Love and Legacy

Pride and Prejudice Variations

De: Clarissa Joy Thomas

Narrado por: Stevie Zimmerman

Lady Anne Darcy knew that her time was running out, and she wanted to leave her son, Fitzwilliam Darcy, with a legacy of love. Thus, she wrote a series of letters to him, with the intention that her sister, Lady Catherine, would deliver them at the right time. But when Lady Catherine received the letters, she decided to keep them from Fitzwilliam, believing they conflict with her own plans for him.

Years later, Anne de Bourgh discovers the letters and gives them to Fitzwilliam, who is shocked to discover that everything he thought he knew about his mother's wishes for him was wrong. This revelation coincides with a tumultuous time in his life when a country miss named Elizabeth Bennet, a lady he had been striving to forget, suddenly appears at Hunsford parsonage for a visit to her friend, Mrs. Collins, only a short distance from where Mr. Darcy is staying at Rosings.

How will understanding his mother's hopes and dreams for him change Mr. Darcy and his treatment of those around him, including the impertinent Miss Elizabeth? Find out in Love and Legacy.

©2024 Clarissa Joy Thomas (P)2024 Tantor Media

Wonderful!

I preordered this P&P variation, and am so glad I did! The storyline was original (not a retelling!) and our favorite characters shined through. Wonderful narration, as always. Thanks for a great story!

Sort has solid outline, but poor execution and drama in critical spots.

Story had potential. Even if little angst, many potential emotional scenes were poorly written. Where is the description of growing feelings from either side. Where as Carolyn Bingley’s humiliation. Why were both Darcy and Elizabeth so clueless about Ms Bingley when she was the obvious choice. Why didn’t Elizabeth more quickly suggest Darcy give her up, thereby expressing her love. Too many easy chances to improve the story.

Great story

This was a great story. Mr Darcy’s mother was in it to begin with. She wrote some letters to be read after her death. But Lady Catherine read them and asked for them to be burned. But they were not and found much later. Very interesting story. Great jaff

Lovely hook that gets abandoned halfway through

I loved the first half of this book, and then Anne Darcy disappeared. I expected at least a nod to her near the end, or something, but nothing. Instead, another Caroline intrigue with an unearned redemptive arc. Why?

Good Premise, Mixed Execution

As always, Stevie Zimmerman delivers a wonderful performance. Her narration, ever polished and expressive, is a pleasure to listen to, and she does a great deal to bring this story to life.

I was very much captured by the premise of this story—the discovery of letters Darcy receives from his mother, found and handed to Anne de Bourgh during renovations at Rosings. That element felt full of promise, and the opening portion of the story was fast-paced and engaging. Once Darcy and Elizabeth become engaged, however, the plot seems to drift slightly from that original focus. The letters are not mentioned again, and we do not really see how any lessons Darcy may have taken from them continue to shape his choices, which felt like a missed opportunity. The letters themselves did not move me greatly. I feel unsatisfied when the central elements of a book fade rather than being more fully integrated.

The period of mourning for an aunt, used to delay the announcement of ODC’s engagement, felt a little thin, and the later inclusion of Lydia and Wickham seemed irrelevant to the plot, particularly as they had not appeared earlier. I did, however, enjoy the portrayals of both Darcy and Elizabeth.

The writing itself is good, though I felt the outline would have benefited from stronger development and tightening.