What do you think?
Rate this book
Freedom & Mirth: Or, A Pride and Prejudice Serio-Comic Journey Book One
Darcy and the gang as you’ve never seen them before—in this, a poignant and hilarious romp through the land of Austen and beyond. Love child? Duels? Opium eating? Thievery? Disguises? What if the main characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice misbehaved in ways that revealed their eccentricities, their strengths and their weaknesses and made them even more human, more real to us? This variation of Pride and Prejudice features a motley group of characters, many of whom are familiar to you, and introduces some new and unforgettable ones, including a mystical, beautiful nun, an irrepressible little girl, an enigmatic pirate and a strong-minded widow.
The story picks up during the action in Kent, England, after Elizabeth Bennet has soundly rejected Fitzwilliam Darcy’s third-rate marriage proposal. Now enter another dimension, where our down-and-out manly trio—Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam—are slumming it in Sherwood Forest, disguised as laborers, and enjoying many a rough and tumble. Next, it’s the ladies’ turn, where Elizabeth Bennet takes on Caroline Bingley in a petticoat duel that Longbourn will never forget. Meanwhile, Colonel Fitzwilliam and his new sidekick embark on a journey to Lisbon, Portugal, to search for something he has lost. But then, a tragic event in London changes all, whereupon the second half of the story takes many an unexpected twist and turn.
Some of the characters have a hidden self, but due to the rigidity and rules of polite society during the Regency Era, they must keep things on the low down. But secrets are meant to be divulged. Written in a unique voice using the vernacular of the Regency Era, with a tinge of modern sensibility, Freedom & Mirth mixes the buffa and seria, the underlying question being, can people really change themselves by summoning the courage to live the lives they are meant to live?
The story picks up during the action in Kent, England, after Elizabeth Bennet has soundly rejected Fitzwilliam Darcy’s third-rate marriage proposal. Now enter another dimension, where our down-and-out manly trio—Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam—are slumming it in Sherwood Forest, disguised as laborers, and enjoying many a rough and tumble. Next, it’s the ladies’ turn, where Elizabeth Bennet takes on Caroline Bingley in a petticoat duel that Longbourn will never forget. Meanwhile, Colonel Fitzwilliam and his new sidekick embark on a journey to Lisbon, Portugal, to search for something he has lost. But then, a tragic event in London changes all, whereupon the second half of the story takes many an unexpected twist and turn.
Some of the characters have a hidden self, but due to the rigidity and rules of polite society during the Regency Era, they must keep things on the low down. But secrets are meant to be divulged. Written in a unique voice using the vernacular of the Regency Era, with a tinge of modern sensibility, Freedom & Mirth mixes the buffa and seria, the underlying question being, can people really change themselves by summoning the courage to live the lives they are meant to live?
404 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2017
4 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
About the author
Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi
8 books29 followersI'm a writer of literary historical fiction, women's fiction, and coming of age fiction. My WIP is a low fantasy Regency romance. I take delight in the sublime and the ridiculous, the extraordinary and the everyday, the magical and the mystical, and the wisdom that can be extracted from it all. My novella, Something About Lizzy, is the Grand Prize Winner - Shorts, 2024 Chanticleer International Book Awards, and also a B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree. My novella, My Cousin Darcy, is a B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree and the Silver Medalist for Best Audiobook 2023, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. My previous works include: Only Sofia-Elisabete (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), which was named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2021 and honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion; I, Sofia-Elisabete: Love Child of Colonel Fitzwilliam (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), which was named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018; Twelfth-Night Cake & the Rosings Ghost, which was a finalist in the 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards in the UK. In 2021, my short story, “Goya’s Muse,” was published in The Copperfield Review Quarterly. Join me on Bluesky at @robinkobayashi.bsky.social
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
June 5, 2023
I loved this story!!! 5+*****
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” Abraham Lincoln
This book is crazily, wonderfully off canon. There are our canon characters, but we see them from a very different perspective here. There are several very surprising changes in multiple supporting roles, some downright shocking (Mrs Bennet.)
This story is primarily about Colonel Fitzwilliam and his post war struggles. Coming home from the war wounded and addicted to Opium and alcohol, he lives a rather self destructive life, but yet his loyal and jovial relationships with his family and friends shows through. And those friends take him in hand. It’s revealed that Colonel F left behind a child and her mother in Portugal and believed dead after the thorough destruction there after the war. Darcy and Bingley encourage him to try and find his daughter, and declare they will help.
What follows is a sad and frustrating journey, with obstacles thrown in their way that really seem insurmountable when clue after clue results in dead ends and more mystery. In the meantime Fitzwilliam is facing his own demons again and again. Bingley has surprising skills and strengths here, and later hidden sensibilities. For Fitzwilliam the entire book is a spiritual journey, and his journey is a hard one many times. He is rewarded though. Yes!
The rest of our beloved characters have their own journeys of change. I actually loved this Caroline Bingley, very surprisingly so! We don’t see much of Darcy and Elizabeth but we do get to see them very happy. The writer has given our stern and serious Darcy some hilarious quirks, which gave us some needed comic relief at times. Georgiana has a very different story arc here, you’ve got to read this.
Fitzwilliam meets and falls in love with the most intriguing new character to P&P. She’s more intelligent and mature than our dear Colonel, and she has been on her spiritual journey for longer than he. He has to work to win her, or be ready to be married to her. The Colonel has a most engaging and down to earth guide, another vital new character I loved.
Before I write the whole book I need to stop and say I highly recommend this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series and hopefully soon her newest book about Sophia Elizabette.
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” Abraham Lincoln
This book is crazily, wonderfully off canon. There are our canon characters, but we see them from a very different perspective here. There are several very surprising changes in multiple supporting roles, some downright shocking (Mrs Bennet.)
This story is primarily about Colonel Fitzwilliam and his post war struggles. Coming home from the war wounded and addicted to Opium and alcohol, he lives a rather self destructive life, but yet his loyal and jovial relationships with his family and friends shows through. And those friends take him in hand. It’s revealed that Colonel F left behind a child and her mother in Portugal and believed dead after the thorough destruction there after the war. Darcy and Bingley encourage him to try and find his daughter, and declare they will help.
What follows is a sad and frustrating journey, with obstacles thrown in their way that really seem insurmountable when clue after clue results in dead ends and more mystery. In the meantime Fitzwilliam is facing his own demons again and again. Bingley has surprising skills and strengths here, and later hidden sensibilities. For Fitzwilliam the entire book is a spiritual journey, and his journey is a hard one many times. He is rewarded though. Yes!
The rest of our beloved characters have their own journeys of change. I actually loved this Caroline Bingley, very surprisingly so! We don’t see much of Darcy and Elizabeth but we do get to see them very happy. The writer has given our stern and serious Darcy some hilarious quirks, which gave us some needed comic relief at times. Georgiana has a very different story arc here, you’ve got to read this.
Fitzwilliam meets and falls in love with the most intriguing new character to P&P. She’s more intelligent and mature than our dear Colonel, and she has been on her spiritual journey for longer than he. He has to work to win her, or be ready to be married to her. The Colonel has a most engaging and down to earth guide, another vital new character I loved.
Before I write the whole book I need to stop and say I highly recommend this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series and hopefully soon her newest book about Sophia Elizabette.
July 5, 2017
Love child? Duels? Opium eating? Thievery? Disguises? What if the main characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice misbehaved in ways that revealed their eccentricities, their strengths and their weaknesses and made them even more human, more real to us? This variation of Pride and Prejudice features a motley group of characters, many of whom are familiar to you, and introduces some new and unforgettable ones, including a mystical, beautiful nun, an irrepressible little girl, an enigmatic pirate and a strong-minded widow.
A serious story with many funny moving parts.
The story picks up during the action in Kent, England, after Elizabeth Bennet has soundly rejected Fitzwilliam Darcy’s third-rate marriage proposal. Now, enter another dimension, where our down-and-out manly trio—Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam—are slumming it in Sherwood Forest, disguised as laborers, and enjoying many a rough and tumble. Next, it’s the ladies’ turn, where Elizabeth Bennet takes on Caroline Bingley in a petticoat duel that Longbourn will never forget. Meanwhile, Colonel Fitzwilliam and his new sidekick embark on a journey to Lisbon, Portugal, to search for something he has lost. But then, a tragic event in London changes all, whereupon the second half of the story takes many an unexpected twist and turn.
The quest for freedom, mirth and love.
Some of the characters have a hidden self, but due to the rigidity and rules of polite society during the Regency Era, they must keep things on the low down. But secrets are meant to be divulged. Written in a unique voice using the vernacular of the Regency Era, with a tinge of modern sensibility, Freedom & Mirth mixes the buffa and seria, the underlying question being, can people really change themselves by summoning the courage to live the lives they are meant to live?
A serious story with many funny moving parts.
The story picks up during the action in Kent, England, after Elizabeth Bennet has soundly rejected Fitzwilliam Darcy’s third-rate marriage proposal. Now, enter another dimension, where our down-and-out manly trio—Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam—are slumming it in Sherwood Forest, disguised as laborers, and enjoying many a rough and tumble. Next, it’s the ladies’ turn, where Elizabeth Bennet takes on Caroline Bingley in a petticoat duel that Longbourn will never forget. Meanwhile, Colonel Fitzwilliam and his new sidekick embark on a journey to Lisbon, Portugal, to search for something he has lost. But then, a tragic event in London changes all, whereupon the second half of the story takes many an unexpected twist and turn.
The quest for freedom, mirth and love.
Some of the characters have a hidden self, but due to the rigidity and rules of polite society during the Regency Era, they must keep things on the low down. But secrets are meant to be divulged. Written in a unique voice using the vernacular of the Regency Era, with a tinge of modern sensibility, Freedom & Mirth mixes the buffa and seria, the underlying question being, can people really change themselves by summoning the courage to live the lives they are meant to live?
May 11, 2017
This Pride and Prejudice variation I would recommend for the more casual Jane Austen Fan. Over all it is a good book and interesting read. Although I believe that it might not get on well with the hardcore fans as the merits and ethics of the characters are changed significantly from the source material in some instances. In concerns to the actual plot line, it contains some things that are hard to believe could happen concerning some characters and their personalities. One of these being that Mr. Bennet would marry such a person as Caroline Bingley. I understand that in this version she is written so you understand her actions and values a bit more as to actually like her. But overall I tend to get distracted by how the original would act and the utter improbability that such an occurrence would happen. At some points I find some of the story hard to follow as it has seemingly improbable sequences. Though overall I found the book to be an interesting read though the reader does have to completely understand that the characters are changed from their original selves. By understanding this and thinking of them as other people during that time period it is a good book.
April 17, 2023
A really interesting new novel in the Jane Austen fan-fiction genre. It includes everyone’s favorite Pride & Prejudice characters but F&M focuses on some of the lesser known characters like Colonel Fitzwilliam, Caroline Bingley and Georgiana Darcy and takes us on a whirlwind journey.
The opening mischief in Sherwood Forest may not be for everyone, but once the premise of the novel is revealed, the story takes off. We eventually learn the Colonel’s backstory which takes us to Portugal, York and Scarborough. F&M is filled with rich historical detail (definitely makes me want to see Scarborough). It also includes many comic situations, a few surprising turn of events, and much lively, and at times saucy, dialogue. It pokes fun at some of the staid Regency-era conventions, while staying true to the period.
Most importantly, there are some truly compelling new characters: Sofia-Elisabete, the abandoned little girl, is impossible not to love, and Mrs. Wharton, as the object of the Colonel’s affections, is magnificent. The author does a terrific job in bringing these strong female characters to life.
The opening mischief in Sherwood Forest may not be for everyone, but once the premise of the novel is revealed, the story takes off. We eventually learn the Colonel’s backstory which takes us to Portugal, York and Scarborough. F&M is filled with rich historical detail (definitely makes me want to see Scarborough). It also includes many comic situations, a few surprising turn of events, and much lively, and at times saucy, dialogue. It pokes fun at some of the staid Regency-era conventions, while staying true to the period.
Most importantly, there are some truly compelling new characters: Sofia-Elisabete, the abandoned little girl, is impossible not to love, and Mrs. Wharton, as the object of the Colonel’s affections, is magnificent. The author does a terrific job in bringing these strong female characters to life.
July 17, 2017
A very entertaining read that continues the adventures of the Bennets, Darcys and Bingleys as they continue to navigate Regency society, bringing previously minor characters to the fore with all misbehaving to varying degrees to the mirth of the reader.
The language is beautiful, educational and it was interesting to learn about the issues of the day, which are still relevant today.
I received my copy as a Goodreads giveaway (thank you!) and look forward to seeing the where their adventures take them next :)
The language is beautiful, educational and it was interesting to learn about the issues of the day, which are still relevant today.
I received my copy as a Goodreads giveaway (thank you!) and look forward to seeing the where their adventures take them next :)
April 23, 2019
I enjoyed it very much, unconventional and unexpected.
Not a reading for JA purists but in the end when I read a variation I expect it to be something very different from the original.
Not a reading for JA purists but in the end when I read a variation I expect it to be something very different from the original.
May 29, 2023
In this P&P variation several years have passed since the Hunsford proposal, and the visit to Pemberley, resulting in Lydia not being saved by Darcy, and Bingley did not return to Netherfield. The story continues with some out of character behaviour by quite a few of the canon characters. But we have the story of the Colonel and Bingley going to Portugal to find the Colonel's lost daughter. For me this was a fun read, and I enjoyed the book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews