The Winter of Our Discontent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Pride and Prejudice Variations

De: Grace Gibson

Narrado por: Elizabeth Grace, Simon Alison

I signed my maiden name first before memorializing my new name. Elizabeth Madeline Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet lay dead on the altar of matrimony.

HAVING SIGNED THE REGISTER as Elizabeth Darcy, the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet must somehow survive a crushing scandal as a stranger to herself. Her unwilling husband is so outraged to find himself tied to a person he thinks no better than a fortune hunter that she is forbidden to speak of the circumstances behind their union. Indeed, Mr. Darcy seems to loathe even the sound of her voice, and often Elizabeth's only recourse is to be silent.

WHEN THE COUPLE ARRIVES at Pemberley, Elizabeth—Mrs. Darcy—is forced to draw upon stores of courage and resourcefulness she did not know she possessed in order to build, if not a happy life, a purposeful one. Facing obstacles and detractors, she carefully cultivates a friendship with Georgiana Darcy.

TRAPPED INTO AN UNWANTED MARRIAGE, Darcy must walk the long road of bitter resentment which forces him into increasing isolation during a very long winter. Increasingly confused by his new wife’s poise and determination to be useful, Darcy’s struggles multiply until a moment of reckoning shocks him out of his rage and into the strong light of truth: that even in the harshest of winters, the roots of tender feelings can quietly grow deep.

©2025 Grace Gibson (P)2025 Quills & Quartos Publishing

A Marriage Born of Scandal, Redeemed by Love

This dual narration by Elizabeth Grace and Simon Alison is outstanding. I adore the sound of their voices and their performances are outstanding. Most highly recommend.

Book Review: (long, but couldn’t help myself)
The Winter of Our Discontent is yet another reminder of how fortunate we are that Grace Gibson has chosen to write in this genre. What a gift she is. Her prose marries intelligence with elegance, writing turns of phrase that place her firmly among my favourite authors. Many of her past variations lean towards light-heartedness, with teasing dialogue and playful banter, but this work, told from alternating first-person Elizabeth and Darcy points of view, takes a more serious turn.

As the book opens, something the reader does not yet know happened at the Meryton assembly which compelled Darcy to do the honourable thing and marry Elizabeth. Weighed down by deep resentment and distrust, Darcy is cool, distant, and at times cutting. Meanwhile, Elizabeth struggles simply to exist within circumstances neither of her making nor her choosing. She carries the ache of being torn from her sisters and mother and losing her father’s affection. Yet she meets her situation with grit, immersing herself in learning to run Pemberley and, in the process, wins over almost everyone—from the tenants to Georgiana—though a few of Darcy’s long-serving staff remain distrustful of her.

I found Elizabeth’s narrative to be the most moving part of the book, her inner voice raw and honest, and often making my eyes sting. She is determined to be useful, to care for those around her, and give herself the dignity and strength to carry on even as her own heart suffers.

“The hard truth remained, however, there was nowhere to go, and so I ran to the only place available—to the sickbeds, to the children in need, to the spinsters and unfortunate souls clinging to gentility by threads, to my motherless new sister, to the parish poor. I ran anywhere I could to escape being alone with my own motherless, threadbare heart. I worked myself into a state of exhaustion from which I did not rest.” —Elizabeth, quote from book

Because of the scandal, Darcy finds himself not quite so respected in society as he once was. Ironically, it is a conversation with Miss Bingley, who now looks down on Darcy as beneath her, that makes his resentment slightly less immovable towards Elizabeth.

“How easy I had found it since even before I reached my majority only to dwell on my strengths and accomplishments. How self-satisfied I had been as I catalogued the finer points of my character. A gentleman, both liberal and well educated, with an impeccable record of doing his duty and preserving the reputation of his name, so cultured, so discerning and meticulous, and so—so deplorable! Wealth and privilege had shone a great light on me, a God-given benefice I took to be my own doing. How easy it was to stand in the light and refuse to look behind at the shadow I cast.” —Darcy, quote from book

When Elizabeth falls gravely ill, Darcy’s reaction changes everything. Tending to her at her bedside, in Elizabeth’s fevered state, the truth of their marriage comes to light, revealing her innocence, which allows Darcy to shed his resentment completely. What follows becomes a tender courtship, and as she regains her health, the reader is rewarded with the light, teasing banter Grace Gibson is so well noted for, and made even sweeter for the trials they bore.

Watching these two find their way from anger to understanding is a heartfelt story I’ll be revisiting. For me, this is Grace Gibson’s most emotional offering yet, and one I can’t wait to experience again in audio. I most highly recommend it. You won’t be able to put it down.

It’s a seven hanky read.

Wow, what a long road Elizabeth has to hoe before she reaches her Happy Ever After. We’re given glimpses of what happened to force him to marry her and it’s easy to fill in the blanks ourselves before the reveal. It’s no surprise to us but it clarifies things for Darcy who by that time is already seeing the egregious errors he has made. Until then he only sees what he wants to see.

It’s a favorite plot theme for many JAFF readers, and it becomes a favorite story when it’s written so well and with original characters and obstacles for the Hero and Heroine to overcome. I loved it.

In the meantime Elizabeth is working her tail off to help the estate and her tenants. This too is looked upon by Darcy as nefarious. She makes him look like an officious judge compared to her when she’s dealing with the wives and children of his tenants.

Elizabeth has the support of her personal maid who was a great character for me, and Georgiana and her companion Mrs Annesley. Even Mrs Reynolds has a good relationship with Elizabeth. But they all see how Darcy treats her. Elizabeth refuses to let Georgie feel sorry for her or think poorly of her brother. Because Elizabeth understands why marrying her is such a bad thing for Darcy when she sees the huge estate and all who depend on him, and what expectations he must have had for himself. All she can do is that which she sees needs done and as her responsibility and do it best with what she’s given to work with.

It’s been done before but I found this writing fresh and appropriate to the plot. That is Elizabeth falls ill after she wears herself out and she does something out of the goodness of her heart that earns the scorn of many of the tenants she previously helped and the staff at Pemberley who had been gossiping about her from the beginning.

By this point Darcy has learned a few things and is ready to start a new relationship with her but her illness is a crisis they have to face.

A nice amount of time is devoted to after they reconcile, which I like to see done. Better maybe than an epilogue. The narrators were great. Highly recommended.

Nice one!

I very much like Grace Gibson books. And this is nice one! Suprising few developments in the book, but I very liked the ending.

Awesome

This book pulls you in from the beginning and doesn't let you go, although you will feel like shaking Darcy quite regularly.

Very enjoyable!

I loved this story and I loved the narration. I highly recommend this book. I look forward to more from this author.