• Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

  • By: Abigail Reynolds
  • Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
  • Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (200 ratings)

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Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation  By  cover art

Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

By: Abigail Reynolds
Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
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Publisher's summary

Trapped for three days by a flood, and trapped forever by society because of it....

The river isn't the only thing overflowing in Hunsford when a natural disaster forces Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy to work together. The residents of flood-stricken Hunsford, seeking refuge in the parsonage atop the hill, are unaware they are interrupting Darcy's disastrous proposal. Even worse, the flood has washed out the only bride to Rosings Park, stranding Darcy with the woman who has just refused his offer of marriage. But it may already be too late to redeem Elizabeth's reputation. In this Pride and Prejudice variation, the lane dividing the Hunsford parsonage from Rosings Park has been replaced by one of the flood-prone Kentish rivers. The storms are real - the spring of 1811 was remarkable for numerous thunderstorms in Southeast England.

©2012 Abigail Reynolds (P)2012 Abigail Reynolds

What listeners say about Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    113
  • 4 Stars
    55
  • 3 Stars
    18
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    28
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    108
  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    13
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story, Terrible narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The character's voices were unnerving. The men all sounded old and crotchety with scratchy voices (including Mr. Darcy - gasp!) and most of the women sounded like they had head colds.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

This is a wonderful variation of Pride and Prejudice. I love the plot. Mr. Bennett disappointed me a little during most of the book but the rest of the normal characters behaved as expected for the most part. There is one twist at the end where one character does NOT do as expected - in a good way however. In this story Darcy and Elizabeth are stranded at the parsonage due to a flood. They get to know one another better. They have a very hot relationship. Loved it..

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I was surprised by the explicit sex scenes

What did you like best about Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation? What did you like least?

I liked the treatment of some of the peripheral characters (e.g. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Jane). I think Elizabeth was true to her personality but I think the author went overboard on Darcy, especially the sex-crazed representations.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed listening to this story.

What did I like?
I liked how Elizabeth kept her anger with Darcy. I enjoyed that storyline and how the characters were developed. The Colonial was my most favorite surprise.
What did I dislike?
I disliked how Elizabeth in just two-three days changes her mind. I felt there was an opportunity for development of Darcy and Elizabeth - development in understandings and allowing for other characters to develop.
I rated the story 4 stars because it was too forward in how liberties were allowed. However I still read/listened to the entire story. The performance was not as good as other voices due to the men and women sounding alike. I have listened to her in other audiobooks and maybe it is that I know she could have done a better reading than what I listened to during this time.
I recommend this book because it does have a growth and allows not only Elizabeth to develop and grow but allows others this growth. I like a story that has supporting characters show depth and they are able to move the story along.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

My least favorite P&P variation

It started out well enough, but became increasingly frustrating to listen to. Between the narrator's poor attempts at voicing any character except Elizabeth and the author's inability to keep characters IN character, I found myself highly disappointed by the end, especially since it seemed to be hinting at something for Mary only to shove her aside and go absolutely nowhere with it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite Reynolds book, but still good.

Even when unfavorably compared to her other works, this book is still superior to at least 75% of the P&P variations out there. Abigail Reynolds has a gift for making her plots flow, imbuing her characters with believable qualities that remain consistent throughout the book, and creating scenarios that place the reader in a place and time that feels comfortable.

The audible version of this book is beautifully narrated. The reader has an English accent which, of course, makes perfect sense, but it is one that the American ear has no difficulty adjusting to. The only hitch is that the female reader has to also enunciate the male voices and there is a limit to how successful that can be overall.

The reason why I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others is that I had a difficult time believing that Lizzy could go from absolutely hating Darcy to absolutely adoring him. Literally, when she went upstairs she hated him. When she descended the stairs (after eavesdropping on a very heated conversation in which Darcy defended her) she was madly and irrevocably in love and ready to take on the world on his behalf. The rest of the story consists of the two of them biding their time until they can marry against the opposition of almost their entire families. Mr. Bennet is particularly irritating in this book, the Gardiners are particularly lovable.

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautifully well written and well paced story, well worth reading.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another Fun Variation

What did you love best about Mr. Darcy's Refuge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation?

In a book, such as this, where so much is borrowed from another text, it is often hard to be surprise, however, Mr. Darcy's Refuge has several changes that were surprisingly well conceived and extremely refreshing.

It has been some time since I have read either the original or one of the many variations, but I found myself being immediately drawn to Elizabeth and Darcy and hoping that they would once again realize just how wonderful their lives could be together if they would just put aside their pride. :)

What did you like best about this story?

This version had less of Kitty, Lydia, Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Collin, and Lady Katherine De Bourgh, and I am truly grateful. Of course they were not missing entirely, however they were not as obtrusive and so the story had far less whining and far less verbal baggage. For those who like the incessant whining of Elizabeth's sisters and the sharp tongue of Lady De Bourgh, these qualities have been passed on by others and because they are relative new comers it is fun to hear their side of the story.

Have you listened to any of Pearl Hewitt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Several of the characterizations were over done, but did not distract from the overall performance.

Any additional comments?

A possible spoiler, well not really, let's face it: we are talking about Darcy and Elizabeth - Reynolds does not shy away from the passion of the wedding night, it is intense and mildly graphic. However, it is in fact just the one scene and was completely appropriate for the newlyweds.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story. So-so narrator.

I really enjoyed this storyline. However, the narrator is horrible with male character voices. It took away from the writing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved but the narrator is VERY VEXING indeed

I really enjoyed this book but there were at least ten times I wanted to stop and ask for a refund. This narrator is horrible. Almost all the character voices are screechy, nasally, both for the men and women but the men are the worst. I searched for another version of this title without this narrator but unfortunately this was the only version.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love

I love the storyline and characters. Having some sexual content between Darcy and Lizzy just solidifies the love story.

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