In this short variation on the classic story, Elizabeth becomes well-acquainted—far more than she likes!—with Caroline Bingley before Darcy arrives at Netherfield. Feeling already a begrudging sympathy for the unknown gentleman who is to be Miss Bingley’s prey, their meeting is quite different when he arrives in Hertfordshire one fine December day with his younger sister, Georgiana. Their path to love sets off on a promising foot, but when Mr. Wickham comes to the Christmas ball, Mrs. Bennet misunderstands one of Darcy’s comments, and Caroline interferes with all, nothing is simple. But considering how hard Darcy fell when Lizzy disdained him, how hard might he fall if she tried? Is all made easy? Certainly not! But this is a Christmas none of them will forget.
Hello! I'm Corrie Garrett, indie author of the Austen Ensemble trilogy and other romance novels. I'm currently working on a story about the characters of Mansfield Park, as well as an historical fantasy in the Byzantine Empire. I love to read as well as write - mainly young adult (contemporary, dystopian, adventure, science fiction), romance (Christian, suspense, historical), science fiction, and urban fantasy. Ask a question, make a recommendation, or just say hello - and thanks for stopping by!
To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love ~ Jane Austen
“One Winter’s Ball” is a delightful, low-angst (almost no angst) variation of Pride & Prejudice.
Darcy and Georgiana arrive much later than the Bingley party at Netherfield Park. Meryton society already has expectations of a Bingley/Bennet marriage.
Darcy learns too late of the disadvantages of such a marriage for Bingley. There is no way to counsel his friend to wait and reconsider. A Winter Ball is planned to celebrate the engagement.
Short, sweet, well-written, and edited — what more could I ask?
Please send me your last pair of shoes, worn out with dancing as you mentioned in your letter, so that I might have something to press against my heart. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What if Darcy had arrived somewhat later at Netherfield and brought along his sister? What if Elizabeth got to see a tender, brotherly side and never heard the words 'tolerable, but can't tempt me' about herself? This short story variation explores that path- or the beginning to the path of love for this pair.
One Winter's Ball was a short story so it came to the point much sooner. The reader would definitely need to be familiar with the original Pride and Prejudice to parse out who the characters are and what the situation is when this story begins.
Though, that said, the development is not underdone. I was amused by Caroline Bingley's sniffs and vaulted airs, Elizabeth's reaction, and that scene at the ball when Fitzwilliam Darcy carried the day was priceless. I liked what I got and would have enjoyed seeing this one teased out into a longer piece, but I can definitely recommend it for a quick, holiday read.
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire; it is the time for home.” –Edith Sitwell
Rating: clean, short, and sweet: can be read in one sitting. [4-stars]
This was a new and different first meeting of ODC. It was like looking at a scene from a different angle. Things were skewed just enough to make it interesting. Our author did us the favor of NOT rehashing dialogue, or over-explaining a scene but giving it a fresh coat of paint so we could enjoy different encounters between our favorite couple.
“In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams [away] the cold.” –Ben Aaronovitch, Broken Homes
A reader wouldn’t have to know the Pride and Prejudice story, but it would certainly help. There would be questions otherwise. I enjoyed this quick staccato style of writing. I thought this decisive Bingley, who knew his own mind, was a hoot. Caroline’s complexion was constantly sporting a shocking shade of green whenever she observed Darcy and Elizabeth together throughout the story. Poor Mrs. Bennet was herself and embarrassed the crap out of her eldest daughters. Mr. Bennet was, as usual, entertained by the antics of his family. With the entrance of wealthy unmarried men into the neighborhood, all the matrons and matchmaking mamas fought for their attention. Yeah, it was a good day in the neighborhood of Meryton. LOL! I highly recommend this for a fun quick read.
“As winter approaches – bringing cold weather and family drama – we crave page-turners, books made for long nights and tryptophan-induced sloth.” –Sarah MacLean
I enjoyed the plot of this light, sweet story but it left me wanting more, I cannot but feel it has not reached its full potential and the resolution was practically none existing.
Mr Darcy entered Meryton society later than canon, sans the insult. Elizabeth had an inkling in advance to where Caroline's intention led, not particularly fond of the lady in question, she wanted to thwart Caroline's clawing effort to secure Mr Darcy.
I can appreciate a good short story but this book seems like an outline that failed to be filled in. The Christmas part of it is only because someone says "it's Christmas" Things get resolved off page leaving the reader wanting more.
in this P&P What if -- Darcy doesn't come to Meryton until December bringing Georgiana to Mr. Bingley's holiday ball - poor Caro having to do two balls in three weeks.
Anyway without Darcy Wickham has had full run of the vicinity and attends the ball there he and Darcy have a confrontation - this is literally the best part of the story where Darcy in his Master of Pemberley voice manages to direct about a dozen people in a single sentence.
We are spared much detail in the case that Darcy & Lizzy go up a hill estranged and come down engaged and we have no explanation.
EDIT 1/2024 I got a notice from Amazon that this book has been substantially changed and a large section of missing text was added, enough that they wouldn't keep my notes and highlights if I updated. I haven't read the new version but it seems to be much longer and end differently from what I remember. The phrase I quoted is not there anymore.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
I totally loved this story up to the ending. Bingley got attached to Jane without Darcy's interference and he's just about ready to propose when Darcy arrives. Elizabeth first meets him at a private gathering and without the insult, finds him an interesting character. Darcy finds her intriguing but Mrs Bennet is still tactless and Elizabeth is still without connections. Wickham attends the Netherfield ball because he wasn't aware of Darcy's presence in the area yet. The resulting confrontation leads Darcy and Elizabeth to schedule a meeting to talk things out for the next day, and they have to resort to some social trickery to make it happen. And then they talk about some stuff and it was good.
Or so I think. Up to this point this is a story with great dialogue and dramatic tension (not so much about what happened but what the characters were thinking), but in the end the author ran out of paper or decided she was too busy or bored to write out the resolution. The much anticipated conversation is summarized: "And so Mr Darcy spoke, Lizzy listened, and the world glistened quietly around them." It's beautifully phrased but after all that build-up I felt like something was missing. The author notes that they weren't ready to put aside their pride and declare their love yet but they were a bit closer to understanding each other.
Open-ended endings can be very effective and in a way, this was too, but I guess I am a bit of an Anxious Annie and want to finish a story by making sure that our dear couple has sorted things out. They get into SO many scrapes and have so many fights that I don't like to leave things to chance.
I liked this story well enough until I reached the end. I don't mind a novella ending with a hint of the future but it's cruel to start a friendship but hint at Lydia's foolishness and trip and just leave it at that.
This is a nicely written book but there really isn’t any plot and it all seems to fizzle out. The author made the very frustrating error of misapplying a title despite Austen using the same title many times in the original.
A charming holiday P&P variation with very low angst. This is a novella where Mr. Darcy comes to Netherfield with his sister just before Jane and Bingley are engaged, and finds himself drawn to Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth gets to see a tender, brotherly side and the insulting words ”tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” were never spoken. This short story explores that path- or the beginning to the path of love for this pair. Since this a short story they had to come to the point much sooner. I was amused by Caroline Bingley's sniffs and vaulted airs, Elizabeth's reaction, and that scene at the ball when Fitzwilliam Darcy carried the day was priceless. The reader would definitely need to be familiar with the original Pride and Prejudice to parse out who the characters are and what the situation is when this story begins. Though, that said, the development is not underdone and I liked what I got and would have enjoyed seeing this one teased out into a longer piece. It ends rather abruptly with no resolution or epilogue. Nothing is resolved, there’s no clear path towards a HEA for ODC, but I can definitely recommend it for a quick, holiday read.
Side Note: I don’t know why there is reviews saying there is no mention of a new stableboy at Netherfield that is desperate for a half-crown to buy his mother a silk purse, the head groom, Jack (who is the new stable boy), or mistletoe as the description depicts, for all the above is indeed mentioned, maybe they only read a sample by accident and not the full short story. Also in the description it says “a young boy gets a new father figure and widow gets a second chance” nothing concrete is mentioned but it’s implied when the head groom takes Jack under his wing, and the ending it’s implied the head groom and Jack’s mother have some feelings for one another but that’s it.
— one star deducted because of the abrupt ending with no resolutions or HEAs, not even any epilogues either.
I like this author. She's a talented writer and storyteller. However, I just wasn't feeling it in this short tale. I guess that's a danger to putting out these ultra short stories, that there just isn't room to develop an idea or flesh out a relationship. In this version, the Bennetts become acquainted with the Bingleys well before Darcy shows up at Netherfield, so there's no encounter at the assembly, or at Lucas Lodge, or at Netherfield when Elizabeth nurses Jane, none of that happens. Therein lies the problem with this version: Elizabeth and Darcy have hardly any interactions, and we're still supposed to feel that they've made a romantic connection.
Darcy arrives shortly before Christmas to help Bingley learn estate management. He comes to Longbourn a couple of times with Bingley, but is always scornful and severe. Bingley gives a Christmas ball, and Darcy dances once with Elizabeth. All the insight we ever get about Darcy is that he's beyond appalled at the behaviour of the Bennetts, and can hardly endure being in their home. That's about it. Sure, we know he admires Elizabeth's looks and intelligence, but he never shows it. Then the end of the book comes, where Darcy is explaining about Wickham's vices, and we're supposed to just assume that it's the beginning of their grand love affair. What?! Sorry, but I don't see it.
In spite of the quality of the writing, the book left me flat. I cannot recommend it.
The writing is superb, in this reader’s humble opinion; none of the cheesiness and dramatics of most historical romances and/or P&P variations. Unfortunately, this variation lacks substance. As much as focus should be given to the beloved couple FD and EB, emphasis is directed elsewhere, such as characterization and other sub-plots. This read more like an installment (merely a third) of a lengthy novel that the author had not enough time to finish. This would have made one excellent variation. But it ended as soon as the romance was starting to spark; which makes it disappointing. Perhaps this IS only the third installment of a full novel, the other parts of which the author intended as separate novellas. This reader is definitely eager to find out.
This my first reading of this author’s work. I enjoyed it very much. The characters are as we expect them to be but Bingley is a lot more assertive and confident in his decisions. This was very refreshing.
I really liked this version of Darcy. He still has much of the personality traits we expect but is more ‘masculine’ in his approach to Caroline Bingley, Wickham and in protecting the women he loves.
The introduction of Mr Chapman, Helen and her son Jack is delightful. They are ‘normal’ working people and through them we see love, honour and goodness no matter how strong the temptation is to be otherwise.
While short stories are, by their very nature, confined in length and often represent a single point in time rather than a full narrative this has a particularly abrupt and unfulfilling end. Nothing is resolved, there’s no clear path towards a HEA for ODC - I’m not even completely sure they like one another.
As a whole It somehow felt both rushed and as though it laboured overlong on elements which did not build characters or progress the plot.
Clean romance a Pride and prejudice variation/fanfic/retelling Mr Darcy is late to come to the country with Mr Bingley and family. He also brings his sister. the courtship of Bingley and Jane is not delayed like Austin’s novel. Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam seem to get along from when they first meet. with a few expected twists and turns (i could have reached through the pages of the book and slapped Mrs. Bennett!!)
Miss Elizabeth Bennet catches the attention of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy but he fights it to the end.
This was a delightful story. I was hoping it would come to the desired conclusion, but it's a bit openended. Still, Wickham gets his comeuppance, and Caroline Bingley does not get her way. We're introduced to some rather endearing characters at Netherfield. I found this book enjoyable, I only wish it was longer.
I was shocked when the book suddenly ended and actually looked to see if this was part 1 of 2. The story was cute and entertaining but the complete lack of resolution was super annoying.
In this P&P variation the Bingley party have been at Netherfield for some time when he holds another ball, in time for the arrival of Darcy. Will there be happy endings for anyone with Caroline Bingley and Wickham in the neighbourhood. An enjoyable story
This isn't finished and that is frustrating. What happened with Wickham? What happened to Elizabeth and Darcy? I'm so disappointed by the story not being completed.