A Longbourn Quartet: An Austenesque Short Story Collection

by Catherine Bilson

Four short stories set in the beloved world of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice which explore missing scenes and paths not taken in the original story. A Slip and a Trip This little Mis-step takes place at the dance at Lucas Lodge, at which Elizabeth declines Darcy’s offer of a dance. Though in canon, Jane and Bingley aren’t mentioned as even being present, they must surely have been there. The Darcy Inquisition The Darcy’s house in London, a week post-Hunsford. Darcy has lapsed into despair; Georgiana, fearing for him, has called for her cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam to help. They intend to interrogate Darcy to find out what is wrong, but somehow things go slightly awry. Based on selected nuggets from the wonderful Monty Python sketches of The Spanish Inquisition. Incidentally, did you know that one of Jane Austen’s suggestions for Colonel Fitzwilliam’s first name was Montgomery? That discovery inspired this whole ficlet… Mr. Bennet’s Call This is my imagining of a scene omitted from P& in the original work, we discover that Mr Bennet paid a call upon Bingley when he teases Mrs Bennet about not being able to escape the acquaintance. I found myself wondering, what was said in that call? The Exception That Proves The Rule You know the rule. Eavesdroppers rarely hear good of themselves. So, this is a what-if one-shot that is intended to be the exception to that rule. ​ Our little tale begins at Netherfield, while Elizabeth is there nursing Jane. Elizabeth comes downstairs to dispatch the letter to her mother, requesting that the carriage be sent to collect them. Of course, she must ask Mr Bingley for the use of a rider to convey the message to Longbourn, and so she goes looking for him.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2019

About the author

I've been writing since I was 5 years old. I've always had to set it aside and try to concentrate on so-called 'real life' though. I've had a number of interesting careers - engineer, real estate sales agent, owner of an electrical goods store, silversmith - but finally the time has come for me to return to my first love. Writing.

I've always loved the works of Jane Austen, so perhaps it's fitting that my first published work should be a variation on the much beloved Pride And Prejudice.

Visit my website, www.catherinebilson.com, to read several free short fics in the Pride and Prejudice fandom, and to leave me comments on my work!

I also write not-for-profit fanfiction set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if you'd like to read those free works please go to the Archive Of Our Own and search for the user handle ozhawk.

Reviews

[wosedwew · Rating 4 out of 5]

… I can set down a story... ~ William Shakespeare, Sonnet LXXXVIII

If you enjoy short stories here are four I would recommend to JAFF readers.

All very short: no complications; no angst. Just a sweet half hour of reading. I chortled over Colonel Montgomery Fitzwilliam and the Inquisition.

[Andreea Drăgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection includes four short scenes that are delightful.
It deserves to be mentioned that this Colonel is named Montgomery, and Georgiana and Darcy use the shorter Monty! It is a welcome change. 
It made my time on the subway more enjoyable. I highly recommend it!

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 very short stories. All adorable.
I love the Darcy Inquisition because it mimics Monty Python's "The Spanish Inquisition"

a delightful selection of amuse bouche

[James S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four short scenes

Not four short stories but four short scenes. One scene with Mr. Bennet that could have been in P&P and three what-if scenes of small but delightful changes to canon.

Not even an hour of reading here but a pleasant bot of exploration. Recommended.

[Elin Eriksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories.

I like reading stories that are stripped bare, leaving only the essence. These reimagined scenes from Pride and Prejudice was just like that.

Recommend!

[lori huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Such quick little bites, but tons of fun. These are not stories, but scenes from a story, a couple of them providing insight into events not seen in the original P&P, and a couple of "what if" variations.

The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.

[Gratia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tantalizing snippets

This is a collection of short scenes; variations of Pride and Prejudice. Most of these stories made me wish that there was more to read in a longer novella.
I really enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by the author.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet; unfortunately not enough to them.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute sweet

This short stories are nice to read. Wonder if some would be made into a longer story, they are incredible.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

very short stories…

These are more like snapshots than short stories but they are all delightful. I quite enjoyed them all very much.

[Fiatgal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Craftyhj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

A collection of short one-shots. Enjoyable but very short.

[MichelleH H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet!

This was fun. I don’t think it took me 25 minutes to read but such wonderful little vignettes. Really, a smile and a sigh. Great tiny stories.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started and finished this on my commute. It's very short, just four vignettes that felt like a start of the story. I really liked what was there but would have liked to see what developed. Colonel F and Georgiana interrogating Darcy was hilarious but I want to know what Darcy told them, dammit! Mr Bennet challenged Bingley to identify his daughters at the assembly and I want to know if he could. Elizabeth overhears about Darcy's admiration which is all good and wonderful, but what happened afterwards?

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A TOUR DE FORCE

These stories are, in a word, superb!

Romantic, funny (love the Monty Python reference) and clever.

This book will please every reader.