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Highbury Variation #2
From London With Loyalty: A Variation of Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Mansfield Park
The Highbury Variation continues in a chaotic summer full of dancing, duels, and drama.
Elizabeth’s quickly ended engagement to Mr. Knightley, as well as her sister’s engagement to Mr. Bingley, has people using words like fortune-hunter and hussy to describe them. Will Mr. Darcy be deterred by the resistance of society and his family?
Meanwhile Jane Fairfax’s position as a governess is threatened by the unwanted attention of several gentlemen, including her resentful, rejected fiancé Frank Churchill. When he makes a bet about her in a gentleman's club, her reputation teeters on the edge of a cliff.
Jane can't be sure if Mr. Tom Bertram of Mansfield Park is also offering insult or... something more? She should never trust this rakish friend of Mr. Churchill’s, but she may have no choice.
And when Darcy gets pulled into the fracas, Lizzy may get to see another side of him altogether.
Join Elizabeth and Jane as they navigate love and loyalty in the refined drawing rooms of Regency London.
Elizabeth’s quickly ended engagement to Mr. Knightley, as well as her sister’s engagement to Mr. Bingley, has people using words like fortune-hunter and hussy to describe them. Will Mr. Darcy be deterred by the resistance of society and his family?
Meanwhile Jane Fairfax’s position as a governess is threatened by the unwanted attention of several gentlemen, including her resentful, rejected fiancé Frank Churchill. When he makes a bet about her in a gentleman's club, her reputation teeters on the edge of a cliff.
Jane can't be sure if Mr. Tom Bertram of Mansfield Park is also offering insult or... something more? She should never trust this rakish friend of Mr. Churchill’s, but she may have no choice.
And when Darcy gets pulled into the fracas, Lizzy may get to see another side of him altogether.
Join Elizabeth and Jane as they navigate love and loyalty in the refined drawing rooms of Regency London.
322 pages, ebook
Published September 30, 2021
33 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Corrie Garrett
36 books58 followersHello! 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!
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!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 7, 2023
I did not enjoy this book as much as the first and I don't think I care to read the next. Again, this is less a Darcy and Elizabeth story as their relationship has hardly any obstacles and they get engaged rather quickly. Even the rumors do almost nothing. This book is mostly about Jane Fairfax and she's just so dull!
But more than that, I got really tired of seemingly endless regency era cant and idioms and the way people spoke. Polished, refined, highly educated characters spoke like servants with "ain't no's" and just very sloppy language I can't remember right now. It seemed like every other line of dialogue had some expression of the time, which is appropriate to include but needs to be used in small doses otherwise it becomes difficult to follow when every conversation is full of odd expressions that aren't used anymore. And it felt as if the author was trying to impress with her regency knowlegde; like, how Regents Park was laid out and who designed it and how it was managed. Things that had absolutely no impact on the story at all.
Then, after an almost encyclopedic description of the park and the workings of Boodle's, very basic details were wrong. Such as the last earl of Matlock adding a wing onto Pemberley. Why? Pemberley is not the seat of the Matlocks. Jane Austen states that Pemberley is ten miles round the park, and Darcy's (rumored) income is £10k. Yet the author doubles both those figures. Why? (In fairness, his income was mentioned in the last book) It added nothing to the story.
There were also more grammatical errors in this one, or maybe I just noticed them more readily becuz I struggled to enjoy this story more than the last.
Oh, and I hate, HATE, when authors refer to Elizabeth as Lizzy every single time by everyone. Family, friends, Darcy, the narrator, people she just met...It drives me nuts! But that's just a personal pet peeve of mine.
But more than that, I got really tired of seemingly endless regency era cant and idioms and the way people spoke. Polished, refined, highly educated characters spoke like servants with "ain't no's" and just very sloppy language I can't remember right now. It seemed like every other line of dialogue had some expression of the time, which is appropriate to include but needs to be used in small doses otherwise it becomes difficult to follow when every conversation is full of odd expressions that aren't used anymore. And it felt as if the author was trying to impress with her regency knowlegde; like, how Regents Park was laid out and who designed it and how it was managed. Things that had absolutely no impact on the story at all.
Then, after an almost encyclopedic description of the park and the workings of Boodle's, very basic details were wrong. Such as the last earl of Matlock adding a wing onto Pemberley. Why? Pemberley is not the seat of the Matlocks. Jane Austen states that Pemberley is ten miles round the park, and Darcy's (rumored) income is £10k. Yet the author doubles both those figures. Why? (In fairness, his income was mentioned in the last book) It added nothing to the story.
There were also more grammatical errors in this one, or maybe I just noticed them more readily becuz I struggled to enjoy this story more than the last.
Oh, and I hate, HATE, when authors refer to Elizabeth as Lizzy every single time by everyone. Family, friends, Darcy, the narrator, people she just met...It drives me nuts! But that's just a personal pet peeve of mine.
October 5, 2021
Good read - solid follow up to the first book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Loved Jane Fairfax’s HEA much better than canon Emma.
There were a few typos throughout that need to be addressed.
There were a few typos throughout that need to be addressed.
August 28, 2021
I think I love it even more than the first one!! I love seeing what the all the favorite characters could be like in different scenerios or with a SMIDGE less inhibitions (only appropriate after engagements of course!). I was gasping and giggling through different chapters at the end. Couldn't put it down!
May 23, 2022
Loved the intermingling of many of Jane Austen’s characters in this story. Lizzie and Darcy finally find each other, Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill’s characters are seen for what they truly are, and Tom Bertram saves the day. And some characters do not end up with their Austen-intended loves. But Austen would most probably would approve.
August 12, 2023
When I reviewed the first book in this series, I said, "I have never liked Frank Churchill. After this book I like him even less which I didn't think was possible." Now I must say that I dislike him more than ever. He is such a horrible person, charming as he can be, when he likes. I never liked his treatment of Jane Fairfax and I believe it is even worse in this book. Slime-ball.
I think it unfortunate that Jane Austen named two characters Jane, even though they are in different books. In this mash-up I kept getting momentarily confused because Lizzy was talking to Jane which in P&P would be her sister. That is where my mind goes any time Lizzy and Jane are mentioned together. But in this book Jane was almost always Miss Fairfax. I kept having to remind myself.
I've never found Jane Fairfax to be a very likable character but comparing my feelings about her to my dislike of Churchill, she is nothing but charm and agreeableness. I liked that she was friends with Lizzy. And I liked that we saw some emotion from Jane. She is usually so stoic.
I can also tell you that I never much cared for Tom Bertram in canon but in this book I truly liked him. He is awkward and he tends to judge himself by his past behavior but he is obviously a good person in this and I found myself really enjoying seeing his reformed self.
In terms of the romance, I felt like it maybe came on a bit too quickly. I could see it in practical behavior but I would have loved more longing glances and the like. But I am happy for them to have a happily ever after.
Sex: innuendo
Language: no
Violence: a duel
I think it unfortunate that Jane Austen named two characters Jane, even though they are in different books. In this mash-up I kept getting momentarily confused because Lizzy was talking to Jane which in P&P would be her sister. That is where my mind goes any time Lizzy and Jane are mentioned together. But in this book Jane was almost always Miss Fairfax. I kept having to remind myself.
I've never found Jane Fairfax to be a very likable character but comparing my feelings about her to my dislike of Churchill, she is nothing but charm and agreeableness. I liked that she was friends with Lizzy. And I liked that we saw some emotion from Jane. She is usually so stoic.
I can also tell you that I never much cared for Tom Bertram in canon but in this book I truly liked him. He is awkward and he tends to judge himself by his past behavior but he is obviously a good person in this and I found myself really enjoying seeing his reformed self.
In terms of the romance, I felt like it maybe came on a bit too quickly. I could see it in practical behavior but I would have loved more longing glances and the like. But I am happy for them to have a happily ever after.
Sex: innuendo
Language: no
Violence: a duel
March 25, 2023
Well done, but.....
You must first read the previous book in this series, or the situations and references in this one won't make any sense. Elizabeth returns to London from Highbury accompanied by Jane Fairfax, but also accompanied by gossip and rumors after her aborted engagement to Mr Knightley. Jane Fairfax begins her employment as a governess with a slightly less than nice family. Elizabeth again crosses paths with Darcy, and her feelings for him have undergone drastic changes. However, the malicious gossip that follows Elizabeth from Highbury is causing problems.
Frank Churchill and Tom Bertram are also in London, and are stirring up complications for Jane Fairfax's employment, as she becomes embroiled in her own malicious gossip. Jane again starts to get tangled up with Frank's empty promises, but her salvation comes from a most unlikely source.
This is another very imaginative and well done mashup, this time of P&P, Emma, and Mansfield Park. I have four stars for the interesting and unexpected premise. However, I deducted a star for what I'll call "ickiness". There was a rather melancholy pall cast over the romantic development between Elizabeth and Darcy by all of the hurtful gossip being spread about Elizabeth after her broken engagement. That felt icky. Then there's the character of Jane Fairfax. She's not someone you can come to love and care about, she's so insipid and unemotional. But even for her story, there's a melancholy pall cast over everything by all of the horrendous things she endures, and her powerlessness to avoid them. She's a rather pathetic character. It's icky.
However, the book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.
You must first read the previous book in this series, or the situations and references in this one won't make any sense. Elizabeth returns to London from Highbury accompanied by Jane Fairfax, but also accompanied by gossip and rumors after her aborted engagement to Mr Knightley. Jane Fairfax begins her employment as a governess with a slightly less than nice family. Elizabeth again crosses paths with Darcy, and her feelings for him have undergone drastic changes. However, the malicious gossip that follows Elizabeth from Highbury is causing problems.
Frank Churchill and Tom Bertram are also in London, and are stirring up complications for Jane Fairfax's employment, as she becomes embroiled in her own malicious gossip. Jane again starts to get tangled up with Frank's empty promises, but her salvation comes from a most unlikely source.
This is another very imaginative and well done mashup, this time of P&P, Emma, and Mansfield Park. I have four stars for the interesting and unexpected premise. However, I deducted a star for what I'll call "ickiness". There was a rather melancholy pall cast over the romantic development between Elizabeth and Darcy by all of the hurtful gossip being spread about Elizabeth after her broken engagement. That felt icky. Then there's the character of Jane Fairfax. She's not someone you can come to love and care about, she's so insipid and unemotional. But even for her story, there's a melancholy pall cast over everything by all of the horrendous things she endures, and her powerlessness to avoid them. She's a rather pathetic character. It's icky.
However, the book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.
January 14, 2025
Book two of this series is a P&P, Emma and Mansfield Park mashup. Elizabeth Bennet goes to London and the Gardiners, leaving Highbury behind after her broken engagement to George Knightley (who marries Emma instead). Also Jane Fairfax goes to London as a governess where Frank Churchill finds her (after his broken engagement to Emma) and makes a wager about Jane at his gentlemen’s club. Tom Bertram, a former friend of Churchill’s, is in the process of reforming his character and tells Jane about the wager. A friendship develops between he and Jane, but Frank Churchill is livid with Tom’s interference in his attempt to lure Jane back into a “secret” engagement.
Meanwhile Elizabeth finds herself in Darcy’s orbit again with such different feelings for the gentleman than she had when refusing his earlier proposal. Darcy is much more successful in his attempts to woo her this time around, but will his involvement in a duel put an end to their understanding?
What happens to Jane after she is dismissed from her governess position without a character? What will Edmund Bertram find has happened to his brother when he comes to London to bring Tom home?And will Darcy and Elizabeth ever realize their HEA? Much to unpack in this fun mix of Austen characters.
Meanwhile Elizabeth finds herself in Darcy’s orbit again with such different feelings for the gentleman than she had when refusing his earlier proposal. Darcy is much more successful in his attempts to woo her this time around, but will his involvement in a duel put an end to their understanding?
What happens to Jane after she is dismissed from her governess position without a character? What will Edmund Bertram find has happened to his brother when he comes to London to bring Tom home?And will Darcy and Elizabeth ever realize their HEA? Much to unpack in this fun mix of Austen characters.
October 16, 2023
Miss Elizabeth, Lizzy, finally has the opportunity to reveal her true feelings toward Mr. Darcy and give him hope for their future life together. With a significant step closer to their wedding secured, you would think their lives would settle down considerably. This did not happen with friends and family in need. Lizzy's friend, Miss Jane Fairfax, is forced to leave her home in rural Highbury and accept a governess position a great distance away in crowded, putrid London. The troubled lives of some of these other supporting characters seem to invoke Lizzy and Mr. Darcy's protective nature and require them to assist any way they can to make the situation better. These characters were given such sensitive emotions, steadfast integrity, and heartfelt vulnerability that they became real. The story was well thought out and engrossing. It was a really Good Read!!!!!
November 3, 2023
This is a cute mash-up of characters from Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. I enjoyed reading about Jane Fairfax (she was never a character that I felt I knew in Emma), Tom Bertram, and of course our dear Darzabeth. Elizabeth's reputation has suffered from her recent broken engagement. The author's writing style is well polished with a readable flow, and I finished it in almost a single sitting.
June 12, 2024
Loved this book!! Ms. Garrett does an amazing job staying true to characters and seeing their story thru other events that are so very plausible! The inner dialogue is perfect t amount and isn’t whiney. Loved every minute! Excited to share these with my girls once they have read Jane Austen’s originals. Clean sweet romance. No language or need to skip anything. So excited to start number three!
September 30, 2021
Great read for all Austen Fans!
Fun book in the Highbury series and a must read for anyone who always thought Jane Fairfax deserved better (or that Frank Churchill should have been punished more for his bad behavior).
Fun book in the Highbury series and a must read for anyone who always thought Jane Fairfax deserved better (or that Frank Churchill should have been punished more for his bad behavior).
October 17, 2021
Second volume
This the second volume in this wonderful mashup with pride and prejudices, Emma and Mansfield Park. This volume is about Elizabeth and Jane Fairfax, others got their HEA in the first volume
This the second volume in this wonderful mashup with pride and prejudices, Emma and Mansfield Park. This volume is about Elizabeth and Jane Fairfax, others got their HEA in the first volume
May 25, 2023
Unique perspective
Another excellent variation. Well written storyline combining our favorite P&P characters with Highbury and Mansfield Park. Another excellent job by Garrett mashing up Austin's works. Enjoy.
Another excellent variation. Well written storyline combining our favorite P&P characters with Highbury and Mansfield Park. Another excellent job by Garrett mashing up Austin's works. Enjoy.
February 2, 2022
The story would be much better if edited for mistakes.
January 14, 2023
Better
So we have an engagement but are still left hanging in the wind. Will Darcy and Elizabeth finally marry in the next installment?
So we have an engagement but are still left hanging in the wind. Will Darcy and Elizabeth finally marry in the next installment?
December 30, 2024
Frank Churchill, what a cad!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews