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Prevailed Upon To Marry: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
The Netherfield Ball was a trying evening for Elizabeth Bennet. Between being forced to dance with her odious cousin, Mr Collins, and the proud and cold Mr Darcy, she is more than happy for it to end. And now that she has rejected her cousin’s offer of marriage, she no longer need concern herself with either man.
But Mr Darcy brings her news of an unexpected tragedy that changes Elizabeth’s fortunes forever. Elizabeth once again finds herself under pressure to marry her foolish cousin or her family will be ruined.
Fitzwilliam Darcy was eager to leave Hertfordshire but when Mr Bennet dies in his arms, he finds he cannot bring himself to leave the bewitching women who has captivated him. When Elizabeth confides in him about her obligation to marry her cousin, Darcy realises he cannot allow it to happen. To his surprise and Elizabeth’s, he persuades her to marry him instead. Forced to choose between two men she dislikes, Mr Darcy seems like the lesser of the two evils.
But marriage to a man she does not like or trust does not come easily to Elizabeth. And as her resentment increases, Darcy wonders if he made a mistake in his desperation to have the one woman he could ever think of as his wife.
But when they agree to an appearance of cordiality and happiness before those who might be happy to see discord between them, Elizabeth finds her pretend feelings for her husband growing deeper. And as the husband and wife become closer, two people from Darcy’s past threaten to destroy the growing happiness between them.
But Mr Darcy brings her news of an unexpected tragedy that changes Elizabeth’s fortunes forever. Elizabeth once again finds herself under pressure to marry her foolish cousin or her family will be ruined.
Fitzwilliam Darcy was eager to leave Hertfordshire but when Mr Bennet dies in his arms, he finds he cannot bring himself to leave the bewitching women who has captivated him. When Elizabeth confides in him about her obligation to marry her cousin, Darcy realises he cannot allow it to happen. To his surprise and Elizabeth’s, he persuades her to marry him instead. Forced to choose between two men she dislikes, Mr Darcy seems like the lesser of the two evils.
But marriage to a man she does not like or trust does not come easily to Elizabeth. And as her resentment increases, Darcy wonders if he made a mistake in his desperation to have the one woman he could ever think of as his wife.
But when they agree to an appearance of cordiality and happiness before those who might be happy to see discord between them, Elizabeth finds her pretend feelings for her husband growing deeper. And as the husband and wife become closer, two people from Darcy’s past threaten to destroy the growing happiness between them.
- GenresRomance
298 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2019
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35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 18, 2019
Edited to add: I am raising my rating from 3 to 4 stars. I don't do this often but the book I am currently reading is so slow, so ponderous, so dull that it has me longing for the fast pace of this one. Despite its flaws this story is immensely readable and compelling. This was a book where I was constantly wondering what would happen next.
This book has me doubting myself because for the plot alone I would happily heap 5 stars upon it and praise the author to the heavens. This book has an absolutely fabulous plot. But it is told in the first person almost exclusively from Lizzy's perspective but few chapters from Darcy's
Our story opens the morning after the Netherfield ball. Universally acknowledged by those who calculate these things to be Wednesday November 27th. (this is important). After Lizzy spurns her cousin's proposal she takes a walk where she encounters a grave Mr. Darcy who comes bearing terrible news. Mr Bennet is dead. And Darcy, who as we all know takes responsibility for everything upon himself feels that he should have noticed and saved Mr. Bennet. His guilt keeps him at Netherfield after Miss Bingley and the Hursts have fled Meryton.
He stays for the funeral and he stays and stays. One day he encounters a distressed Miss Elizabeth who is now being forced by her uncle and her mother to acquiesce to Mr Collins. Darcy says he will help her, but how?
Pluses Dynamite plot and No epilogue!
Minuses: Regency Manner fails, Elizabeth is in mourning. Her mother and sisters should be in mourning.
The typos:
reigned for reined, although it is correct later on so the author knows the difference
Lady Catherine deBurgh (deBourgh)
Stapled for Steepled.
And poor Colonel Forster gets a battlefield demotion to Captain.
This book has me doubting myself because for the plot alone I would happily heap 5 stars upon it and praise the author to the heavens. This book has an absolutely fabulous plot. But it is told in the first person almost exclusively from Lizzy's perspective but few chapters from Darcy's
Our story opens the morning after the Netherfield ball. Universally acknowledged by those who calculate these things to be Wednesday November 27th. (this is important). After Lizzy spurns her cousin's proposal she takes a walk where she encounters a grave Mr. Darcy who comes bearing terrible news. Mr Bennet is dead. And Darcy, who as we all know takes responsibility for everything upon himself feels that he should have noticed and saved Mr. Bennet. His guilt keeps him at Netherfield after Miss Bingley and the Hursts have fled Meryton.
He stays for the funeral and he stays and stays. One day he encounters a distressed Miss Elizabeth who is now being forced by her uncle and her mother to acquiesce to Mr Collins. Darcy says he will help her, but how?
Pluses Dynamite plot and No epilogue!
Minuses: Regency Manner fails, Elizabeth is in mourning. Her mother and sisters should be in mourning.
The typos:
reigned for reined, although it is correct later on so the author knows the difference
Lady Catherine deBurgh (deBourgh)
Stapled for Steepled.
And poor Colonel Forster gets a battlefield demotion to Captain.
November 16, 2019
This is FMS (Forced Marriage Scenario) - Well, Elizabeth is essentially forced to choose between Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy. (Yeah, right! Who really thinks she'd choose Mr. Collins?) The story is limited to her point of view most of the time, so the reader rarely knows what Darcy is thinking.
There are editing errors sprinkled about in unfortunate spots, making them distracting. And for someone who makes a hobby out of studying people's characters, Elizabeth is annoyingly clueless. In the beginning, she takes offense to everything Darcy says and does. It's too obvious that he loves her; she's just plain dumb not to recognize it much, much sooner.
The writing itself is generally good. However, the whole book fell flat for me.
There are editing errors sprinkled about in unfortunate spots, making them distracting. And for someone who makes a hobby out of studying people's characters, Elizabeth is annoyingly clueless. In the beginning, she takes offense to everything Darcy says and does. It's too obvious that he loves her; she's just plain dumb not to recognize it much, much sooner.
The writing itself is generally good. However, the whole book fell flat for me.
December 19, 2019
A marriage of convenience - love these almost as much as FMS.
Bingley and his sisters are off to London after the Netherfield Ball. Darcy has come back and while riding meets Mr. Bennet who has an apoplexy and dies in Darcy's arms. Darcy then after realizing that Collins now will take over Longbourn also learns that he is "blackmailing" Elizabeth to marry him. If she does not all the Bennet women are to be tossed into the hedgerows. And this Collins is a frightening version as he insinuates that E. will be disciplined for her rejection of him.
So Darcy offers Elizabeth an alternative. For her it is the lesser of two evils but at least he has assured her that the marriage will not be consummated until she wants.
However, upon traveling to London Elizabeth meets an old neighbor and childhood playmate, Amelia, and his son, WILLIAM, who have returned to England after the death of her French husband. Elizabeth suspects there is more to that relationship between her and Darcy than either relate to her. He does seem to take an unusual interest in the boy.
This Darcy is completely the opposite of the Darcy she knew at the Assembly or the Netherfield Ball. And while he insists that they playact as loving husband and wife Elizabeth finds that even when not in company this is a man with whom she can easily be friends.
Wickham comes into play, of course, but there is also an untold story concerning Amelia.
This story had enough angst to keep me interested but it needs a lot of editing. I liked it.
Bingley and his sisters are off to London after the Netherfield Ball. Darcy has come back and while riding meets Mr. Bennet who has an apoplexy and dies in Darcy's arms. Darcy then after realizing that Collins now will take over Longbourn also learns that he is "blackmailing" Elizabeth to marry him. If she does not all the Bennet women are to be tossed into the hedgerows. And this Collins is a frightening version as he insinuates that E. will be disciplined for her rejection of him.
So Darcy offers Elizabeth an alternative. For her it is the lesser of two evils but at least he has assured her that the marriage will not be consummated until she wants.
However, upon traveling to London Elizabeth meets an old neighbor and childhood playmate, Amelia, and his son, WILLIAM, who have returned to England after the death of her French husband. Elizabeth suspects there is more to that relationship between her and Darcy than either relate to her. He does seem to take an unusual interest in the boy.
This Darcy is completely the opposite of the Darcy she knew at the Assembly or the Netherfield Ball. And while he insists that they playact as loving husband and wife Elizabeth finds that even when not in company this is a man with whom she can easily be friends.
Wickham comes into play, of course, but there is also an untold story concerning Amelia.
This story had enough angst to keep me interested but it needs a lot of editing. I liked it.
October 29, 2019
Marriage of convenience
Lizzy marries Darcy after her father dies so she will not have to marry Collins. He likes/loves her and she doesn’t like him at all but he doesn’t know that piece of information. Lizzy still has all her pride and all her prejudices about him.
While they are trying to make marriage work, well Darcy is trying, well known characters and one new one are working on destroying the marriage.
Both Darcy and Lizzy are oblivious to what the other is thinking or feeling. If they try to talk , one or the other just blows up.
Not till the last 15% of the story does much if any communication take place. Ok story but I doubt I’ll remember it a few months down the line. 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.
Lizzy marries Darcy after her father dies so she will not have to marry Collins. He likes/loves her and she doesn’t like him at all but he doesn’t know that piece of information. Lizzy still has all her pride and all her prejudices about him.
While they are trying to make marriage work, well Darcy is trying, well known characters and one new one are working on destroying the marriage.
Both Darcy and Lizzy are oblivious to what the other is thinking or feeling. If they try to talk , one or the other just blows up.
Not till the last 15% of the story does much if any communication take place. Ok story but I doubt I’ll remember it a few months down the line. 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.
November 11, 2019
A nice read but there were a lot of mistakes that should’ve been picked up - typos, missing words, a ball being tomorrow but then being told “several days later”. Not enough to ruin it but enough to lose a star!
July 29, 2023
Interesting
A rather interesting and emotional variation inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Isabelle Mayfair. I enjoyed it.
A rather interesting and emotional variation inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Isabelle Mayfair. I enjoyed it.
April 9, 2020
I'm giving 3.5 stars really, this book has a very very good plot. I like the story throughout. The plot is believable, the characters are very similar to canon characters and the way Elizabeth and Mr Darcy fall in love is very nice as well. The language is quite proper for the time and the plot respects the time's customs as well.
The story is narrated in first person, mainly from Elizabeth's point of view. There are some chapters from Mr Darcy's point of view at the beginning but when some mystery starts we don't know what's in his mind anymore.
The story deviates from canon after the Netherfield ball when Mr Darcy stays instead of going to town after Bingley. Elizabeth had rejected Mr Collins and then she finds Mr Darcy on the way looking worried, he is bringing awful news that change everything in the Bennet sisters' lives.
Mr Bennet has died while walking. Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins try to force Lizzy to marry her cousin but then Mr Darcy offers for her, a better alternative and a convenient one, she takes her time but accepts, seeing it is the better choice in these circumstances.
Mr Collins was right down creepy and even scary in this variation. I understand that Lizzy was in a difficult position but once Mr Darcy had proposed I could not believe that after having seen a bit of the darkness in her cousin's character, she still would consider marrying him instead of Mr Darcy, but well...
Lizzy is her stubborn self and takes a long time to realise how wonderful is the man behind the stern mask her husband wears in public. She also takes a while to realise he wasn't acting, but I totally understood her position after a childhood friend is introduced in the plot.
I won't spoil it too much but it made me doubt Mr Darcy as well.
I didn't like that...
Anyway, I like the romance part of it, how warm and tender Darcy is with Lizzy and how Lizzy starts falling for him, how she cherishes these moments even if she thinks it is just acting at the beginning. I like the looks and the kisses and cuddling together. I like how they come together even though when that happens not all has been resolved yet and Darcy kept on hiding things from Lizzy until possibly the very end -_-
(Don't worry, intimate moments are behind closed doors, just hints are written).
I discounted half a star because I would have liked more chapters from Mr Darcy's point of view to have a better picture of his mind. I was reading and expecting his thoughts on the events unfolding and then it was just Lizzy until the end... I understand it was so the mystery would be kept for longer but, I feel it could still be kept and we could still read about Darcy's feelings of confusion and pain at the situation, etc. I also didn't like that after all, Lizzy would keep on calling Mr Darcy "Darcy" instead of William or Fitzwilliam. I understand it was a custom of the time to call a husband by his surname but I feel that after knowing she loves him maybe she would go onto calling him by his given name at least in private.
And I also discounted a full star because of the editing. Sorry but this book needs a looot of editing. I liked the plot a lot and the book is very good but probably the first 20% was ok and the last bit, like maybe from 75% onwards was also well edited but the middle needs still a lot of work. There are so many mistakes in tenses. I am not a native speaker but I can really notice when the spelling changes the action from past to present, all the things are being narrated in past and suddenly they are in present perfect so it makes no continuous sense. I understood it was a mistake so I could get the action happening but it was annoying to constantly be correcting things in my head. Also the typical "gentlemen" instead of "gentleman" when referring to one person only, same with woman/en, some single words not making sense in the middle and missing link words, prepositions and so on. I think for me to really enjoy the book fully, the author should invest some time in correcting these mistakes or engage a good editor and have another edition because it takes some enjoyment from the plot and the reading experience.
The story is narrated in first person, mainly from Elizabeth's point of view. There are some chapters from Mr Darcy's point of view at the beginning but when some mystery starts we don't know what's in his mind anymore.
The story deviates from canon after the Netherfield ball when Mr Darcy stays instead of going to town after Bingley. Elizabeth had rejected Mr Collins and then she finds Mr Darcy on the way looking worried, he is bringing awful news that change everything in the Bennet sisters' lives.
Mr Bennet has died while walking. Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins try to force Lizzy to marry her cousin but then Mr Darcy offers for her, a better alternative and a convenient one, she takes her time but accepts, seeing it is the better choice in these circumstances.
Mr Collins was right down creepy and even scary in this variation. I understand that Lizzy was in a difficult position but once Mr Darcy had proposed I could not believe that after having seen a bit of the darkness in her cousin's character, she still would consider marrying him instead of Mr Darcy, but well...
Lizzy is her stubborn self and takes a long time to realise how wonderful is the man behind the stern mask her husband wears in public. She also takes a while to realise he wasn't acting, but I totally understood her position after a childhood friend is introduced in the plot.
I won't spoil it too much but it made me doubt Mr Darcy as well.
I didn't like that...
Anyway, I like the romance part of it, how warm and tender Darcy is with Lizzy and how Lizzy starts falling for him, how she cherishes these moments even if she thinks it is just acting at the beginning. I like the looks and the kisses and cuddling together. I like how they come together even though when that happens not all has been resolved yet and Darcy kept on hiding things from Lizzy until possibly the very end -_-
(Don't worry, intimate moments are behind closed doors, just hints are written).
I discounted half a star because I would have liked more chapters from Mr Darcy's point of view to have a better picture of his mind. I was reading and expecting his thoughts on the events unfolding and then it was just Lizzy until the end... I understand it was so the mystery would be kept for longer but, I feel it could still be kept and we could still read about Darcy's feelings of confusion and pain at the situation, etc. I also didn't like that after all, Lizzy would keep on calling Mr Darcy "Darcy" instead of William or Fitzwilliam. I understand it was a custom of the time to call a husband by his surname but I feel that after knowing she loves him maybe she would go onto calling him by his given name at least in private.
And I also discounted a full star because of the editing. Sorry but this book needs a looot of editing. I liked the plot a lot and the book is very good but probably the first 20% was ok and the last bit, like maybe from 75% onwards was also well edited but the middle needs still a lot of work. There are so many mistakes in tenses. I am not a native speaker but I can really notice when the spelling changes the action from past to present, all the things are being narrated in past and suddenly they are in present perfect so it makes no continuous sense. I understood it was a mistake so I could get the action happening but it was annoying to constantly be correcting things in my head. Also the typical "gentlemen" instead of "gentleman" when referring to one person only, same with woman/en, some single words not making sense in the middle and missing link words, prepositions and so on. I think for me to really enjoy the book fully, the author should invest some time in correcting these mistakes or engage a good editor and have another edition because it takes some enjoyment from the plot and the reading experience.
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February 16, 2025I don't think this book is available at the usual sites anymore?
It's mostly in Elizabeth's first person perspective, with a bit here and there in Darcy's. It's a her-father-dies, being-Mrs.Darcy-beats-being-Mrs.Collins type marriage of convenience scenario. He wants them to pretend at being in love and is surprisingly good at it. Elizabeth is jealous of a Derbyshire woman who claims to have been close to Darcy. I enjoyed it in a general way.
There were some minor editing issues and inconsistencies.
It's mostly in Elizabeth's first person perspective, with a bit here and there in Darcy's. It's a her-father-dies, being-Mrs.Darcy-beats-being-Mrs.Collins type marriage of convenience scenario. He wants them to pretend at being in love and is surprisingly good at it. Elizabeth is jealous of a Derbyshire woman who claims to have been close to Darcy. I enjoyed it in a general way.
There were some minor editing issues and inconsistencies.
December 16, 2019
3.5 because it’s not written as a school-level essay, but still needs a lot of editing and some re-writing due to a fair amount of internal timeline mistakes, typos and etc.
May 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews