Ardently by Caitlin Williams ISBN: 9781514334324
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on June 12, 2015
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 310
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So much in life depends on chance and sheer luck. How much do we often owe to being in the right place at the right time? In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet plans to visit the Lake District with her uncle and aunt, yet ends up at Pemberley instead, just as, by coincidence, Mr Darcy also arrives home. They meet, understand one another better and all eventually ends well. But what if they did not have such luck? What if Elizabeth actually went to the Lake District and was nowhere near Pemberley, and she and Mr Darcy never met again until another four years had gone by? Now they are very different people, altered by marriage, time and situation, although, Mr Darcy's failed proposal in the Parsonage at Hunsford still haunts both of them in different ways. Elizabeth is a companion to her Aunt, Mrs Mountford, a widow of great standing in society who married exceptionally well and 'Miss Bennet' finds herself accepted in the very best of circles and able to marry whomever she might chose. Mr Darcy did his duty by his sickly cousin, Anne de Bourgh, and married her to protect her from the tyrannical force of her mother Lady Catherine. He has come to Bath, however, a widower, with his family, the Fitzwilliams, and his sister, Georgiana. Darcy sees Elizabeth, the woman who rejected him, in the opposite box at the theatre and cannot help falling in love with her all over again. Now though, it seems there are even more hurdles to overcome for them to be together, including Elizabeth's new suitor, the handsome and charming Mr Yorke. Mr Darcy is still a little proud, still not able to 'perform to strangers'. Can Elizabeth see past his reserve and awkwardness to the decent man underneath? This book is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from Chapter 36 onwards (Darcy's failed proposal and the delivering of his letter). It is a light-hearted mix-up of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, with a nod and a wink towards Northanger Abbey.
This Pride & Prejudice retelling posits the question: what if Darcy had moved on after his first (disastrous) proposal to Lizzie Bennet? Because it’s a retelling, the character of Darcy at the start of this book is closer to his disposition at the end of Austen’s classic: he is no longer quite so proud and disdainful, and he’s willing to trust a bit more easily. We also get a more mature and refined Lizzie and- because nothing past Ch 36 of Pride & Prejudice happened in this retelling- a few changes to the Bennet family.
In all I thought it was a sweet take on the novel. It’s always nice to see a “second chance” romance, where older characters and/or divorces find love again. There’s something hopeful about it (maybe because of my own age and situation). There are some interesting tweaks, but only one thing I had an issue with (hence the 4-star review):
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
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There’s a love triangle and one of the people in it is made to be a villain in order to boost the attractiveness/option of the other suitor. Which in this case is stupidly unnecessary. I thought it would’ve been far more poignant and true to character if- instead of Yorke turning out to be a fortune hunter, then later a drunk lech, Lizzie just got the courage to tell him she wasn’t into it and, ya know, take control of her own life. It felt out of character for a girl with such pluck in Pride & Prejudice, as well as totally unnecessary, since she already has feelings about Yorke liking her more than she likes him, before he’s vilified.
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