After losing his wife during the birth of his second daughter, Thomas Bennet was distraught. While visiting his aunt's home, he meets and falls in love with Margaret O'Brien. The married and had more children, including three sons, thus breaking the entail that had been in place by Thomas' grandfather. But Thomas' cousin is convinced that the sons cannot inherit. You see, the second Mrs Bennet came from Antigua, the child of an English born land owner and a freed slave. Mr Collins, the Bennet cousin believes that the sons are not worthy of inheriting an estate, and plans to eliminate the entire Bennet family, thus he could claim Longbourn. How will Darcy, who is visiting the community with his friend who had leased the neighboring estate of Netherfield Park, accept such knowledge? Will he follow his heart or will he bow to society's view of such a family? Will Elizabeth and Darcy have a happily ever after or is their relationship doomed?
I am a retired crime lab/crime scene technician, having worked for a local police department for 15 years. Since then, I have become disabled. Forgot to get the extended warranty on the body. In my spare time, I make jewelry, am a photographer, and a full time mom and grandma. My daughter by birth is Catie, and she is the dearest part of my life. Through her, I have 2 daughters by heart, Heather and Kristina. Through Heather and her awesome man, Stan, I have 4 amazing grandchildren, Purgi, Penne, Myles, and Persephene. Besides my human family, I have a canine son, who is my service dog, Darcy. I also have 4 feline daughters (Salem, Lizzy, Dagonet, and Freya ). I now have 5 grandpuppies, 2 grandkitties. Two days after I received my first ever royalty check, I adopted Darcy and Lizzy. Fitting names, I thought. And they resemble the characters. Lizzy is mischievous, yet loving, climbing up high as if she were in a tree. Darcy is extremely protective and loving. He has his shy side, which is clear when around some people, until he comes to know he can trust them.
Although I am well aware of this author's refusal to use any program with a spell check program or to hire a good editor, she has such imaginative premises for the stories that I find them interesting. With this being Black History month here in the states the premise of this one was very appropriate. Mr. Bennet has remarried as the mother of Jane and Elizabeth has died after giving birth to the latter. The woman he marries is of a mixed race, being mulatto. She gifts him with three sons and another daughter. Thus the entail is kept within the Bennet family.
That is one of the causes for attacks against the family. The other is the shunning of the family due to Maggie Bennet's and her children's racial inheritance.
Darcy meets Elizabeth and falls in love, basically at first sight, not knowing anything about her family. Elizabeth expects him to shun even their budding friendship if/when he learns about her family. Darcy earns the respect and gratitude of the Bennets when he helps save the family and their parlor from a fire which has been deliberately set.
Lady Catherine, Collins, Colonel Foster and Georgiana play parts, although Wickham doesn't figure in this variation. The only local family which accepts and befriends the Bennets when Maggie becomes Mrs. Bennet is the Lucas family. The Bennets do not participate in social events, i.e., the Assembly Ball as they refuse to give the community opportunities to show their hatred.
The author has researched the subject of slavery and added some historical facts to her story.
I did not highlight all the errors or missing words or misspelled words this time. I did mark one or two which were just too obvious to ignore. (alter/altar)
I won't recommend this story to readers who are not familiar with this author. You must know and accept that there are going to be many times when you may groan at mistakes ignored.
“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” –Johann Wolfgang on Goethe, Collected Works
SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain *** SPOILERS ***
>>Rating: teen to mature: The subjects and actions described may be too much for young readers. Hopefully, it will open the door to dialogue. >>Angst Level: It became tense at times as a murder or assassination attempt was perpetrated upon a family. When you have a mob mentality at work, it is a dangerous situation. >>Source: Purchased: like any story by this author… there be errors. >>Trope: [1] Fanny Bennet died in childbirth [2] 2nd Bennet wife [3] Bennet sons break the entail
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.” –Maya Angelou
The story was quickly thrown together and you felt it as you read through the history of Thomas Bennet and his 2nd wife, a woman of color. She was the daughter of a freed slave and a white English landowner. Years before, when he purchased his property, he had freed all his slaves as he felt the practice was an abomination. When Thomas Bennet remarried, not everyone was pleased to lose an eligible widower to a woman of color. The prejudice toward the family was harsh and yet, several stood by the family. Bennet had several sons born that broke the entail on the estate. Let’s just say that Collins was not pleased to lose what he thought was his rightful inheritance.
Collins: “Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.” –Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Collins was not in a direct bloodline for the inheritance. Only if all the Bennet men were gone would he inherit. He concluded if that was the case… then that was what he would do. Collins was demented… um… determined to be master of Longbourn at all costs. And, he had a financial backer that would ensure he succeeded in his quest.
Greek Chorus: Villains and citizens of Meryton: “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.” –Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Villains we had galore. It was sad to read of the actions of the ignorant toward decent people who would not harm anyone. That part broke my heart.
“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.” –Kofi Annan
I loved this story of love, prejudice, hatred and redemption. I was shocked by Mr Collins character and Lady Catherine, they were awful and the plotting and evil was unbelievable. I loved Darcy and Lizzy and their families except lady C! Great Story and the ending quote was well said! A persons true worth is their personal outlook and feeling for others! I loved it!!!
This book is about the love of family even during difficult times. The 2nd marriage of Thomas Bennet causes much jealousy and hatred in his hometown. Growing up with a loving family Elizabeth and Jane cannot understand the hatred and fear from the surrounding town and locals. Their step mother was born to an English man and freed slave. The slightly darker skin makes their prejudices against their family unfathomable. Mr. Collins and lady Catherine are the main instigators in the terror the family is experiencing proving the religious and rich are not always good humans. While the subject of mixed race might be uncomfortable to some, this book gives a lot of historical facts, and when it comes down to it all of humanity is responsible for learning what it means to be a good human and it’s not the color of your skin, it’s your soul and the choices you make.
Does anyone know Melanie? She keeps using the term mulatto which is consider dated and offensive. I am assuming that she doesn't understand this word is extremely offensive?
This is cringe-worthy for me. It is the first of her books I can't read. Sorry, Melanie. It is not only the use of offensive terminology but the whole premise.
I have now read in someone else's review that Melanie is trying to use historical context terms. I suggest she needs more research. The fact that E is being mistaken as part African because she has a tan is incredibly offensive. In fact, there is so much offensive material here that I was shocked.
JAFF books come with all kinds of warnings these days to tell people if the slightest signs of violence are there. It shows that the JAFF community cares. I usually love this author's books but this one shows she is very out of touch.
I started reading this story on the DarcyandLizzy forum . Once it appeared in Amazon, I purchased it so that I could finish reading it. I liked the way that Sir William Lucas acknowledged his mother 's racial heritage once those who wanted to harm the Bennet family were rounded up and made to face the Bennet family. Attitudes changed.Surprisingly, many of the women were behind the attitudes towards the Bennet family because the women were jealous of Maggie. Lady Catherine and Collins met a sad end because they were both deranged, not so much as evil. Elizabeth was loyal to her stepmother because Fanny Bennet died in childbirth. Margaret Bennett had three sons and a daughter. The Lucases, Phillips, and Gardiner families were the Bennet family 's only friends.
I enjoyed the book and applaud Ms Schertz for writing it. Although I am not an expert on JA, I believe that Mansfield Park provided a clue that she would have approved this book. I have 2 issues with the book. 1. The editing needs to be improved; there are numerous instances of missing words, wrong words, and incorrect verb tense. That alone would have deducted 0.5 stars. 2. The message of the book was repeated too often. Every interaction with or about one of the Bennett’s contains a repetition of the same idea. Fewer repetitions would have made more impact.
Highly recommended. This story is too important to miss irrespective of the issues.
3 1/2 stars This is another wonderful story of family and their love for each other that the author has brought to us. It is a very hard topic for any author to write. In this variation, all the pride and prejudice issues are outside of Darcy and Elizabeth. Here we have a story about Mr. Bennet’s first wife passing away at Elizabeth’s birth and his new marriage to someone of mixed race. This story tackles the prejudices that many had for no good reason.
The lower number of stars is for things that could’ve been resolved with a couple of additional beta readers/editors. Even saying that I can still overlook some of those grammatical and inconsistencies to enjoy the story.
What an amazing story with an important issue that still unfortunately is in today's world. I really found the issue of racism handled in such an Appropriate manner. I truly loved how the author handled the situation (it did not end it) with proper message of how we should not judge by skin. I loved how Elizabeth stood up against it and Darcy too. i loved how Sir Lucas proved the Citizens of Meryton wrong. Lady Cather and Mr Collins truly dispeciable. This is truly a well written and highly recommended story.
Unfortunately the same prejudices still exist even today. Especially in the Southern USA. I see it a lot in the area I live, even though it is supposed to be a large modern city with a military base and a space and rocket industry. This results in a large population of many different nationalities. Mixed marriages are common, however, many are still prejudice. I am not one of these. So wish I could recommend this book to be read by all of those people who still look down upon people and relationships that are different from their own. I find this book inspiring and highly recommend.
Best of the author's P & P variations. The novel is well written, no typos (at least, none that jumped out at me).. The story is historically accurate and multicultural. It also teaches lessons on how families everywhere can be affected by love, understanding and violence. I truly enjoy the P & P variations, but, this story is quite appropriate to today's worldwide behavior and events.
This book has used used a storyline unlike any of the others I have read. I will leave it as a surprise. Though very different from other variations I will recommend this book to my friends. I was able to start and finish the book today so though longer than some it should not take days to read. I am glad I discovered this author, her books are very different from most I've read and so far I have enjoyed them and look forward to reading her others
I loved this story that reminds us of what is important: How people are inside! Mr. Bennett marries a mulatto after the first Mrs Bennett dies right after Elizabeth is born. The people of Merryton is not happy with this and the Bennets are banned. This story contains a very bad Collins and Lady Catherine. But it also have a very wonderful and loving Mr. Darcy! I really loved Elizabeth and Darcy in this story!
I was very disappointed in this book. Besides the words that are just plain missing from the sentences,the book was just missing common sense. The characters all seem to make these huge flowery speeches at one another. It does not flow well and I think it is a poor choice of subject in these times. I will have to rethink reading books by this author.
5 stars For a beautiful love story That tackles a sensitive subject Without being preachy. The historical references Are clear and easy 2 research on your own for added material. This is in my opinion A perfect book To add to my permanent pride and prejudice variations library
The premise of this variation was unique; a challenge this author succeeded at given there’s hundreds of JAFF variations published. The spelling and grammatical errors overshadow the best parts of the story. There are some issues with story flow and incomplete subplots but the aforementioned eclipse all.
The author obviously meant well in writing about the unfortunately still difficult subject of racial prejudice. Ms. Schertz, however, has created a book that is so filled with typographical errors, wooden dialogue, completely unnecessary repetition, and entirely too much "telling, not showing," that the experience of reading it is not enjoyable.
I loved the angle of part of the family descended from slaves, but this fact was repeated excessively. Also, multiple times I thought I had skipped a page due to the disjointed way it was written.
A most unusual variation as we find one turn of events that lead to unbelievable happenings for the Bennet family. One might shake their head in unbelief while reading.
- A decent story with a worthy message. - Darcy and Elizabeth come to an early understanding. - Collins and Lady Catherine are the villains. No Wickham. - Sam is a better person than me. - Why is Darcy calling Elizabeth, Lizzy? It's not right.