What do you think?
Rate this book
A Respectable Gentleman
Elizabeth Bennet has come to town for the Season. Her father and elder brother James believe London is the best place for her to find a husband, but she is determined to marry for only the deepest love, but what if the gentlemen she meets are all dunderheaded?
On her first visit to Hyde Park, she makes the acquaintance of young George Darcy, as precocious a young man as she has ever met. Due to his forward behaviour, she is soon thrown into the company of George’s elder brother, Fitzwilliam—a most disagreeable man she would be pleased to never see again. But, the elder Mr. Darcy keeps appearing at the same balls as her, and he even requests a set. Whatever for? He surely finds her company as distasteful as she finds his. If only she could cry off without sitting out for the rest of the evening. Her new friend Caroline insists he is a good man, but what respectable gentleman treats everyone around him with disdain?
Fitzwilliam Darcy is at a loss as to how to manage his wilful younger brother. George’s new acquaintance, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, surely has some information that would be useful, but the lady refuses to speak of their discourse. Infuriating woman! In the meantime, they are thrown together at a couple of balls, which does little to improve his opinion of her. Even if Caroline Bingley has adopted Miss Bennet as her particular friend, Fitzwilliam sees nothing special in the lady, particularly when she schemes to have them locked together within Lady Vranes’s library. Now, he is trapped. He has no intention of marrying, but his aunt and uncle are determined he will wed the deceitful Miss Bennet regardless of his wishes. George, of course, is thrilled by the prospect—his friend is to be his new sister—but as far as Fitzwilliam is concerned, Elizabeth Bennet will never be his wife!
This story contains adult content, including intimate scenes between a married couple.
On her first visit to Hyde Park, she makes the acquaintance of young George Darcy, as precocious a young man as she has ever met. Due to his forward behaviour, she is soon thrown into the company of George’s elder brother, Fitzwilliam—a most disagreeable man she would be pleased to never see again. But, the elder Mr. Darcy keeps appearing at the same balls as her, and he even requests a set. Whatever for? He surely finds her company as distasteful as she finds his. If only she could cry off without sitting out for the rest of the evening. Her new friend Caroline insists he is a good man, but what respectable gentleman treats everyone around him with disdain?
Fitzwilliam Darcy is at a loss as to how to manage his wilful younger brother. George’s new acquaintance, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, surely has some information that would be useful, but the lady refuses to speak of their discourse. Infuriating woman! In the meantime, they are thrown together at a couple of balls, which does little to improve his opinion of her. Even if Caroline Bingley has adopted Miss Bennet as her particular friend, Fitzwilliam sees nothing special in the lady, particularly when she schemes to have them locked together within Lady Vranes’s library. Now, he is trapped. He has no intention of marrying, but his aunt and uncle are determined he will wed the deceitful Miss Bennet regardless of his wishes. George, of course, is thrilled by the prospect—his friend is to be his new sister—but as far as Fitzwilliam is concerned, Elizabeth Bennet will never be his wife!
This story contains adult content, including intimate scenes between a married couple.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2026
About the author
L.L. Diamond
33 books186 followersAmazon best selling author L. L. Diamond is more commonly known as Leslie to her friends, and Mom to her three kids. A native of Louisiana, she has spent the majority of her life living within an hour of New Orleans until she followed her husband to the ends of the earth as a military wife. Louisiana, Mississippi, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, England, Missouri, and now Maryland have all been called home along the way.
Aside from mother and writer, Leslie considers herself a perpetual student. She has degrees in biology and studio art, but will devour any subject of interest simply for the knowledge. As an artist, her concentration is in graphic design, but watercolor is her medium of choice with one of her watercolors featured on the cover of her second book, A Matter of Chance. She is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She also plays flute and piano, but much like Elizabeth Bennet, she is always in need of practice!
Aside from mother and writer, Leslie considers herself a perpetual student. She has degrees in biology and studio art, but will devour any subject of interest simply for the knowledge. As an artist, her concentration is in graphic design, but watercolor is her medium of choice with one of her watercolors featured on the cover of her second book, A Matter of Chance. She is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She also plays flute and piano, but much like Elizabeth Bennet, she is always in need of practice!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Did Not Finish
October 11, 2026This book has an excellent writing. The characters are new and i really would have enjoyed it if not for this type of Darcy.
He is beyond arrogant. He is cruel, full of himself. I never like this type of Darcy.
So this book might be great but it's not for me!
He is beyond arrogant. He is cruel, full of himself. I never like this type of Darcy.
So this book might be great but it's not for me!
October 6, 2026
Not Quite the Bennets and Bingleys We Know
A Respectable Gentleman is another enjoyable variation from L.L. Diamond. It's an unusual one in that Elizabeth is the second of five children. Instead of four sisters, she has four brothers. Darcy, meanwhile, has a younger brother, George, rather than Georgiana. Caroline Bingley is Anne de Bourgh’s friend and becomes a friend to Elizabeth, while Charles Bingley is…well, definitely not the Bingley we know from canon.
Darcy is a widower, having been married to Anne; he and Elizabeth have not met when the story begins. When they do, neither makes things particularly easy for the other. Circumstances eventually force them into a marriage neither expected.
As noted, the author changes quite a few familiar characters, but even with the twists in gender, I never found the book confusing or difficult to follow. The dialogue is always great with this author, and there's plenty of drama to keep you interested.
Darcy comes into the marriage still carrying guilt from Anne, and Elizabeth carries her own reasons for being cautious. They frustrated me more than once. Darcy especially could be incredibly stubborn, and there were times I wanted to shake him—Elizabeth also has her stubborn moments.
George was a favourite for me. Despite being the younger brother, he often became something of an adviser to Darcy, especially when it came to Elizabeth, and he was not afraid to tell him when he thought he was wrong. Elizabeth, in turn, helped Darcy better understand George. I thought the give and take between the three of them was an important part of the story.
I also really enjoyed Caroline's personality switch. She is likeable and loyal, and gets a story of her own rather than simply being there to chase her usual ambitions.
The romance is a slow burn. Their feelings change gradually as they get to know one another, rather than suddenly finding themselves in love at the end of the book. There is also plenty of trouble as the story progresses. Wickham is still Wickham, although he is not the only source of it. I will leave it there so I don't spoil it.
After as much JAFF as I have read, I appreciate finding something different, and L.L. Diamond managed to surprise me more than once with this one.
Mature content.
Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review. I also purchased the published version for my Kindle library.
Note: None of my reviews are generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A Respectable Gentleman is another enjoyable variation from L.L. Diamond. It's an unusual one in that Elizabeth is the second of five children. Instead of four sisters, she has four brothers. Darcy, meanwhile, has a younger brother, George, rather than Georgiana. Caroline Bingley is Anne de Bourgh’s friend and becomes a friend to Elizabeth, while Charles Bingley is…well, definitely not the Bingley we know from canon.
Darcy is a widower, having been married to Anne; he and Elizabeth have not met when the story begins. When they do, neither makes things particularly easy for the other. Circumstances eventually force them into a marriage neither expected.
As noted, the author changes quite a few familiar characters, but even with the twists in gender, I never found the book confusing or difficult to follow. The dialogue is always great with this author, and there's plenty of drama to keep you interested.
Darcy comes into the marriage still carrying guilt from Anne, and Elizabeth carries her own reasons for being cautious. They frustrated me more than once. Darcy especially could be incredibly stubborn, and there were times I wanted to shake him—Elizabeth also has her stubborn moments.
George was a favourite for me. Despite being the younger brother, he often became something of an adviser to Darcy, especially when it came to Elizabeth, and he was not afraid to tell him when he thought he was wrong. Elizabeth, in turn, helped Darcy better understand George. I thought the give and take between the three of them was an important part of the story.
I also really enjoyed Caroline's personality switch. She is likeable and loyal, and gets a story of her own rather than simply being there to chase her usual ambitions.
The romance is a slow burn. Their feelings change gradually as they get to know one another, rather than suddenly finding themselves in love at the end of the book. There is also plenty of trouble as the story progresses. Wickham is still Wickham, although he is not the only source of it. I will leave it there so I don't spoil it.
After as much JAFF as I have read, I appreciate finding something different, and L.L. Diamond managed to surprise me more than once with this one.
Mature content.
Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review. I also purchased the published version for my Kindle library.
Note: None of my reviews are generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
October 14, 2026
As usual, Leslie Diamond treats us to plot twists that ramp up the mystery (and the angst) in this P&P vagary with its brand-new original story line that utilizes the characters of P&P with most of the genders changed for the primary characters. You'll note the few who have remained the same. I kept thinking Caroline was going to be catty, though. Hahaha! The delicate development of the romance was sweet, satisfying, and made me sigh, and tears were shed more than once during my reading of this novel.
October 17, 2026
Recommend highly
Once again this author has written an excellent book. I think I have read all her books and I enjoy the Recency periods more than her modern-day variations. But once again Wickham brings trouble and harm to ODC. He and Bingley are the bad guys and Caroline and Elizabeth became great friends. This is a great read and highly enjoyed it.
Once again this author has written an excellent book. I think I have read all her books and I enjoy the Recency periods more than her modern-day variations. But once again Wickham brings trouble and harm to ODC. He and Bingley are the bad guys and Caroline and Elizabeth became great friends. This is a great read and highly enjoyed it.
October 11, 2026
Long time fan of Ll Diamond this book is instantly in my reread shelf sooo good.
Read
October 21, 2026The gender swap was fun and the writing was excellent. But this Darcy was too needlessly cruel, meaning it's not a keeper for me. He was explicitly told that Lizzy couldn't have locked herself into the library with him, and the person who tried to stop it got locked into a cupboard but he STILL didn't believe she was innocent because...he's an asshole, I guess. He couldn't do anything to come back from that, especially after the consummation without any consideration of consent.
Leaving it unrated.
Leaving it unrated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2026
I wanted to like this book but this Darcy was awful. I knew he was supposed to redeem himself, but her belly fluttered at his eyes and the women in her life blamed her for their marriage animosity before he even started changing. Ew. The drunken consummation. This author is either a man or hates women. Double ew.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews