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Jane Austen Reimaginings #4

Love Lasts Longest: Alternate Short Tales of Pride and Prejudice

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Steal a quiet moment with Darcy and Elizabeth…
In the busy world of go-go-go, we often have our gadgets glued to us all the time. Via technology we can now take our books with us much more conveniently than before, but who wants their reading interrupted in order to return to the real world? Love Lasts Longest was written for the moments when reading a lengthier volume is unwise. Follow each story as we see Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet grow in love over and over again!

Featuring:
Under the Apple Tree- Mr. Darcy’s insulting words at the local assembly proved he needed a good deck on the head. An apple falling on it just may do the trick…
Tolerable Feelings- When Charles Bingley accidentally tears Jane Bennet’s gown at their first encounter, they must wed to save her reputation—or so Mrs. Bennet says. What can it mean for Darcy and Elizabeth if the issue of Jane and Bingley’s marriage is not a source of disagreement?
Compassion for Me- Instead of dancing all night at the Meryton assembly, Mr. Bingley sprains his ankle in the first set with Charlotte Lucas. Appealing to Mr. Darcy’s sense of duty—instead of his sense of amusement— and the helpful nudge of a matchmaking friend alters Darcy and Elizabeth’s first meeting.
An Ungentlemanly Manner- If you have ever wondered how the story might change if Darcy argued against Elizabeth’s charge that Darcy behaved ungentlemanly, this is the story for you!
An Unladylike Display- The companion story to An Ungentlemanly Manner, Elizabeth must now convince a very penitent Darcy on their wedding night that her feelings for him have reversed.
Teddy- Darcy and Elizabeth celebrate their long awaited son’s third birthday.
Presenting Miss Darcy- Anne Frances Darcy, the eldest daughter of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, is married and leaving Pemberley with her husband. As she looks forward to her new life, her parents reminisce about her childhood before being reminded that there will always be a new Miss Darcy for them to cherish.
The Forget Me Not State- A modern story set during a road trip gone awry on the Alaska-Canada Highway.
Come What May- This modern story follows Elizabeth in her wedding day preparations. When life throws one curve ball too many, will Elizabeth be able to smile through it all?

188 pages, ebook

First published September 24, 2015

58 people are currently reading
66 people want to read

About the author

Rose Fairbanks

61 books113 followers
Rose Fairbanks believes in grace, redemption, and the enduring power of love rooted in faith. Drawn to the elegance and charm of the Regency era, she writes stories where ballroom whispers and country walks are just the beginning. After a deep renewal of her walk with God, she felt called to infuse her historical romances with the truth of the Gospel. Each novel shares the timeless message of God’s love, set against the backdrop of a world filled with duty, honor, and second chances. Through every page, she invites readers to discover the greatest love story ever told.

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5 stars
30 (18%)
4 stars
54 (33%)
3 stars
65 (40%)
2 stars
6 (3%)
1 star
6 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Profile Image for Sheila Majczan.
2,687 reviews201 followers
July 16, 2020
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Under the Apple Tree: 5% to 20%: Darcy and Elizabeth first meet as she falls from an apple tree at Longbourn. After getting to know each other better they promise that any walk to their special tree will only be with each other. Even 6 months later in Kent they find a tree under which to talk.

Tolerable Feelings: 21% to 33%: Bingley steps on and rips Jane’s dress during their first dance…a compromise is declared. Elizabeth torments Darcy by repeatedly using “tolerable” in conversations. She stays in London with the Bingleys (including Caroline) where Colonel Brandon finds her attractive and then in Kent a different proposal is offered by Darcy.

Compassion for Me: 34% to 39%: Bingley sprains his ankle in the first set at the Assembly Dance but demands that Darcy stay and dance every set in his place before he goes home.

An Ungentlemanly Manner: 39% to 46%: Darcy taking offense at her describing Darcy as having ungentlemanly behavior replies as to how he would show her truly ungentlemanly behavior if he….

An Unladylike Display: 47% to 57%: Caught in a compromising position ODC is forced to marry. But Elizabeth finds affectionate displays making her realize something has changed in her heart.

Presenting Miss Darcy: 58% to 64%: Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth reminisce about their oldest daughter, Anne, on her wedding day…the day she gives up the name, “Miss Darcy”. But there is one who then carries on that name.

Teddy: 65% to 67%: Elizabeth remembers how they longed for a child on her oldest’s, her son’s, birthday.

The Forget Me Not State: 68% to 80%: Traveling the Al-Can highway, Darcy, Bingley, Jane and Elizabeth get lost and so Elizabeth and Darcy set out to walk to at least get gas for the car. Conversations and the fact that they have to camp over night in a one-man tent have some confessions of feelings.

Come What May: 81% to 96%: Elizabeth’s and William’s wedding day and a number of things go wrong but other events such as Jane and Bingley becoming engaged make the day special.

These were all so short that I could not say much about them without it becoming SPOILERS. Short & sweet and perfect for a busy day.
Profile Image for Debbie.
1,680 reviews79 followers
January 29, 2016
I always find it difficult to review short story anthologies. It's rare that all the stories are equal in quality even when they're written by the same author. And because they ARE short stories and I prefer to avoid spoilers in my reviews, it's hard to describe any of them individually without giving away too much. So I will mention two of the longer selections here: one was my favorite in the collection while the other was my least favorite.

"Tolerable Feelings" (5 stars) has the very interesting premise that Jane and Bingley are compromised during the Meryton Assembly. Bingley immediately proposes. This throws Elizabeth and Darcy together under different circumstances. Some scenes are reflections of Pride and Prejudice but don't play out in exactly the same ways. I particularly appreciate the sly insertion of Colonel Brandon, who doesn't appear in the story directly but is mentioned by Caroline Bingley as a suitor interested in Elizabeth. I also enjoy the way the final scene plays out compared to the original.

"Come What May" (2 stars) is explained in the introduction as having been written on the basis of suggestions of various wedding day scenarios compiled from Facebook readers. It's just too much. Pretty much everything that can go wrong does go wrong for this modern-day Elizabeth, with catastrophe piled on top of catastrophe. She isn't a Bridezilla but, unfortunately for her, her mother is. I'm sure it's meant to be humorous, but I just found it annoying. The problem with her hair is especially unbelievable. What bride doesn't watch in the mirror when her hair is being styled for her wedding??

There are some really good tales among the nine compiled here. When averaged together, I think 4 stars is a fair rating. As a bonus, there are excerpts of books by Zoe Burton and Leenie Brown as well as an excerpt from Ms. Fairbanks' The Gentleman's Impertinent Daughter.
Profile Image for Les.
2,911 reviews1 follower
February 13, 2016
This is an ideal book of short stories of Pride and Prejudice. Every one has a HEA. Most strongly feature Darcy & Lizzy, even the one seemingly about Jane and Bingley is dominated by ODC.

Most of the stories are regency but 2 are modern. Truth be told I am not a big fan of modern Darcy & Lizzy. I always feel that manners and societal mores are as important to P&P as the characters and dialog; and modern manners don't lead to problems of P&P. Yet these modern tales are well crafted and somehow work.

I just adored every page of this book. It was perfect for Valentine's Day weekend.
Profile Image for Erika.
397 reviews23 followers
September 28, 2015
A delightful distraction of short stories!!

This book was an anthology of short stories by Rose Fairbanks. Some were familiar to me (Compassion for Me and An Ungentlemanly Manner), but the rest were new. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the various stories and the small text Mrs Fairbanks wrote prior to each story that gave a personal tie to the story.

The book was well written and flowed easily making it easy for me to devour it in one day. The stories were either regency or modern in style and were centered around various points in the relationship of ODC.

Thank you Mrs Fairbanks for this delightful book. I would heartily recommend it to any and all JAFFers!!!
Profile Image for J. W. Garrett.
1,736 reviews133 followers
September 20, 2016
Short but sweet: 4-stars

It is impossible to rate novellas and short stories with one generic set of stars. Most subscribe to a one star for the attempt; two stars for creativity and new ideas for our dear couple; three stars says I liked it and it kept my attention, four stars rate that I loved it and enjoyed the ride, and finally five stars for the ‘holy crap, I simply adored this work’ and want more.

This work was divided into nine sections that was snippets of scenes with ODC in their coming to know, then to like and finally, to love each other. The journey was not always smooth, was not without rough places and to see them struggle was at times was hard.

#1 Under the Apple Tree:
Adorable, as D&E meet under the apple tree. It was so sweet; we also spend time at Rosings Park where Darcy does battle with Lady Catherine. Oh, what a battle. Darcy was adorable.

#2 Tolerable Feelings:
Oh, Mrs. Bennet…that woman. At the Meryton Assembly, she announced loudly that Elizabeth would be the next mistress of Longbourn when she married Mr. Collins. Well that didn’t go over well and when Elizabeth refused Mr. Collins, she was banished from Longbourn. Later, we have her visiting Huntsford Parsonage and the rest, as they say….

#3 Compassion for Me: 5-stars:
Bingley sprained his ankle and Mr. Darcy had to stay and represent Bingley to the community. This was so cute as the first dance was with Charlotte Lucas. Oh, I simply loved her. She was so wise…she always saw things as they really were even in canon. She always knew the true lay of the land. It was no different in this short. Only this time, she was able to move the game pieces the way she wanted and had an influence in the outcome. This was so cute. I would like to see more of this one.

#4 An Ungentlemanly Manner: should be rated in super nova stars
All I can say is WOW!!! Passionate response to proposal…oh my.

#5 An Unladylike Display:
Well, it was ok, but a little confusing as the events happened so quickly that I had to read it again in order to figure out what was happening. I won’t spoil it…because to discuss it further would spoil the reveal. So you decide.

#6 Teddy:
Aaaah! This was so cute.

#7 Presenting Miss Darcy: The wedding of the ODC’s daughter. It was flashbacks and continued growth within the Darcy family. Oh My Goodness…it was so touching. I had tears. Anyone that has married off a child will relate.

#8 The Forget Me Not State:
I don’t usually like modern JAFF, but this one gripped me and I found that I liked it. Having said that, the resolution came so quickly that it left me with a ‘what the heck happened’ feeling and that…I did not like. Man, I was just getting into the story. I could see this one fleshed out and the author could give us more information on the Al-Can Highway and the terrain. I certainly wanted more. Oh yes, I wanted more. This Darcy was nice…. I mean really fine. I really… wanted more.

#9 Come What May:
This one got on my nerves. Mrs. Bennet got on my nerves. In planning the wedding, everyone took over and Elizabeth had to finally let it go and just let it happen. It became the trials and tribulations of planning the wedding, and finally giving up and resolving to simply making it work. E&D just wanted to get through the day. As long as they were married to each other…it was to the point of make or break.

The rest of the book was excerpts from Zoe Burton and Leenie Brown.



Profile Image for TaNeshia Washington.
29 reviews3 followers
March 11, 2016
I received an advanced copy of Love Lasts Longest in exchange for an honest review. Anything you read here is solely my opinion based upon reading said book. This is a book of alternative short stories with samples of stories written by authors Zoe Burton and Leenie Brown at the end of the book. I thought these book was very refreshing. When most authors written alternative stories its always the same thing, but I found this book to be quiet different. One of my favorite alternative tales in this book is Compassion For Me. “If he had had any compassion for me he would not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of his partners. O that he had sprained his ankle on the first set.” These words were spoken by Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice ,Chapter 3. This story explores what would have happened if Mr. Bingley did indeed sprain his ankle in the first set. These stories range from sweet to exciting. I really enjoyed reading these of short stories. My favorite was the first story, which is called Under the Apple Tree. Who knew an apple tree had that much power. Grab your copy today, this is another great book written by Ms. Fairbanks.
Profile Image for Teresita.
1,221 reviews12 followers
March 27, 2016
Delightful short stories

If, like me, you don't have time to commit to a full length story, try this wonderful collection of short ones. Sweet, uncomplicated romance, perfect to take your mind away from work for a little while.
545 reviews21 followers
October 14, 2023
This is a collection of short stories with quick HEAs. Some of them are really good.
Profile Image for Anji.
86 reviews
March 19, 2016
LOVE LASTS LONGEST by Rose Fairbanks

This is a collection of Pride and Prejudice based short stories. Some are linked, some aren't and they're a mix of Regency and modern settings. Personally, I think the Regency ones worked best.

I'm usually more of a novel reader, which is why the linked and longer stories worked best for me but all of the stories are enjoyable and the whole collection can easily be read in a single sitting if you want. Try this collection if you need a quick fix of P&P to dip in and out of.

It's not easy to review short stories without giving too much away but the book description guves plenty of detail for each of them so I won't say any more I'll just say that my favourite story was the first one Under the Apple Tree and my least favourite was the final one Come What May.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this anthology from the author for review.
Profile Image for Susan.
7,244 reviews69 followers
March 11, 2016
Some sweet stories about Darcy and Elizabeth, a couple of which I would have liked to have been longer.
652 reviews13 followers
April 12, 2020
This is a collection tin of short stories... some are really short, more like snippets of moments in time. Some are modern, but the majority are Regency and focus on different periods of time - before engagement, wedding, Datcy children.

All of the stories were ok, I liked the first one the best. This is a book that's ok to dip in and out of. It's not a book that held my attention particularly but having said that, I'm not really a fan of very short stories so this could just be a personal thing.
1,391 reviews4 followers
September 4, 2020
Interesting intriguing sweet and loveable

Loved all the short stories. A few were more my favorite, but all the stories were incredible. The different ways Darcy and Elizabeth fell in love were brilliantly written. Highly recommended to all to read
248 reviews
June 28, 2023
(Short Story Collection) 8 Alternate Tales -Under the Apple Tree, Tolerable Feelings, Compassion for Me, An Ungentlemanly Manner, An Unladylike Display, Teddy, Presenting Miss Darcy, The Forget Me Not State, Come What May
Profile Image for Jean Stillman.
1,027 reviews14 followers
October 7, 2023
Those who enjoy JAFF reading are sure to enjoy this collection of short stories, featuring ODC--Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Perfect little short reads to enjoy while you are waiting in line for the carpool, a doctors appointment, etc.
Profile Image for M.
1,126 reviews
November 28, 2019
A collection of cutesy little short stories. Quite basic and mixed quality, but sweet.
3,430 reviews42 followers
Read
April 7, 2025
A collection of short stories I read before work on a monday morning. These things are always a bit uneven but I enjoyed it for a quick Jaff fix.
711 reviews
December 22, 2016
*3.5*

This was a quick and enjoyable read.

There were short stories I really loved, but unfortunately also some I didn’t like at all.
But I didn’t mind that some of them were a little longer, because I really loved the stories.
12 reviews
March 10, 2016
Madeline

I loved all of the short stories. Each made me fall in love with Darcy a little bit more .
Profile Image for Elin Eriksen.
Author 24 books158 followers
January 24, 2018
A lovely bouquet of sweet, romantic and passionate short stories with unique twists on P&P.

From an apple in the head (or rather a full basket, including the picker) and a compromise of Jane and Bingley at the Meryton assembly, to modern day road trip in Alaska. The stories varies from small cute snippets of the Darcy offspring to a modern twist of their wedding. My favourite however was the ungentlemanly way Mr Darcy responded to Elizabeth's accusation of him not being a gentleman after his proposal. The sequel being my second favourite.

All in all an enjoyable read that I heartily recommend.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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