Lizzy's Curious Talent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Jessica L. Jackson

Something magical happens every time Miss Elizabeth Bennet paints or sketches an image. However, she cannot control how her talent is revealed in her art. Lizzy is determined to live as an independent lady and needs her talent to provide the income for her dream. But, she has to be so very, very careful that no one discovers her secret.
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy wants Miss Bennet, a notable artiste, to paint a portrait of his beloved sister, Georgiana, and he is willing to pay handsomely. She, however, refuses to paint adults. He does not understand her reluctance. Darcy is determined to discover whatever it is that Miss Bennet is hiding.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2020

Reviews

[Madenna U · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth has a special gift. She can draw and paint things in a special way. Darcy is looking for someone to paint a portrait of her sister and obtains a letter of introduction. He goes out of his way to find her and is pleased to meet Lizzie, Charles and Jane.

As they spend more time together he is clearly fascinated by the woman and her mystery. She is also interested in him but there is of course a bit of pride and prejudice in the story.

I wasn’t sure about this premise to start but I really enjoyed it!

[James S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd story

What-if Lizzy could do miracles...or...
What-if Lizzy could do magic...or...
What-if reality where nothing ever changes can change into a new reality just by what she paints.

Is Lizzy an Angel or a magician or a dimensional traveler.

What would her story be. Read and find out.

Original and a little bit special. Thumbs up.

[Sam H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best Bingley I have ever read!

That being said, the 'Harry Potter' aspect of Lizzy's talent was very well done. The mystery of this story and the slow burn of ODC was very well done.

Personally I didn't appreciate Georgiana's story. It felt forced and unnatural.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Elizabeth Bennet is a Regency artist becoming well known among the ton for her arresting portraits of pets and children. For reasons unknown to most, she refuses commissions to paint adults.

In this particular Pride and Prejudice universe, Mr. Bingley and Jane are already married, and Elizabeth lives with them. Bingley and Mr. Darcy have not met prior to the latter's arrival on their doorstep wishing to speak with Miss Bennet about painting a portrait of his sister Georgiana. Naturally, she refuses, but Darcy is so taken by the beauty of a landscape painting she's done that he offers her a commission to paint Pemberley instead.

Although this plot is wildly off-canon, I was impressed that the characters felt consistent with Jane Austen's creations. Mrs. Bennet is annoyed that Elizabeth isn't married rather than proud of her daughter's remarkable talent. Mr. Bingley effusively extolls her ability, frequently slipping and hinting at its supernatural qualities that he's supposed to keep secret. Darcy immediately feels drawn to Bingley's open, warm-hearted personality. While Elizabeth enjoys the loving bond with her sister Jane, she yearns to have the means to live independently. And there's a mutual fascination between Darcy and Elizabeth that each hides from the other for various reasons.

I appreciate Ms. Jackson's engaging writing and storytelling. I would've liked to see the romance played up more intensely, but I was thoroughly entertained by the creative plot.

[J. W. Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” –Émile Zola

Rating clean: angst level: low: trope: paranormal. As stated in the blurb, Lizzy has a curious talent. She is an artist extraordinaire and there is something very special about her sketches and paintings.

When the story opened, the cast of characters had been reduced due to circumstances that were shocking, to say the least. Lydia and the [SBRB] Wickham were married and off doing whatever nefarious things they were doing. The younger sisters [Mary and Kitty] were living with the other relations. Jane and Bingley were married and lived at Netherfield. Lizzy lived with them for several reasons. For one, the two eldest sisters were inseparable and secondly, for Elizabeth’s protection. I enjoyed the reduced cast and didn’t miss them one bit. Don’t tell them.

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This reminded me of the Beatrix Potter movie when she would paint one of her little animal characters. Or of a Walt Disney when he would sketch and talk to his characters. This was so cute and yet I could see how it would be a bit disconcerting. Lizzy loved to sketch, draw, and paint. She always traveled with her sketchpad and art supplies. In fact, she couldn’t help herself when the mood hit her, she had to paint. However, she had to establish certain ground rules regarding her commissioned work. She would only paint children [up to a certain age] and pets. That was her final word on the subject and for good reason.

The real fun began when Darcy tracked her down and wanted her to paint Georgiana. Elizabeth had to disappoint him by saying his sister was too old. When he saw Lizzy’s paintings of a ruin they had visited, he changed tack and asked her to come and paint Pemberley instead. While staying at Pemberley, Lizzy and the Bingley party met several new characters, including one… Mr. Pitt. Oh my, that was a hoot.

I highly recommend this delightful story. You have to take parts of it with a grain of salt… it’s a paranormal after all. 9-21-20: I borrowed this from the KU Program.

“Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.” –Pope John Paul II

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth paints and draws, and somehow, magic or providence or a blessing from God, allows certain sketches or paintings to change seasons, expressions, actions, even clothing, etc. Due to how people might react if they viewed these, her art work is hidden away, in the attic at Longbourn or now that Jane has married Bingley, hidden in a special gallery which is kept under lock & key at Netherfield. The only art work not imbued with these qualities are those of pets or children. Whereas wild animals, livestock and adults are never the same for long in other artwork done by Elizabeth.

Darcy learns of her talents in London and he is shown a painting of pets as proof of that. He chases her down as she is traveling with Jane and Charles and invites them to Pemberley when Elizabeth agrees to paint that mansion after refusing to paint Georgiana, as she is an adult at this point.

The Wickham affair was several summers ago and G. has eyes on a much better man although one who is not the same level in society. Another man, Edmund Bissell, is also chasing Elizabeth down as a sketch of his now deceased wife changes before his eyes and he wants an explanation. Darcy begins to have some suspicions after "stealing" a sketch Elizabeth made of him and Georgiana and after Mr. Bissell refuses to explain his meeting with Elizabeth. It's all a mystery but even as Darcy begins to unravel that he doesn't communicate with Elizabeth about his suspicions or then about his feelings for her.

Yes, there is a proposal which is mucked up. It has different connotations than the one in canon but has an insult all its own. Jane and Charles along with Elizabeth flee Pemberley due to fears about what Darcy has put together. We find Georgiana giving Fitzwilliam some good advice which leads to our HEA.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was clever and unexpected and I liked the unusual art aspect a lot.
There was this guy who was chasing her across the country and I thought it was foreshadowing a bit more trouble but it eventually amounted to oh-never-mind-then.
I wasn't keen on Georgiana's storyline.

[wosedwew · Rating 4 out of 5]

“…The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.” - Oscar Wilde

Shades of Dorian Gray!

Elizabeth Bennet is a talented artist whose paintings are in demand. But why does she refuse to paint adults? She only accepts commissions for children and pets.

Fitzwilliam Darcy visits a friend who shows him a painting of her spaniels. Darcy is determined to hire the artist for a portrait of his beloved sister, even though his sister has left childhood behind.

Elizabeth’s talent is so unique the author does not explain it! Truly, an explanation is unnecessary for this book to be enjoyed. When sketches start changing, just believe!

Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken. – Oscar Wilde

[Sheryl Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and Unique

This is a wonderful story with a truly unique twist. It's short but sweet and includes a lovely sub-plot that involves Georgiana. It is closer to four and a half stars but I'm hoping this creative author will offer us another, fuller tale soon. Well drawn original characters but enough 'on point' references to the canon folks to make it a true variation. Good job, well done!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this alternative. It really is an alternative because Darcy Bingley aren’t friends. Jane is married to Charles at the beginning of the book. We find out he Bennet parents died chasing Lydia.

Elizabeth has a unique talent with her painting. I really enjoyed the fun the author had with this ides.

The author could use an editor. She spent too much time with someone who seemed to be a villain- traveling on Sunday and owning slave ships only to have him sort of become a believer in God or at least Elizabeth’s talent.

She used ‘uh’ 11 times! References to acting l8ke a school girl seemed too modern. Used the non words blaggard and brangled.

I don’t know how Charles supposedly kept Elizabeth’s secret because he kept almost blurting it out.

[Michelle David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

An interesting premise and enjoyable story in this variation inspired by author Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by Jessica L. Jackson.

[abmom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting retelling. Loved every word of it.

[Lady Jl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great talent

Elizabeth has a really great talent with art that is special and surprising for anyone allowed to see her work. I loved this idea for a story.
Darcy wants Miss Bennet to paint his sisters portrait and is denied which only makes him want her to do it all that more. Elizabeth paint pets as they do not give away her secret in the hopes of earning enough to buy herself a home of her own.
Elizabeth goes to Pemberley with Mr and Mrs Bingley only to have Darcy find out about Elizabeth’s talent when he takes one of her sketches.
This is a very good story, the idea, the characters and plot work.
I wanted more than a short epilogue that seems to be the trend these days.

[Becky Hemphill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs cutting up a bit

Many monotonous details that do not move the plot forward. Lengthy explanations of long ago card and board games that mattered not a jot. Many little details that bogged down the story greatly. Could do with a great deal less description and more inner character thoughts. All and all not bad, just grew quite tiresome and tedious. A fantastic premise but many non Regency, let alone British, customs. The shaking of hands for instance. Ladies most certainly did not shake hands with strange men when introduced. And the servants did not introduce themselves to their betters unless called upon to do so. A fierce editor or two and you've got yourself a solid novel.

[Lisa E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Enjoyable

I like magic. I want to play with a deck of cards painted by Lizzy. Could be fun but distracting. I like how loving and protective, if absentminded, Charles is. And how accepting and protective everyone else is. Characters seem af true as can be possible in such a departure from canon.

[Heather Sulic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! Loved it!

What a unique and interesting read! The topic was new and creative. The characters were rich, deep and lively. The writing itself was excellent and engaging. I especially loved Charles and Georgiana.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical

What an unusual story, full of joy and whimsy. I would have loved it even if it wasn't pride and prejudice. I love the idea behind the changing paintings, and the way they are different. The author did an amazing job, making me feel like I could see the magic.

[Michele Packard-milam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fun, Unusual Variation

I really enjoyed this quirky variation on P&P. It is very well-written and perfectly edited. The characters are true to canon, but the plot is a refreshing left turn from the norm. Quite delightful, truly!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightfully original take

This was very well written and utterly enjoyable! I do so enjoy a good JAFF Pride and Prejudice variation. Well done!!!

[Craftyhj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different premise makes this an interesting read. Elizabeth is rather more cagey and tentative in this story (with good reason) and Darcy is softer and more open.

[Barbara K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful Pride and Prejudice variation involves a Lizzy Bennet who is an artist, but not just an artist. Her drawings and paintings seem to have a life of their own. For instance, she paints a picture of a barnyard, including a sow, and the next time someone sees the painting there are piglets. She has had to hide her unusual artwork from most people since she was a child, when her mother would squirrel her paintings away in the attic at Longbourn. Now she is a young woman, living with her sister Jane and brother-in-law Charles at Netherfield. Charles Bingley - who is almost my favorite character in this rendition - has set aside an upstairs double drawing room as a gallery for Lizzy's work, a room which only a few people are ever allowed to enter. It's kept secret even from the servants.

There are two subjects that Lizzy can paint without risk of strange results, and those are portraits of pets or children. She has become known among the haute ton for her paintings of these subjects and is sought after for commissions.

Mr. Darcy wants to have a portrait done of his younger sister Georgiana, so he goes to see one of Miss Bennet's paintings, a depiction of an acquaintance's dogs, and decides to seek out Miss Bennet, whom he learns is traveling in Yorkshire.

The love story is not just a discovery of the other person, in this variation, but one that involves one discovering the secret of the other's talent, and the other needing to feel secure that her secret will be accepted. It makes for a lot of mystery, even though nothing is really kept from the reader, and quite a lot of angst. There's a secondary romance going on, and a third party who is trying to solve the mystery of Miss Bennet's artwork, with a lot of travel from place to place, some intriguing variations on popular card games, and a terrible misunderstanding when Darcy finally declares himself, or rather, fails to.

All in all, I loved this story. I would have happily given it five stars if not for some errors that caused confusion in the story. Georgiana's age changes, with her starting the story at seventeen, but then suddenly being nineteen, when only a matter of days has passed in the story. There is also a change in the number of days Mr. Bissell's sketch takes to change. First it's ten days, and then two weeks. Some of the timing of the journeys and missed meetings seem out of whack as well, and there's some confusing word usage (signets for cygnets). It also bugged me that Jennet Franklin was never referred to or addressed as Miss Franklin. That seemed disrespectful. Servants introducing themselves, servants taking it on themselves to complain about a potential guest. There were a number of other little things not worth mentioning here. But the errors, although they stopped me and made me at times question my own memory, did not spoil the story for me. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Some spoilers)

Lizzy is a talented artist who only paints animals and children for clients. She also paints landscapes and farm animals, but those can be problematic for her. As she paints, she sees things others don't see, and objects in the paintings can move, change, and revert back to the original. Darcy wants a portrait of Georgiana painted, and when he sees an example of her work, he is so impressed that he travels to Yorkshire in search of her. She lives with her sister Jane, who is married to Bingley, and they have gone to Yorkshire for a visit. Bingley is enchanted with Lizzy's abilities, but Jane is horrified that someone will find out about it. He is just adorable, the best character in the book. He's a delight and the biggest fan of Lizzy's art.

When Darcy finally finds them in Yorkshire and is told that Lizzy will not paint Georgiana, he commissions a painting of Pemberley from her. Lizzy is rude to him, and Darcy is intrigued by her. He invites them to Pemberley while the painting is being done.
Meanwhile, Mr. Edmund Bissell discovers that a sketch Lizzy did of his late wife has magically transformed into full color. Then, days later, it reverts back to a sketch, and so on. He frantically searches for her to give him an explanation of this magic. He finally makes it to Pemberley to confront Elizabeth about the sketch/watercolor of his wife. Nothing is revealed to him. He leaves just as confounded as he was when he arrived, but promises not to tell anyone about the sketch. I'm not sure why his story was included. It does very little for the plot, except to illustrate how the general public would react to her paintings, but she and the Bingleys already know that.

The book is loaded with spelling, grammatical, and factual errors. The author has women shaking hands with women, men shaking hands with women, and men shaking hands with strangers, none of which would have happened in the Regency Era. With all the regency expressions she employed, as well as the names of clothing and fabrics from the era, and sites of interest with architectural detail, I'm surprised she wasn't more careful with social customs. We get detailed descriptions of rugs every time one of the characters walks into another room, as well as the wall coverings and furniture. Their clothing is meticulously detailed, and we're told everything on the menu, even breakfast. There are two long, boring card games described, card-by-card.

Meanwhile, Georgiana is in love with Pemberley's steward, who is nearly twice her age. She is 18, he is 30-something. Unlike Wickham, he's a nice guy, but the age difference is creepy, since he's into her as well.

I didn't feel the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. She was testy and often unpleasant and rude. There was little to explain why Darcy was drawn to her. An interesting idea, but the execution could be better with editing.

[lori huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely intriguing

Elizabeth is a gifted artist, whose works sometimes have magical qualities. Therefore, most of her artwork must be kept concealed for fear of notoriety or scandal. She only paints children or pets for money, as these subjects seem to be safe from magical qualities. Mr Darcy is looking for a female artist to do a portrait of his sister. After seeing one of her paintings of a pet, he's determined to acquire Elizabeth's services for Georgiana's portrait, but Elizabeth refuses. Instead, he hires her to paint Pemberly, so Elizabeth, along with Jane and Charles Bingley, go to stay at Pemberly.

Unlike the original P&P, this is the first time Elizabeth, Jane and Charles are meeting Darcy. Also unlike the original, Mr and Mrs Bennett are dead, the Collinses live at Longbourn, Jane, Charles and Elizabeth live at Netherfield, and Lydia is married to Wickham after their scandal. There are none of the usual villains. The entire issue is Elizabeth's strange art, and how dangerous it would be if her ability were discovered.

The romance is lovely. Elizabeth quickly penetrates Darcy's stern and arrogant facade. Georgiana has a prominent role, and a lot more backbone, which is nice. Most of the action happens at Pemberly. Jane and Charles Bingley are very important, as the self-appointed protectors of Elizabeth, and keepers of her secrets.

The book is very well written, although I think it could have been shortened a fair amount by leaving out tedious details. We didn't need a detailed description of every dish at every meal, or to know which footman handed who into the carriage, and in what order. You get the idea. I actually started skimming over these useless descriptive parts, and that's not a good sign.

However, it's an interesting premise, in a well told storyline. I recommend it highly.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is quite original and I particularly enjoyed Bingley’s POV on Lizzy. Sometimes a little slow, esp when there are long descriptions such as the rules of historical board/card games (some people will love this I’m sure). Not particularly deep. Cute interactions between ODC at Pemberley. Short angsty period caused by misunderstanding- didn’t find this particularly believable. Universal HEA.

Editing required for mistakes:
- spelling (usually names) and similar errors;
- repetition of certain passages, eg. G is shocked to find out that W is Lizzy’s BIL on at least 2, maybe 3, occasions;
- and some silly things like Aunt Sophia not knowing Pemberley/Derbyshire well, even though she is a former Miss Darcy.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounding up

I really liked the premise of this story. It was done in a way that wasn't too unbelievable. Bingley was a great character in this story, though a little more backstory of how he came to be involved with the Bennets but not having met Darcy yet would have been nice.

However, it irked me that there were several inconsistencies. Like Georgiana being 17 and then suddenly almost 19. The repetitive conversations about Wickham and each one was like it was a discovery of that information for the first time. Also, the overly descriptive foods and games was a little tiresome.

[gwen christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed

Not sure what else to say. Loved the research that made the story even better and appreciated that she did not have to bore us with the repeating of 90% of the original p&p story. The story is magical, very original, and so peaceful and enjoyable to read. Thank you for such a charming story. Wish you had done something with Lizzys nightmare would have been a good way to have brought in Darcy's cousin colonel Fitswilliam. Going to add the paper back to my collection. Is there anyway to get an autographed copy 🤔

[Alena (Ally) Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lighthearted variation

A very lighthearted interesting story with a little twist of magic thrown around to keep the misunderstanding between Darcy and Elizabeth. The added bonus of the secondary characters keeping Elizabeth's secret talent and Georgiana's growth as a character were enjoyable. Nice read.

[Terri Conley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was dissapointed in this book. The idea was fabulous but the execution was not. Where was bold Lizzy hidding. The best character was Bingely.

[Barbara K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

I really don’t enjoyed this work. There is emotion, great characterizations, good plot development. I highly recommend this novel to all.

[Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the idea very much but I must add that there is not much happening in this book. Just a lot of worrying.