Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues

The Quill Collective #3

by Christina Boyd (Editor), André Refig (Narrator ), Joana Starnes

"One has all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it." —Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s masterpieces are littered with unsuitable gentlemen—Willoughby, Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot, et al.—adding color and depth to her plots but often barely sketched. Have you never wondered about the pasts of her rakes, rattles, and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there's more than one side to their stories.
It is a universal truth, we are captivated by smoldering looks, daring charms ... a happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. All the while, our loyal confidants are shouting on deaf ears, “He is a cad—a brute—all wrong!” But is that not how tender hearts are broken...by loving the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane Austen created?
In this romance anthology, eleven Austenesque authors expose the histories of Austen’s anti-heroes. "Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues" is a titillating collection of Georgian era short stories—a backstory or parallel tale off-stage of canon—whilst remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen’s great works.

Here are a few quick lines from a sampling of the authors to whet your appetite:

We arranged to fight our duel at that place where all the most elegant duels were fought: the secluded gardens near the Circus, accessed by the Gravel Walk; naturally, the occasion was to be held at dawn. I had been in my chair, subject to the shavings and combings and clippings of old Morley until at last, I cried out, “’Tis enough man! I am not gone to my wedding day!”
Morley frowned at me, his dark eyes sharp with disapproval. “Your wedding day? That is not a day I shall likely live to see so I must keep at my art on these, more common, events.”—Captain Frederick Tilney, For Mischief’s Sake, Amy D’Orazio

I smiled drowsily as she caressed my chest. “I love you, Clémence.”
Her fingers stilled as I closed my eyes in pleasurable exhaustion and drifted towards sleep.
She did not reply. —Mr. George Wickham, A Wicked Game, Katie Oliver

Yes, fellows, since you press me so hard, yes, I confess it, Cupid's darts have winged me. If you must have the story, pass me that bottle first. I can lift it with my left hand without paining my collarbone excessively. Now, you may not like what you are about to hear. You think lightning will never strike you. But let me tell you, last year on Basingstoke Down, I was neither looking to fall in love, nor looking for someone to fall in love with me, when all unawares—but stay, I must go further back… —Mr. Tom Bertram, The Address of Frenchwoman, Lona Manning

What say you? Are you in? Everyone may be attracted to a bad boy…even temporarily...but heaven help us if we marry one. "Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes and Gentlemen Rogues" will be released in print and ebook November 2017.

Genres: Romance, Short Stories, Historical, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Regency, Anthologies

Audible Audio

First published October 25, 2017

About the author

Christina Boyd wears many hats as she is a writer, reader, editor, and artist. Since 2013, Christina has worked with forty authors, self-published five anthologies, and edited over fifty books. A life member of Jane Austen Society of North America and Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Christina lives quietly in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with her dear Mr. B and a silver Labrador—now that the Boydlings have gone off on adventures. Her own whirlwind English fantasy came true thanks to actor Henry Cavill when they sipped champagne together atop the London Eye. True story. You can Google it.

Reviews

[J. W. Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an ARC [advanced reader copy] with no expectations of a review; however, how could I resist?

Forward by Claudine DiMuzio Pepe [Just Jane 1813]. Don’t skip the words of this blogger, commentator and Jane Austen enthusiast. Pay especially close attention to the rating scale provided at the first of this book. It will identify those stories that might have a more mature rating. I found this extremely helpful. What a marvelous idea.

Mature Content Guidelines as per Editor
[1] None: possible kissing and affection
[2] Mild: Kissing
[3] Moderate: some sexual references but not explicit
[4] Mature: some nudity and some provocative sex
[5] Erotic Romance: explicit, abundance of sex

This anthology is a must read for anyone who loves Jane Austen’s work. The genre, Jane Austen Fan Fiction [better known as JAFF], has exploded with prequels, adaptions, reimagining, variations, sequels, side-stories, science fiction, apocalyptic, other world, time-travel, paranormal [witches, vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc.], featuring every generation [Regency to modern] and mash-ups with everything imaginable, including Fairy Tales. JAFF authors have inspired, thrilled, chilled and horrified readers for at least a hundred years. And, that train does not seem to be slowing down. In fact, I do believe it is picking up speed.

This work is but the tip of a mountainous iceberg that represents the works of this well-chosen team of amazing authors. The writing is superb and the editing left us with minimal [if any] errors. I was so involved with reading that I didn’t even notice any errors. There were no jarring places that gave me pause and I was not jolted from the immersion I felt with the stories. Man… that is good writing.

Here are Austen’s men… bad boys, rakes, mischievous, and even a scum-bag-rat-bastard or two or… you get the idea.

1) John Willoughby [Rating: Moderate]: Joana Starnes: Willoughby’s Crossroads: ends at 10%

John Willoughby… what can I say? He is the rake we love to hate from Sense and Sensibility. Austen did not give us his back story prior to his meeting with Marianne on that rainy hillside. Characters hinted at his shadowed extravagance, debts, threatened estate Coombe Magna, and his expectations of inheriting Allenham from his relation Mrs. Smith.

Our author Joana Starnes fills in that blank space as she exposes that chapter in his life we have never seen before. As we journey backwards, we see his affections for women of fortune [of course] and have to wonder are those feelings real? Am I looking at him through jaded eyes and refuse to believe he could truly love someone unless they had a fortune? He is hard pressed for money; however, at this point, he is not yet desperate. I know that will come later. Several women waltz through his life and we see his character unfold. It is not pretty. I want to feel sorry for him. I should feel sorry for him. However, I am unable to rake [no pun intended] sufficient sympathy for him. I know what is to come and therefore, I cannot feel sorry for what he is about to endure. I don’t trust his emotions and he more than demonstrates his true character in his dealings with Eliza Williams. Nope, I cannot like him. Joana did a marvelous job of creating that unknown chapter in his life. I am glad I read it.

2) George Wickham [Rating: Mature]: A Wicked Game: Katie Oliver: ends at 21%

George, George, George… man, this was powerful. It picks up after Wickham has joined the Regulars and is in the heat of battle fighting for his life on foreign soil. In his looking back, we journey to his youth and what started him on his trek down [not the Yellow Brick Road] but the road to Perdition. I liked the backstory, I even liked how he acted and reacted to Darcy [both senior and younger]. However, I felt that this story lacked something in the evolution of the rake and scoundrel that we know of as George Wickham. I don’t think the back story was strong enough to convey that. Austen’s canon hinted at a more nefarious story of his youth, using Darcy’s own words, explaining just how corrupt and base Wickham was from a young age. It was well hidden from the senior Darcy, but could not be hidden from someone his own age. I don’t think Oliver was able to capture that. Perhaps she didn’t want to walk on the dark side of Wickham’s personality. Having said that, the ending was appropriate and it worked.

3) Colonel Fitzwilliam [Rating: Mild]: Fitzwilliam’s folly: Beau North: ends at 32%

Oh, I love a good story about our dear Colonel. In the JAFF universe, he is almost as beloved as Darcy. He is so adorable and we always want the best for him. This story was simply delightful. Well done Beau North, well done. I especially liked the use of the American heiress. The ton’s use of the phrase ‘that American’ was hilarious. This was so good. I loved how she was smart and was able to take care of her situation to everyone’s satisfaction. The embarrassment alone should keep 'the General' in line. What fun.

4) Thomas Bertram [Rating: Mild]: The Address of A Frenchwoman: Sophia Rose: ends at 40%

This was a different side to Tom Bertram and I liked how it turned out. He needed a kick in the pants and in this story, he got that and more. In the canon story, we only know that he was with friends when he had his accident and that they eventually abandoned him to the care of servants. This gave us another side to that story. I liked how it solidified the restoration of Tom to his family. It was good.

5) Henry Crawford [Rating: Mature]: Last Letter From Mansfield: Brooke West: ends at 48%

Yeah, this is mature audience material as the Admiral helps initiate a young Henry Crawford into the pleasures of being a man. The Admiral is disgusting and I can see why Mary left the house, [when he brought his mistress under his roof], after the death of her aunt. In the Admiral’s mind, women only had one purpose and he taught Henry well. That lesson will forever be branded in Henry’s [and my] mind. A good dose of harsh reality is tough for a young man to swallow, but it was a lesson well learned. Man, that was brutal. What a pig. I have even less respect for Mrs. Rushworth than I did in canon. She deserves having Mrs. Norris as her companion.

I will forever be Team Fanny [ongoing GoodReads conversation] and not think Henry a good match for her. One sentence sealed it for me. “No man can refuse our Mary’s wishes…” Yeah, Mary needed Henry in town to chaperone her to all the parties. That decision put him right in the path of Mrs. Rushworth. Had he only done what he had promised Fanny… go and take care of the problems with his estate. He kept asking her what he should do. She kept telling him to do what was right. He chose to go with Mary. That right there was the foreshadowing of what her life would have been like if she had chosen Henry. Mary’s wishes would always come first… regardless of what Fanny wanted, what was right, heedless of Henry’s responsibilities or what should be done. Mary’s wishes would always come first. Therefore… Team Fanny!!

6) Frank Churchill [Rating: Moderate]: An Honest Man: Karen M. Cox: ends at 56%

This was a side of Frank that skirts canon, but delves deeper. I don’t like him and I’m not so sure I care much for Jane Fairfax either. The ending was especially disturbing and probably accurate. I just never would have thought to go there. Man… I love it when an author makes me think outside the box or step beyond what I think or know.

7) Sir Walter Elliot [Rating: None]: One Fair Claim: Christine Morland: ends at 66%

Pompous, self-serving, haughty, self-absorbed, class conscious, self-important… yeah, that’s our guy, Sir Walter Elliot. There are not enough words to describe this… what a jerk. Wow! The ending wraps up this story in such a way that I was horrified at the missed opportunity. I despise him even more and I paint Lady Russell’s character with the same brush. This made my heart hurt. OMG!!! What a revelation. It ties so seamlessly into the Persuasion story. OMG! What a creative bent to this story. Whew! I am still speechless.

8) William Elliot [Rating: Moderate]: The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot: Jenette James: ends at 72%

If I am supposed to have any sympathy for William Elliot… I—am—sorry... I do not. Perhaps the author wanted me [as the reader] to understand the state of mind he was in when he restored communications with his relations. Nope… didn’t work. Do I feel sorry about his dealings with Sarah Light? Nope, nada, not a chance. If I didn’t know what was about to happen... would I still dislike him? Absolutely, one-hundred percent. What a cheap scum-bag… he purposely rejected helping the impoverished widow Mrs. Smith when it was within his power to do so and yet was willing to set up a mistress and shower her with gifts. Yeah… the sleaze. No thank you.

9) General Tilney [Rating: None]: As Much As He Can: Sophia Rose: ends at 81%

It takes a really good author to create something from the few crumbs given to us from the canon text. Sophia Rose did that. She took what little we know about General Tilney and pealed back the layers and gave us a man that we could like. Go figure. Some men do not display affection or show their emotions to the world. It is near impossible to know or understand what they are feeling. They handle things in a different way or they come across with a brusque demeanor that throws off people from knowing their inner most thoughts and feelings. Rose did this for us. I have never seen the General portrayed in this light. I loved the banter between him and his future wife. I really liked her. This was a really cute story and a twist that I would never have thought of. Well done… Sophia… well done.

10) John Thorpe [Rating: None]: The Art of Sinking: J. Marie Croft: ends at 91%

Canon had already painted John Thorpe as ridiculous, so this story did not help to improve that impression. In fact, I thought him even more ridiculous… didn’t learn from his mistakes, was ignorant of proper behavior and failed to watch his betters and learn from their behavior. He was a spend thrift, not realizing that in order to have money… you shouldn’t waste it on wine, gaming and women. This was a vicious circle that he seemed to not be able to break. What really made me mad… James Morland watched his every move and mistake. I wouldn’t have allowed John Thorpe to even mention my sister’s name. Nope… did not care for him at all and I’m not sure what goal this story hoped to accomplish. Whatever it was… I don’t think it was successful.

11) Captain Frederick Tilney [Rating: None] For Mischief’s Sake: Amy D’Orazio: ends at 99%

This was a most creative bent on our Captain Tilney. Yep, the apple didn’t fall far from that tree. His father the General taught him a lot about life and women. Our Captain took it on himself to assist his friends and acquaintances with their love lives. 'Yep, if he could seduce their women/betrothed, then they were not worthy of his friends.' Wow! However, this logic made perfect sense to him. That is… until she walked into the ballroom. Yep… oh, how the mighty have fallen. You know, I really liked this guy. I know… how did that happen? Our author Amy created an adorable story of love, loss and redemption. The mini-epilogue at the end was hilarious.

Acknowledgements follow written by Christina Boyd.

[Don Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewer copy received as ARC from the author/publisher.

Dangerous To Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rouges is like Forrest Gump’s remarkable box of chocolates. In this case, though, every one of these eleven expertly prepared confections hides a peppery center inside of a luscious cover. The only question you should ask is if it is jalapeño or habanero! You will love every bite.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book with no promise of a favorable review.

This is an anthology to read slowly and savor. Each rake and/or rogue has a story that is unique and excellent while staying true to Jane Austen's characterization. It's always a welcome treat when a book, novella or short story is well edited, and these all show Christina Boyd's attention to detail; you won't find those distracting punctuation, grammar or spelling errors anywhere. Take your time. Step away after a tale or two and then come back for more later. You won't want to rush through and miss any of the delicious morsels contained in these short stories.

Even the most prudish of readers can enjoy this book because it offers us a sexual content rating of 1 to 5 for each story, ranging from "none" to "erotic." Interestingly, none are in the 5 category ("explicit, abundance of sex"), though there are a few 3's ("some sexual references but not explicit") and 4's ("some nudity and some provocative sex"). Most are rated 1 ("possible kissing and affection") or 2 ("kissing"). Wouldn't it be nice if all books used this kind of rating system!

There are 11 different stories by 11 different authors, each focusing on a different Jane Austen "bad boy." Unfortunately, there are just too many to describe individually in a review, but I found it fascinating to read how the various authors addressed their "assigned" rogues. Sorry, girls, but in several cases, the tipping point that turns a possibly respectable man into a rogue is a heartless female. However, other men have the opposite experience: their rakish ways are tamed by the love of a sweet soulmate. In one story, the gentleman (and the reader) is in for a huge surprise when he learns the true reason for his love's refusal of his marriage proposal. Yet another has a softer side beyond Austen's very hard-edged treatment of him. One gentleman has numerous acquaintances from several Austen books who are mentioned or have cameo appearances at various points in his story. Like Elizabeth Bennet, I dearly love to laugh, and so my favorite short story features the most buffoon-like character of the book, whose misadventures are all the result of his own misguided actions.

How was Jane Austen able to imagine these characters into existence in the first place? Don't skip the Prelude. Claudine Pepe has researched it and gives the reader her insight into that question.

Although I love the previous collection in The Darcy Monologues, I believe this group of stories is even better.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the dates seem to reflect that this book is a longer read, it is not. It is simply that my life is busy and thus, this book was perfect. I could pick it up and read one or two stories before another event took me away from the tales. Just reading the list of authors should convince you that this is an excellent read.

I had to laugh in reading the first several stories as they both painted a picture of widows as more the villains in making these men what they became in Jane Austen's books. There are many tales from that era (and not only JA's) which tell of men looking to that class of women to satisfy their carnal lusts. And, yet, I find that with knowing how so many were forced to marry for money, for class connections, etc. to men that they didn't love or even have an amicable relationship with or to men who were of an age with their own fathers, plus knowing that they could control their own finances and manage their own estates if they stayed unmarried I can totally relate to that class looking to quench the sexual urges that are part and parcel of being human. ..."the services of the young buck and the old codger's purse?"

But I digress.

As I read these alternate views of men with whom we are well familiar I found that my attitude became two-fold. In canon I have hated the actions (and the results of those) by most of these eleven men. Wickham is a prime example. In reading so many JAFF stories, a large percentage do include him and few are kind in writing of his actions. The man in this anthology is of a different character. Oh, don't get me wrong; I enjoyed all the stories but some you have to just accept the portrayal, smile, and move on. But the point I want to stress is that I found the authors wrote such a convincing alternate POV that I found I could easily become united with (for example) Elizabeth Bennet in not only fully believing Wickham but also in finding that I liked him very much. And so it was with the other men: the authors used their "pens" to charm and seduce us, the readers: to show us in an "Aha" moment just how (and why) these men became those roués or how, even in knowing how their acquaintances and, maybe families, viewed them, they were forced, or choose, to remain silent about the misconceptions.

A perfect example of that is the viewpoint we have about General Tilney. Northanger Abbey left me viewing him as cruel to Catherine Moreland, manipulative and greedy in his moves to separate his daughter from the man she loved and dictatorial in even the rules for running his household. But the story of how he met both the lady who would become his wife and their connection as he tries to win the hand of a different lady with both money and connections was well played out.

Colonel Fitzwilliam's inclusion in this line up of rakes surprised me. He does not have a big role in canon and most (but not all) authors paint him as Darcy's friend and "brother"; one who knows him better than anyone else and one who then will go the extra mile to help Darcy obtain what Darcy wants and needs in his life. The colonel is himself drawn into a role...by a lady who needs help getting what she wants, protecting herself from being forced to accept a man lined up for her. ..."I require a rake and only the best will do."

Brooke West did bring me to tears with her story of Henry Crawford. Very interesting and very disturbing POV considering what might have been...but we only read his POV.

There is one story with whose main man I had no sympathy and then there was one in which we read... “I begin to see that to not be a rake might be agreeable too.”

This anthology has much to recommend it: some smiles, some laughs, some nodding and some shaking of the head but most of all great writing with creative premises showing us 'the path not taken' by Jane Austen.

I recommend this to all but with the exception that you must heed the sexual content listings for each story as several become hot and heavy in their descriptions.

I did receive an ARC of this book with a request (but not a demand) for a review.

[Diane Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

The well-drawn rakes and rogues in Jane Austen’s novels leap off the page. Happily, Christina Boyd has gathered a group of authors in this anthology who provide a place for these “gentlemen” to land. The characters we love to hate all have stories of their own. If you ever held any curiosity about John Willoughby’s formative romantic encounters, pondered the fate of Lydia Bennet and George Wickham, or wondered about the backstory of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, you will feast on the stories these eleven talented authors have concocted. “Dangerous to Know” is the perfect companion piece to the beloved Jane Austen canon.

I voluntarily wrote a review after reading an ARC.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sketching the Characters of Jane Austen's Bad Boys!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

OVERVIEW:

After delivering a splendidly successful and praiseworthy short story anthology devoted to Mr. Darcy, editor Christina Boyd and a team of skilled and imaginative authors have decided to join forces again. This time to divulge the inner workings, untold heartaches, and sometimes scandalous pasts of Jane Austen's anti-heroes, villains, and charming scoundrels. (Can I get a woot woot?!?) Eleven roguish characters, eleven talented authors, and eleven fascinating tales of human nature and romance. However the question does remain – can these bad boys be redeemed?

MY READING EXPERIENCE:

All stories in this anthology take place during the Regency period – either during, before, or slightly after the original stories' timeline. Some of the characters featured in this collection are truly nefarious villains like George Wickham, Henry Crawford, and Captain Tilney, and some are more tame with their bad behavior such as Frank Churchill, John Thorpe, and Colonel Fitzwilliam. In addition, some are gentlemen rogues from the previous generation – Sir Walter Elliot and General Tilney (we know those two are far from innocent!).

I read all the stories in order and I thought it was very clever that they were arranged in accordance with the order of novels published by Jane Austen (starting with Sense and Sensibility and ending with Northanger Abbey). The stories ranged from 22 to 38 pages in length and I mostly read one to two stories in each sitting. (I enjoyed savoring each story and reflecting on it before diving into the next one.) If I were to give a star rating for each individual story, there would be mostly 5 star ratings for all with just one 4.5 or 4 star rating among the group.

MY ASSESSMENT:

How incredibly excited I am that an anthology like this finally exists! Although I adore Mr. Darcy and love reading stories from his point-of-view, I love it even more when authors shine their spotlights on and flesh out some of Jane Austen's other creations. Just like with The Darcy Monologues, Dangerous to Know met and exceeded my high expectations and hopeful desires. Each story was thoughtfully composed, skillfully executed, and wonderfully plausible. In addition, I loved the elegant formatting of this compilation and I appreciated all the extra touches like the mature content rating system, foreword, acknowledgments, and informative characters introductions.

However, what I admired and loved most about this anthology was the diverse and unique treatment these rakes and rogues received by the pens of these authors. Some authors revealed the past and gave new understanding of why these characters became unscrupulous cads, while others illustrated how even these hardened rakes can find themselves caught unawares by stirrings of a powerful love. I greatly enjoyed the many creative ways these authors told their tales – the backstories they provided, the clever twists they employed, and the new characters they introduced. I also appreciated the fact that not all these characters were redeemed, and not all lived their lives happily-ever-after – they can't be like Jane Bennet and make them all good. ;) I admired the honesty about characters and their natures, but I must admit my romantic heart loved seeing some tender tales of how the love of a good woman can irrevocably change a man. :)

I loved the feelings that these stories evoked in me, and how these thoughtful character developments induced me to feel more sympathy and compassion for these characters than I have ever felt before. Yes, even for the truly nefarious rogues! Their pain and disappoint, their insecurity and jealousy, their remorse and regret, their infatuation and devotion were all sensitively rendered and palpably felt.

CONCLUSION:

Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes and Gentlemen Rogues is another sensational release from Christina Boyd and her team! While this anthology highlights Jane Austen's bad boys, it also pays tribute to her powers of perception and observations of human nature. I commend Christina and all the talented authors of this anthology for constructing another insightful, stimulating, and remarkably high-caliber anthology for us readers to enjoy!! I emphatically recommend!

NOTE: With some stories marked “mature,” I'd recommend this story for Mature Audiences.

Austenesque Reviews

[Olga Miret · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Austen, Regency-period novels, and bad boys, you must read this Thanks to Rosie Amber from Rosie’s Book Review Team for alerting me to this opportunity and to the editor Christina Boyd for providing me with an early ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
After reading many great reviews of The Darcy Monologues, when I had the opportunity to sign up for this blog tour I could not resist. My fondness for Jane Austen’s novels cannot compare to that of the authors of this anthology, but rest assure that you don’t need to have read several times all of Austen’s novels to enjoy this collection (although I don’t doubt you might enjoy it even more if you have).
Each story centers on one of the rakes or gentlemen rogues in one of Jane Austen’s novels (sometimes several from the same novel). As the editor explains in her note, after The Darcy Monologues she and some of the authors started looking for another project and noticed that there are many characters that are fundamental to Austen’s novels, but we don’t get to know much about, and on many occasions we are left wondering how they got to be how they are, and what happens to them later. All the stories retain the historical period of the novels, sometimes going back to give us information about the background of the characters, to their childhood, early youth, and on occasion we follow them for many years, getting a good sense of who they become when they exit the novel.
Each one of the stories is prefaced by a little snippet about the character chosen, and by one or several quotations (sometimes spread throughout the story) taken directly from Austen’s novel, where the character is mentioned. I must say the authors remain very faithful to Austen’s words although they use their imagination to build upon those snippets, always remaining faithful to the language and the spirit of the period, although the modern sensibility is evident in the stories.
We have stories with happy endings, stories that are dark and sad, stories of broken hearts, funny stories (sometimes thanks to the wit of the characters involved, others thanks to the wit of the writers who follow in Austen’s footsteps and poke fun at the most preposterous individuals), and some touching ones. There are very clean stories and some steamier ones (as it seems only appropriate to these “gentlemen”), but the editor includes a very detailed classification of the degree of heat of each one of the stories, and apart from one of the stories A Wicked Game, the rest are not scandalous (even by Regency standards).
Many of the stories are told in the first person, and that helps us share and understand better the characters (however much we might like them or not), but the few told in the third person also work well, especially as they tend to centre on characters that are perhaps particularly insightless and more preoccupied with appearances than by the truth.
I imagine each reader will have his or her favourite stories. I was a bit surprised because I thought I’d enjoy more the stories featuring characters of the novels I was more familiar with, but that was not always the case. (OK, I truly loved Fitzwilliam’s Folly about Colonel Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice, but not only because of the novel, but because the character is wonderful, witty, yes, Darcy makes an appearance so we get to see him from somebody else’s point of view and someone who knows him well at that, and I loved the female character in the story too). Some writers managed to create a sense of a small society, as it must have felt at the time, where characters from several novels kept meeting or just missing each other but are all connected or know of each other. I know this was a book about the gentlemen, but I was very taken by some of the female characters, that on many occasions were the perfect match for the men.
If you are curious to know which of the characters are featured, here is the list: John Willoughby (Willoughby’s Crossroads by Joanna Starnes), George Wickham (A Wicked Game by Katie Oliver. This is the hottest one and there are some similarities to the previous story but, if you’re a fan of the character, I think you’ll enjoy this one), Colonel Fitzwilliam (Fitzwilliam’s Folly by Beau North. I’ve already mentioned this one. I love Calliope Campbell too. Well, love everything about this story and the style and the repartee reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s plays), Thomas Bertram (The Address of a French Woman by Lona Manning. How blind can one be, or perhaps not!), Henry Crawford (Last Letter to Mansfield by Brooke West), Frank Churchill (An Honest Man by Karen M Cox. One of these characters enamoured of himself who tries to do the right thing but only if it is convenient and at little personal cost. I suffered for poor Miss Fairfax), Sir Walter Elliot (One Fair Claim by Christina Morland. This is one of the stories told in the third person that do follow the character for a long time. The song “You’re So Vain” might as well have been written about him. I really enjoyed this one, first because the comments about the character were funny, later, because the tone changes and I liked his wife, who, of course, loves to read), William Elliot (The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot by Jenetta James. This somewhat related to the previous story but is quite different and particularly interesting for the comments about life in the theatre), General Tilney (As Much As He Can by Sophia Rose. This story, that uses both third and first person, I found particularly touching. Appearances can be deceptive, indeed), John Thorpe (The Art of Sinking by J. Marie Croft. This is a farce, the character a buffoon and the story really funny, especially because the character is the butt of all jokes but remains full of his own importance), and Captain Frederick Tilney (For Mischief’s Sake by Amy D’Orazio. Another great story. The main character justifies his actions insisting that he is helping other men avoid mistakes, but eventually learns to see things from a female perspective. A great female character too, Miss Gibbs).
I highlighted many passages and lines, but I don’t want to make this a never-ending review. I’ll just say the language is perfectly in keeping with the period and the stories and I’ll be exploring the books of all these writers. (There is information included about each one of them after their respective stories).
I did not cry with any of the stories (although some were quite touching), but I did laugh out loud with quite a few. I recommend this book to readers of historical romance and romance of any kind, those who enjoy short-stories with fully-fledged character, and I’m sure anybody interested in Regency novels and Jane Austen’s, in particular, will love this book.

[Cecily Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been listening to this at work and just howling with laughter, prompting my coworkers to ask what in the world I was listening to. Like The Darcy Monologues, the narrator is spectacular, capturing the drama and lovely accent that both entertains and charms. The idea itself (the backstories of Austen's bad boys) is long overdue in coming, and fantastically executed. A must for Austen fans, but be ready for a little more romantic detail than Austen gave in the original stories. I highly recommend the audio version - I am sure the print edition is just fine, but this performance is not to be missed.

[Tessa Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Austen lovers rejoice! I cannot tell you how excited I was to learn about the possible outcome to my favorite Austen men who just didn't cut it for the leading ladies. Ms. Boyd did not disappoint. If possible, my love for these rakes and rogues only deepened. Well, done! If you like Jane Austen, you'll LOVE this book!

[Sophia]

For my re-read, I experienced Dangerous to Know in audio format. See to the end for my added thoughts on the audio work.

It can be a gamble to take as one's protagonist a man who has demonstrated by word and action that he has incredible flaws and compel readers to give him a hearing and dare I say, a sympathetic ear? Not to condone his actions, but to understand what lead him to his place in the present.

Well, that was what was accomplished here with some of literature's most infamous antagonists and villains. These authors, who shared this book with me, proved their intuitiveness and insightful-ness and share a bit of the old Pied Piper's magic to make some of the men I have most reviled since I read their stories into men who have shades of gray, though yes, several shade more to black, I will grant you.

As with any anthology written by a group of writers, there is a smorgasbord of writing style, tone, and situation to keep this book fresh with each new story encountered. Authors took a few approaches with their rake or rogue. I found myself sad and a little sympathetic at times, twitchy to smack a few for their idiot choices (the rogue, not the author), and whew, giggle snort my way through one story.

Most of the time, these stories showed that it really came down to choice and the level of strength in their characters to stand firm regardless of past or present circumstances though, yeah, most failed (which I suppose is what separates them from their counterparts, the heroes).
Some of these men chose the wrong path, let their past circumstances govern them, or willfully stepped out to take what they wished. Some were redeemed or were misunderstood offering a few warm fuzzies in this gallery of rogues and rakes, but I also applauded the choice of many authors who left them just as they seemed in Jane Austen's novels.

Love and respect for Austen's work shines forth in each story.
I think that part is what made me wholly appreciate the writing and the stories all the more.

True confession, though, this was not a book that I could read cover to cover in one or two sittings. I chose to appreciate it at a more gentle pace with a few stories each day. I think they resonated better with me as a result.
I was not disappointed by a single one and in a few cases was startled in the 'hey, it really could have happened that way' or 'no, no, no, Sophia, no swooning over the bad boy'.

As to the other lovely features of this book- the forward, the heat scale, the mini character bios, quotes, editing and formatting,cover, and even the order of the stories based on what were the original order their particular associated Austen novel was released- I felt it was a book to be perused with great appreciation and leisure by fans of Austen's works or those who find character sketches and short stories are quite their thing.

Audio Edition thoughts
They say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same spot. Now, I have no idea if that is scientific fact or not. However, I was really hoping it was true when I experienced the second of the Quill Ink anthologies in audio. New narrator, Andre Refig, steps in to take the reins of this second anthology and it was with curiosity and anticipation having never experienced his narrative work before that I put in my earbuds. How would Austen's rakes and rogues and dubious gentlemen fare? From the first words of Joana Starne's Willoughby's Crossroads to the last of Amy D'Orazio's For Mischief's Sake, I was enchanted by Refig's masterful way of bringing each story to life and giving them nuances that weren't always evident in merely reading the words to myself. I felt more engaged with the emotional side of the stories. I suppose I should say that he did well with the technical aspects of accents, voices, genders, tone, and timing, too. Yes, all and all this second outing with the book in audio format was thoroughly enjoyable.

And, one more thing, as Detective Colombo would say. I'm not rating or doing more than sharing my thoughts here because yes, I'm a little too closely associated with the book for more than that and my bias might have poked out a few times. ;)

[Anna]

Editor Christina Boyd and her team of Austenesque authors have done it again with her latest anthology, Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues. I absolutely loved The Darcy Monologues, so when I heard about this collection, I knew I had to read it, and it lived up to my expectations and more. I love to read about the bad boys in Austen’s novels because they make things more exciting, and I have often wondered what led them astray. The 11 stories in this anthology cover all of Austen’s infamous bad boys and anti-heroes, and while I enjoyed each story on its own, reading them together was even more delicious.

The collection features: “Willoughby’s Crossroads” (John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility) by Joana Starnes; “A Wicked Game” (George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice) by Katie Oliver; “Fitzwilliam’s Folly” (Colonel Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice) by Beau North; “The Address of a Frenchwoman” (Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park) by Lona Manning; “Last Letter to Mansfield” (Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park) by Brooke West; “An Honest Man” (Frank Churchill, Emma) by Karen M Cox; “One Fair Claim” (Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion) by Christina Morland; “The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot” (William Elliot, Persuasion) by Jenetta James; “As Much as He Can” (General Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Sophia Rose; “The Art of Sinking” (John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey) by J. Marie Croft; “For Mischief’s Sake” (Captain Frederick Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Amy D’Orazio

It should come as no surprise that my favorite of all the stories was “Fitzwilliam’s Folly” by Beau North because I am a sucker for a good story about the colonel. The agreement he makes with an American heiress shunned by ton was clever, and I loved the bit of action and even getting a glimpse of Mr. Darcy after his failed proposal at Hunsford. I enjoyed the glimpse of the obnoxiously vain Sir Walter Elliot and how he went about choosing a bride in “One Fair Claim,” and he was just as delightfully silly in his youth. But what surprised me is the ability of these authors to make me feel some compassion for the characters I love to hate, like the heartache experienced by George Wickham and Tom Bertram in their stories, which emphasized the complexity of Austen’s characters. Still others will never change, but I felt like I understood their motivations a bit more.

Dangerous to Know is a must-read for those looking for something new in the realm of Austen-inspired fiction. Some of the stories were steamy and passionate, some were more humorous, but all of them make you take another, deeper look at Austen’s rakes and rogues and make you feel something more than contempt.

Review posted on Diary of an Eccentric

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

Ego, arrogance, vanity, self-centered, anger, weakness and the power to enthrall are just some of the characteristics of the 'bad boys' within the pages of this absorbing collection of short stories. The women who have impacted them and their upbringing have left an indelible mark on their psyche as well. It reminds me of the Pat Benatar song, "Love is a Battlefield". Some were able to rise from the ashes and find redemption but others were unable to look beyond their own wants and needs to truly love anyone but themselves.

There is humour, sadness and in some cases, the urge to knock some of them upside the head for their stupidity, selfish disdain for the feelings of others and their arrogance. Each story is so well written by each of the eleven authors and edited by Christina Boyd. What I loved was the seamlessness of how these stories add that little bit more to each of Jane's characters. Claudine Dimuzio Pepe from Just Jane 1813 says it best in the Foreward:

"While she, herself (Jane Austen), did not condone adultery or the scandalous behaviors that many of the her contemporaries engaged in, she undoubtedly knew there must be at least two sides to every story as she wrote complex characters comprised of a multitude of traits, adding color and depth to her narratives."

Everyone has their favourite 'bad boy(s)' they want to see redeemed but some just can't see the past their own reflection. While reading, I was picturing Mrs. Bennet and her 'gossip girls' tittering and exclaiming over the risque details of each scandalous encounter all behind their fans as the story unfolded. Then there were times when I felt I was on a battlefield as some of our rakes and rogues were routed and outflanked without even realizing it. Those were definitely delicious encounters. I also enjoyed the little details that were sprinkled within each story; how some characters from other books were brought into the storyline as well as a certain name used in Willoughby's story. There were also certain passages that I have written below from each story that stood out to me.


1) Willoughby's Crossroads - Joana Starnes
"A man's future would not satisfy them. They must have his past, his every thought, and perchance a pound of flesh besides!"

2) A Wicked Game - Katie Oliver
"You are a good lad, George. Just endeavor not to let your passions overtake your good sense."

3) Fitzwilliam's Folly - Beau North
"Satisfied, gratified, and quenched."

4) Thomas Bertram - Lona Manning
"I fancy that I would be more watchful of my own sisters' behalf if some designing rogue was being too encroaching with them!"

5) Last Letter to Mansfield - Brooke West
"I more slipped into sin than designed it."

6) An Honest Man - Karen Cox
"Then let me be the nefarious one. It bothers me not at all."

7) Sir Walter Elliot - Christina Morland
"...but then she at least resembled a rose and not a crustacean."

8) The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot - Jenetta James
"There was after all, never a moment at the London theatre where one was not being watched, measured, ascertained."

9) As Much as He Can - Sophia Rose
"He wanted to laugh in the face of his friend Courtenay when he said that women were simple creatures."

10) The Art of Sinking - J. Marie Croft
"Of course, vanity, working on a weak head, produced every sort of mischief."

11) For Mischief's Sake - Amy D'Orazio
"They cannot run so fast nor walk so far as a man, nor can they lift or throw or heave; but, they have fortitude enough to break us, my man. That they surely do."

I realize this is a rather long review, however, each of the authors deserve their accolades as well as Ms. Boyd for bringing them all together under one cover for all of us to enjoy.

[ana darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Dangerous To Know" we have eleven stories about eleven rakes or rogues who were created by Jane Austen. However, their differences cannot be greater, on one hand we have Willoughby and Crawford, who I cannot stand, and on the other hand we can see Colonel Fitzwilliam and Thomas Bertram, who I like. There are other characters as well, as you have read above, but I can tell you already that these stories could make you like them or at least understand the reason why they turned out as they did. Although, I am going to be very mean and I have to say that I still do not like, for instance Willoughby even if Joana’s story is really good.

Redemption is a difficult word for characters that you have already “judged” but some of these stories are going to be difficult to ignore… I am mainly thinking about Wickham (you will have to read it!).

I have dearly enjoyed "Dangerous to Know" but I believe that I will always like "The Darcy Monologues" a bit better 🙂

[Anji · Rating 5 out of 5]

DANGEROUS TO KNOW

Following on from the wonderful anthology The Darcy Monologues, Christina Boyd has assembled another team of accomplished Austenesque writers for this second volume from The Quill Collective. This time, we're focussing on many of the "bad boys" from the six novels of Jane Austen. In order we have: John Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility), George Wickham & Colonel Fitzwilliam (Pride and Prejudice), Tom Bertram & Henry Crawford (Mansfield Park), Frank Churchill (Emma), Sir Walter Elliot & William Elliot (Persuasion), General Tilney, John Thorpe & Captain Frederick Tilney (Northanger Abbey). You may wonder why Colonel Fitzwilliam is in this list, but you'll understand when you read it.

I read this as an ebook last year not long after publication and have just finished listening to the recently published audio version as narrated by André Refig. Christina Boyd did a fantastic job with the choice of writers and the editing of this anthology and has chosen well once more with her choice of narrator. Mr. Refig's voice is so well suited to this type of fiction and his range of voices for the many and varied characters is phenomenal.

A couple of the stories are marked in the ebook as having mature content (Wickham & Crawford), another three are "moderate" (Willoughby, Churchill & William Elliot), two are "mild" (Fitzwilliam & Bertram) and the rest as "none". In none of them is the sexual content gratuitous or overly explicit.

Let me give you a warning: though some of these "bad boys" are redeemed during the course of their stories, by no means all of them are. However, we do get to see some of their back stories and get to understand some of the reasons why they are the way they are in canon. Of course, I'm not going to tell you which is which. That's for me, and those who've already read and/or listened to this anthology, to know and for you to find out by reading/listening to it! Even though each story is relatively short, the plots and the characters are fully fledged and fully fleshed out. You can read the entire book from start to finish, or dip in and out as the fancy takes you. However you choose to read or listen, it's well worth the time you'll invest. Can't wait for the next anthology!

[Madenna U · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of background stories/missing scenes from Jane Austen's stories is amazingly well done. I love the collection of authors and each one is a work of art to present a different view on Austen's rakes and rogues. These authors always make me "feel" while reading their stories.

I will not attempt to review each one and I can not say anything better than two of my favorite reviewers (Sheila Majczan and JW Garrett) have already said. To their reviews I would say ditto!!

[Teresita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb notion

Who would have thought that the bad boys of Jane Austen could inspire such entertaining stories? I really enjoyed all of them, as all are imaginative and well written. I have a favorite or two, but that I will keep to myself.

[Victoria Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewer copy received as ARC from the author

Dangerous to know is a delightful collaboration between good authors to tell the stories of Jane Austen's very own Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues, to quote the title. Follow their stories across the English county side and through London for perfectly written bites size stories.

[Juliet Bookliterati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a huge Jane Austen fan, this book was a joy to me, especially as this concentrated on those handsome rogues from the novels.  There are eleven stories in this collection, written by different authors, and each tell the back story of those rogues  from each of the books.  The collection features Willoughby's Crossroads. by Joanne Starnes (Sense and Sensibility); A Wicked Game by Katie Oliver (George Whickham, Pride and Prejudice); Fitzwilliam's Folly by Beau North (Pride and Prejudice); The Address of a Frenchwoman by Lona Manning (Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park); Last Letter to Mansfield by Brooke West (Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park); An Honest Man by Karen M Cox (Frank Churchill,  Emma); One Fair Claim by Christina Morland (Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion); The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot by Jeanette James (Persuasion); As Much as He Can by Sophia Rose (General Tilney, Northanger Abbey); The Art of Sinking by J Marie Croft (John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey); For Mischief's Sake by Amy D'Orazio (Captain Frederik Tilney, Northanger Abbey).

Having read all of Jane Austen's novels, most of them more than once, I was interested to see how these rogues would be portrayed and what their back story would be.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good these stories were, I am quite protective of Jane Austen and always worry that new authors will ruin it for me, and many have in the past. These stories however, were written in very similar style, and gave a wonderful insight to events only hinted at by Austen herself.  My favourite, I think, was Frank Churchill's story from Emma.  It was hoped that Frank would wed Emma, but we learn of his relationship with Jane Fairfax "a woman of no fortune".  In an Honest Man we learn of Frank's childhood, where he was brought up by his aunt and uncle after the death of his mother, and his original courting of Jane, and goes onto tell us the conclusion to this story.

All of these rogues are charming, handsome and lets face it, we all like a bad boy, especially in uniform as most of these men are.  There wasn't one story I didn't like, all were well written, true to the origional Austen style, and for me beautifully narrated by André Refig.  André has a wonderful voice, the perfect English accent that suits the characters, and brings these Gentleman Rogues to life.  André's resume is vast including acting in Shakespeare and being part of musical theatre and Opera.  He has kindly given me an interview which is at the end of this review.  Personally, I think this works superbly as an audiobook, probably better than a reading copy, so much more is gained by listening to the stories, the characters come to life, and the nuances of the characters come through in the vocal performance. I highly recommend this in audiobook format.

This is a perfect read for Jane Austen fans.  These rogues get to to tell their story, the reasons behind their behaviour, and what became of them.  There are many other characters you will remember from the books; the gorgeous Mr Darcy appears in several of these stories, which I also loved.  All the authors write with a flowing style and treat these characters with the care and respect they deserve.  A superb set of stories, and one I highly recommend.

[Elin Eriksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing bouquet of short stories from Jane Austen's rakes and gentlemen.
Romantic, passionate and thrilling stories from some of the JAFF societies best authors.

Usually I find this type of collection somewhat uneven in quality but not this one. I absolutely loved all the stories although I must admit to a slight preference for Beau North and her Colonel and Sophia Rose and her general Tilney, they are all 5 * reads.

Set in the recency era, we are sent on journeys to the past and are given the background for some of the behaviour we have read in Austen's work and some journeys into the future to see a rake reformed.

Heartily recommend this delightful read!

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Willoughby’s Crossroads” (John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility) by Joana Starnes
Oh Willoughby, I so saw you there and then you went and made a mess of things. It is a look at what happened before he ever met Marianne, and the choices he made.

“A Wicked Game” (George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice) by Katie Oliver
I actually liked Wickham! He was just a young fool, who later in life made so many mistakes. Poor guy. And then he married Lydia in the end, I mean poor guy will pay for that his entire life.


“Fitzwilliam’s Folly” (Colonel Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice) by Beau North;
Fitzwilliam has a bit of a rep with the ladies, but he is an honorable rake, and here he meets his match

“The Address of a Frenchwoman” (Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park) by Lona Manning;
MP is the one I have seen the least, or read. I really can not recall anything of Thomas, but I liked how he was here and how he fell in love.

“Last Letter to Mansfield” (Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park) by Brooke West;
Oh Henry, you dug your own grave. I still liked him

“An Honest Man” (Frank Churchill, Emma) by Karen M Cox;
Nope, I will never like Frank. It was not a good thing he did, and here we see how he and Jane fell in love, or lust.

“One Fair Claim” (Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion) by Christina Morland;
Oh he was such a pompous fool!

“The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot” (William Elliot, Persuasion) by Jenetta James;
I found myself liking him as he fell in love and I felt sorry for him

“As Much as He Can” (General Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Sophia Rose;
Yes, NA is another one that I do not know that well, but I take it from this that the General was not a good guy ;) But here, awww, I get man, I get it

“The Art of Sinking” (John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey) by J. Marie Croft;
Well this guy is just an idiot. Interesting to hear about, but what a rogue! You had it coming

“For Mischief’s Sake” (Captain Frederick Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Amy D’Orazio
.THis even had me snorting. At first I was not sure what to make of him, but I guess I get it in a way, and then when he finds love. All is forgiven.

All these rakes and rogues. Some I can not forgive, some are shown in such a good new light here, that I am inclined to forgive them. But they are all interesting to hear about. What made them into rakes and how it shaped their lives.

Narrator
I like his rake voice ;) They sound so very snobbish at times (in a good way) cos it is just so fitting.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Delightful Read!

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite Jane Austen rogues? Perhaps you always believed Willoughby was in love with Marianne or wondered what turned Wickham into such a scoundrel. Maybe John Thorpe even has redeeming traits! And what about Frank Churchill? What’s his deal? This collection of stories delves deep into the lives of these scoundrels, showing there is always another side and, perhaps, they were not all cads (at least, not all the time). If you’re the type to crush on the “bad boys” or you love seeing a known rake tasting their own medicine, then this book is for you. Dangerous to know is an absolute delightful read!

[Anngela Schroeder-author · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly Done

I'm not the type of woman who has ever desired a "bad boy," nor will I ever. But, this well written book delivered so much depth about the character's, I may not want one, but I feel I understand and appreciate them so much more.
The order of the stories was great, as was the rating scale. I appreciated the editor's attention to identify the tame versus the more rake-ish stories.
Each of the authors did a marvelous job delving into these men who we've come to imagine we know because of their actions in our favorite Jane Austen masterpieces. My two favorites were about Colonel Fitzwilliam and Sir Walter Elliot. LOVED them!
If you're on the fence, jump off and buy your copy now!

[Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I won't go through each story and rate each one because let's face it, we will all love some more than others. My fave was the Col Fitzwilliam one, of course, because I love him. You really can't lose with this book. There is something here for everyone plus again!, a winning cover.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun, I didn’t want it to end.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

WILLOUGHBY’S CROSSROADS Joana Starnes

3.5 stars

Willoughby

Interesting to see his first love + why he treated Marianne the way he did.


A WICKED GAME Katie Oliver

3.5 stars

Wickham

starts after P and P, with wickham fighting in Spain and reflecting on his life.


FITZWILLIAM’S FOLLY Beau North

5 stars

Colonel Fitzwilliam

An American heiress needs Fitzwilliam to help her shake off an .5 admirer.


THE ADDRESS OF A FRENCHWOMAN Lona Manning

DNF

Thomas Bertram

Written in TB's POV, incredibly annoying.


LAST LETTER TO MANSFIELD Brooke West

3 stars

Henry Crawford

Henry writes to fanny trying to explain himself.


AN HONEST MAN Karen M Cox

3 stars

Frank Churchill

Frank explains his and Jane Fairfax's relationship.


ONE FAIR CLAIM Christina Morland

3.5 stars

Sir Walter Elliot

The marriage of sir Walter and lady Elliot


THE LOST CHAPTER IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM ELLIOT Jenetta James

DNF

William Elliot

Boring


AS MUCH AS HE CAN Sophia Rose

4 stars

General Tilney

During a garden party, after the end of Northanger Abbey, Tilney remembers how he and his wife met.


THE ART OF SINKING J. Marie Croft

3 stars

John Thorpe

The story of his life up until the point he meets Catherine.


FOR MISCHIEF’S SAKE Amy D’Orazio

DNF

Captain Tilney

Tilney fights a duel.

[Jenn Bertrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of Dangerous To know:Jane Austin's Rakes and Gentlemen Rogues is another treasure to add to your shelves. I was instantly drawn into the world's of these tempting men and loved each. Jane Austin fans will be sorely challenged to find a favorite. Christina Boyd gathered talented authors to delight and draw the reader further toward ALL of Jane Austin's men.

[Connie Lukey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you feel as I do, that the only problem with Jane Austen’s novels is that she only wrote six of them; this book is for you.

This collection of short stories delves deeper into the characters of Austen’s most despicable bad boys. Some offer explanations as to what may have turned them to the dark side, some speculate on their future fate and some just make you laugh. (In The Art of Sinking, the obtuse John Thorpe is attacked by a vicious pug before being tossed into the Thames.)

The stories remain true to Austen’s writing style and historical detail, with just a touch more spice than would be acceptable to 18th century puritans. Austen fans will love this book, but it could also serve as an great introduction for those unfamiliar with her work.

[Barbara K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a bit longer to read this, maybe because it's a collection of short fiction, which meant that when one story ended, I put the book down, and I didn't feel as compelled to go back to it as I would in the middle of a novel. I'm not that used to reading short fiction, I have to admit. I usually prefer novel-length, even very long novel-length fiction. But this was a refreshing change.

This is a collection of short fan fiction based on various Jane Austen stories, in which the authors have taken minor or lesser known characters, some we already know as rogues or rakes, and deviated from the original story to either fill in backstory about them, or tell a story that happened outside the timeline of the original stories. Some are not really rogues, only thought to be, or pretending to be. Some are, but reform themselves. Some are, and here prove themselves even worse.

There is a little sexual content, but that is ranked and marked for each story, so if a reader prefers not to read it they can skip over those stories. I didn't find anything very racy compared with what we're used to in modern fiction, and most of these stories wouldn't likely bother most adults. None of the sex is gratuitous or very surprising. We're talking about rakes and rogues here, after all.

The edition I read is a Kindle e-book, and while I can forgive not having virtual chapter breaks, which I know from experience are tricky to format and impossible without special software, it would have been nice to have a linked Table of Contents, which isn't that difficult to do in a Kindle formatted e-book, with most word processors, and make it much easier to navigate. So that's a mark against the collection, along with some typos that threw me out of the stories. But those issues didn't spoil the experience for me. Some of these stories were quite excellent, and I almost gave this collection 5 stars.

I won't offer a synopsis of any of the stories, because as soon as I started I would be in danger of providing spoilers. The eleven stories included in the collection are as follows:

"Willoughby's Crossroads" by Joana Starnes
"A Wicked Game" by Katie Oliver
"Fitzwilliam's Folly" by Beau North
"The Address of a Frenchwoman" by Lona Manning
"Last Letter from Mansfield" by Brooke West
"An Honest Man" by Karen M. Cox
"One Fair Claim" by Christina Morland
"The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot" by Jenetta James
"As Much as He Can" by Sophia Rose
"The Art of Sinking" by J. Marie Croft
"For Mischief's Sake" by Amy D'Orazio

Many of the authors have also written other short stories or longer fiction based on Austen novels, so this provides a great sampling of their work.

It might be nice to already be familiar with the original works by Jane Austen, but these stories will stand alone, so it isn't critical. In fact, the few stories here based on Northanger Abbey characters have made me curious to read that one again. It's the one I'm least familiar with at the moment, since I read it so long ago.

[Suzan Lauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A team that includes of many of the so-called better authors in Austenesque writing should bring forth an anthology that’s tops in quality, stunning to read. This book was good, however, no better than other anthologies with lesser-known authors, which speaks to our snobbishness in JAFF in regard to name dropping. There was one 5-star story with the rest split between 3 and 4 stars. Some of the meh stories were by so-called JAFF stars.

I won’t summarize the stories. Leave that to another reviewer. Instead, I’ll attempt a technical review of the anthology from an overall perspective and to a small extent, the stories within. That means I’ll review those aspects that most reviewers give short shrift, yet can make or break the reading pleasure of an individual. I read one story a night before sleep.

Plot-wise, a short story must hit the ground running because it has to get through its action quickly. Most did just that, but Story #3 was slow and boring at first, and Story #7 was a bit slow overall. Overall, the plot must be engaging, and I think most managed that in the long run. Some were exceptional such as stories #4, #8, and #11. Stories #1 and #10 did it with a bit too much cute. A couple that I won’t name were just plain forgettable.

A short story also must have excellent flow without distraction because it needs to be straight to the point. I didn’t see any stories that had unnecessary side tangents that detracted from the main story arc, so this was done well. Book #9 seemed to distract to a new story, but it became obvious that it was necessary to the plot. Of course, Christina Boyd is a crack substantive editor, so that may have been nipped in the bud in all the stories. Flow is also helped by a good balance of narrative and dialogue. Story #3 was heavy on the dialogue at one point, and lacking in dialogue tags, so confusing to the reader. Story #9 was hard to follow, and in Story #11, it was sometimes hard to figure out who was whom character-wise.

For the most part, characterizations were done well, those taken from canon shining through well. Of course, leeway must be given when the character was so minor in Austen to warrant building them up more, and I admire the authors who had to do this in such a short time.

Language in the Regency stories tended to be well done, with a few non-Regency words or words used in a way that they wouldn’t have been used in the Regency as follows: snort, outings, womanizer, neckline, décolletage, wallflower, “dance card,” “taken aback,” foyer, cad, wallflower, fiancée, outing, towheaded, and modiste. Americanisms included roiling and “we will” or “I will” for “we shall” or “I shall.” This is a slightly more than average sized list in comparison to a JAFF novel. The reader had minimal words to look up, so the authors were not trying to wow anyone with big words. Story #9 had excellent Regency cadence.

Proofreading was quite good. Typos noted included infatuatio for infatuation, Russel for Russell. I also found a couple of missing commas and three contractions. That’s not much in my experience in reading.

Errors included a dowry that changed from £10k to £20k; paying of postage by the sender; a view that attorney and barrister were the same person, and the concept of hymns. There were some plagiarized song lyrics, a big no-no without permission.

An anthology needs to have a certain flow overall as each story is presented in the book as well as a good tie-in to the theme of the set for each submission. I would say that Christina Boyd selected the story order appropriately, and all stories fit the theme quite well. I don’t know if she had any say in the choices of protagonists in the stories, but that part was fun—seeing the minor characters gain a voice.

As for technique, most authors showed well and used point of view consistently. Story #5 used filter words, however.

I didn’t like the formatting style where the section changes were denoted only by caps with no difference in line break size. It was so barely noticeable, it almost looked like a typo, and felt like bad flow. Had there been a more substantial break to the eye, the reader would have had that little breath and known that there was a “real” break in the story.

One thing I found personally about reading short stories in an anthology is there was no “hook” to leave me wanting to read more the next reading—the tie wasn’t strong enough between them. I’d read one story and it was done, like the ending of a book. It wasn’t as enticing as a novel in that way—there’s no sustained dramatic tension. I tend not to read anthologies for that reason. It’s not this book, it’s anthologies in general that offer this problem.

The way the heat level was listed at the front of each story was a bit confusing because I kept thinking it was part of the title. A change in fonts would have solved that problem. The offering of the heat level was an important touch for sensitive readers, however, and I commend the editor for doing so.

I enjoyed the quotations in front of each story and the consistency in style. It tied the book together well. Another nod to the editor for good taste.

The cover is perfect for the topic and catches the eye compared to all those other books out there. It’s quite distinctive and beautiful enough to make the reader’s eye dwell on it for more than a few seconds. That will induce a “buy me” mode deep in the reader’s brain, exactly what we want in a good cover. Kudos to the cover designer and to the editor for insisting upon such quality.

Eleven authors with one-off plots representing minor characters as protagonists is a fresh take on JAFF, and is enticement enough to want to read this anthology. Don’t be impressed by the so-called big names, instead, I’d suggest that several of the lesser-known names are going to give you the bang for your buck. Overall, this well-visioned and well-edited anthology is a good read when you want a short story at a time and don’t want to commit to a full book. Subtle ties pull the stories together.

Disclaimer: I’m a JAFF author and my review might be considered a conflict of interest. However, I was a reader first, and my reviews are honest and impartial. I write them for both the reader and the author.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average Rating: 3.6 Stars, Range: 2-5 Stars

This book is a series of stories about the gentlemen rogue secondary characters from Jane Austen's books. They either veering off somewhere from the timeline of the original story, placing the story in different time periods, or expand on the character. I'm going to rate each of them individually as I read them. There were some really good stories within this collection. I think I might have liked these fan fiction stories about characters from Mansfield Park even better than the book itself.

"Willoughby's Crossroads" by Joana Starnes - 2 Stars
Mr. Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility

This is a series of vignettes into Willoughby's history to theoretically help to see into how Willoughby became who he was. For me, the issue with this series of occurrences in his life didn't form a coherent story or narrative arc that I felt like helped me to understand his character better.

The story starts with Willoughby going to see his paramour, Isobel. a widower about six years older than he is. He is upset because he has heard that she is engaged to a much older, wealthy man. He doesn't believe it because he thinks that she loves him as much as he loves her. She tells him that it is true, then proceeds to seduce him. He takes the fact that she seduced him to mean that she was kidding about the engagement, and is heartbroken to learn that she does in fact intend to marry this older gentleman for what he can give her financially. She wants to continue their liaisons, though Willoughby is horrified by this. This is clearly the formative event that is supposed to have turned Willoughby into his personality. It was a good beginning. For me, the problem was that I didn't really feel how this spilled over into his future romantic interests.

He meets a girl, Miss Malcom, who is set to inherit money in time in Bath and they are both interested in each other, and eventually agree to marry. The problem is that once she tells him he should go to her uncle for consent for her marriage, he turns out to be the man who married Isobel, his widowed paramour and first love. He proposes that they elope to get married and tells her that Isobel is unlikely to agree to their getting married, though doesn't tell her the full details of why. As they plan their elopement, he is foiled by Isobel who tells her niece of their three year history together. When Miss Malcom asks him to express his passion for her, he isn't able to sufficiently express these feelings, and they part. He pretty quickly realized that he wasn't actually in love with Miss Watson, and realizes how terrible it would have been to have had to see Isobel at family functions if they had married. So this didn't feel like that huge of a loss to him.

He continues to encounter Miss Malcom's less wealthy friend Eliza who had always been forward with him. She says that she wouldn't have thrown him away like Miss Malcom did, so he runs off her with no intention of marrying her. He didn't seem particularly interested in Eliza, she just happened to be there and available when he was looking for a rebound. He leaves her without knowing that she's pregnant.

He runs out of money from gambling, and goes back to his aunt's house. Here he encounters Marianne, who in this story he doesn't seem to more than have mild interest for.

There are some references to Jane Austen characters from other novels that didn't really do much to augment the story for me.

I was hoping to see how Willoughby's personality and situation led him to what he was with Marianne. His devotion to Isobel felt in line with what I expected from his character, but his mild interest in the other love interested just didn't seem consistent with the emotions that I expected from Willoughby.

"A Wicked Game" by Katie Oliver - 3 1/2 Stars
Mr. Wickham from Pride and Prejudice

This story is what I was expecting from this series. The backstory for Mr. Wickham shows how he became the character that we know from Pride and Prejudice from being hurt and left broken hearted by a first love. At the end of the story, he's left for dead on the battlefield and feeling remorseful for his life.

"Fitzwilliam's Folly" by Beau North - 3 1/2 Stars
Colonel Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice

While I enjoyed this story, it sort of felt like plot of the first Bridgerton book. This story did have the distinction of the female protagonist wanting a rake character to feign interest in her to chase away possible suitors rather than to attract them. It was well written, and I enjoyed it


"The Address of a Frenchwoman" by Lona Manning - 5 Stars
Thomas Bertram from Mansfield Park

This story was everything I wanted from this book. I felt empathy for Tom, even while watching him gambling away his family's money at the racetracks. The swindler was swindled, and thought himself in love. When he ended up injured and delirious, he saw visions of her.

"Last Letter from Mansfield" by Brooke West - 5 Stars
Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park

YES! This story was so much what I wanted from this book! We see how Henry's past weaved in with his actions in Mansfield Park along with an expansion of events from the book. We see him being thoughtless with others, while wanting something better and feeling remorseful for his actions.

This story would actually pair really well with the story about Mary Crawford called "What Strange Creatures" by Jenetta James within Rational Creatures. Both show how their uncle's crude behavior towards women and how he modeled that for them in their lives and how that led them to the situation in Mansfield Park.

"An Honest Man" by Karen M Cox - 3 1/2 Stars
Frank Churchill from Emma

This was a pretty good backstory for Frank. He's not as bad as most of the rogues in Jane Austen's stories, and not as good as the heros. As such, I think it's harder to come up with a good story for why he behaves like he does.

"One Fair Claim" by Christina Morland - 4 Stars
Sir Walter Elliott from Persuassion

This story is told from Sir Walter Elliott's perspective. It starts with the meeting and courting of his wife. While he thinks she is pretty and sees her as his equal in status, he doesn't have be the depth for theirs to be a fulfilling marriage for her. A local Vicar who went to school with her brother had a crush on her, and to Sir William he is ugly and he doesn't see his value. However, his wife sees his charity and working with the poor as admirable. We see how she helps to manage his temperament and finances, and how after she died it would have been easy for their finances to get off track.


"The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot" by Jenetta James - 3 Stars
William Elliott from Persuassion

This story is what I expected from this book, a backstory to give sympathy to the male character.

"As Much as He Can" by Sophia Rose - 3 1/2 Stars
General Tilney from Northanger Abbey

We see General Tinley making an alliance with a woman after they have both been scorned by others. We see how his love grows and how he ends up heartbroken.

"The Art of Sinking" by J. Marie Croft - 2 1/2 Stars
John Thorpe from Northanger Abbey

This story was fine, in and of itself, but it just didn't do what I was expecting and wanting from the stories in this collection. The story was set just prior to Northanger Abbey. The problem was that the story just had him acting obnoxious, just like he did in Northanger Abbey. What I wanted it of this book, was learning something that made these characters feel more complex and that they had more depth. Instead I just left the story further befuddled at why Catherine's brother bothered to be friends with John, since all he seemed to do was brag to people and try to get them to lend him money.

"For Mischief's Sake" by Amy D'Orazio - 4 1/2 Stars
Captain Tilney from Northanger Abbey

This story was so good! Captain Tilney was jilted in love at a young age after his father tried to seduce the woman he wanted to marry. He became a rake set against falling in love at again. He "helps" men who are in love with women that he doesn't think will be faithful by seducing the women, saving the men from possible future infidelity and leading to the woman's ruin in polite society. He finds himself falling in love with one of these women that he ruined, but she has become cynical, and resistant to his brand of charm.


I came across this collection of short stories in my recent Jane Austen inspired reading within the Kindle Unlimited Collection, after reading most of Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl and The Darcy Monologues, and Rational Creatures, which were a collection done under the same umbrella.