into the past.
A strange variation but enjoyable.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I grumbled in the beginning but I did like the book from about 60% on. When the author sent our dear couple and friends back and to France, she did a great job. But I didn’t really like the story done in the present time. I just couldn’t get through the inconsistency even though I know this story to be a farse.

[Sharon Derlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really twisted time travel version of Pride and Prejudice