Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues

By: Joana Starnes, Amy D'Orazio, J. Marie Croft, Christina Morland, Brooke West, Sophia Rose, Christina Boyd

Narrated by: Andre Refig

Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

"One has all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it." -Jane Austen 

Jane Austen's masterpieces are littered with unsuitable gentlemen - Willoughby, Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot, et al. - adding color and depth to her plots but often barely sketched. Have you never wondered about the pasts of her rakes, rattles, and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there's more than one side to their stories. It is a universal truth, we are captivated by smoldering looks, daring charms ... a happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. All the while, our loyal confidants are shouting on deaf ears: "He is a cad - a brute - all wrong!" 

But is that not how tender hearts are broken...by loving the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane Austen created? In this romance anthology, 11 Austenesque authors expose the histories of Austen's anti-heroes. Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues is a titillating collection of Georgian era short stories - a backstory or parallel tale off-stage of canon - whilst remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen's great works. What say you? Everyone may be attracted to a bad boy...even temporarily...but heaven help us if we marry one. 

The full list of authors includes: Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D'Orazio, Jenetta James, Lona Manning, Christina Morland, Beau North, Katie Oliver, Sophia Rose, Joana Starnes, and Brooke West.

©2017 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC (P)2018 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC

Critic Reviews

"Since he's fictional, this is the closest I can get to have him whispering in my ear sweet nothings and thoughts I imagined Mr. Darcy would say." (Of Pens and Pages)

"Think of 'The Darcy Monologues' as your JAFF gateway drug. Don't worry, experts agree; it lowers anxiety, increases imagination, and is very good for health." (Period Drama Madness) 

"...there really is something here to suit all tastes, and to delight any diehard Darcy fan." (Joceline Bury, Jane Austen Regency World Magazine) 

Absolutely Loved It!

This is an anthology of stories about Jane Austen's rakes and rogues told by some very talented JAFF authors. Some of the stories are about events that occur before Austen's novels and lead seamlessly into canon, some stories are set in the future, and some tell the original story from an alternate point of view. Unlike the first anthology (which I LOVED as well), all of these stories are set in the Regency era and feature anti heroes from George Wickham, to Frank Churchill, to Sir Walter Elliot. My personal favorite would have to be Col Fitzwilliam's story, solely because he's my favorite of these rogues, but they're all wonderfully told.

I loved reading each author's special insight into their main character. Whether the author imagined ruin, reform, regret, or the exact end I always imagined myself (I'm looking at you, Frank Churchill), each story was original. The stories stayed faithful to language of the period and the personality of the original characters. I especially loved when characters from different novels bumped into each other. The bite-sized length of each story was perfect, and I listened to a few stories a day. It was such a treat.

The narration was well done, with distinct voices for each character. The narrator has a voice that was easy to listen to and pulled me into the story. I requested a copy of the audiobook, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. This anthology is the perfect companion to The Darcy Monologues, and I highly recommend them both!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Not to be missed . . .

I've been listening to this at work and just howling with laughter, prompting my coworkers to ask what in the world I was listening to. Like The Darcy Monologues, the narrator is spectacular, capturing the drama and lovely accent that both entertains and charms. The idea itself (the backstories of Austen's bad boys) is long overdue in coming, and fantastically executed. A must for Austen fans, but be ready for a little more romantic detail than Austen gave in the original stories. I highly recommend the audio version - I am sure the print edition is just fine, but this performance is not to be missed.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Rakes and rogues

And here come the tales of all those rakes and rogues you find in Austen. Some that I like, some that I detest and some that are fun to hate.

“Willoughby’s Crossroads” (John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility) by Joana Starnes
Oh Willoughby, I so saw you there and then you went and made a mess of things. It is a look at what happened before he ever met Marianne, and the choices he made.

“A Wicked Game” (George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice) by Katie Oliver
I actually liked Wickham! He was just a young fool, who later in life made so many mistakes. Poor guy. And then he married Lydia in the end, I mean poor guy will pay for that his entire life.


“Fitzwilliam’s Folly” (Colonel Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice) by Beau North;
Fitzwilliam has a bit of a rep with the ladies, but he is an honorable rake, and here he meets his match

“The Address of a Frenchwoman” (Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park) by Lona Manning;
MP is the one I have seen the least, or read. I really can not recall anything of Thomas, but I liked how he was here and how he fell in love.

“Last Letter to Mansfield” (Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park) by Brooke West;
Oh Henry, you dug your own grave. I still liked him

“An Honest Man” (Frank Churchill, Emma) by Karen M Cox;
Nope, I will never like Frank. It was not a good thing he did, and here we see how he and Jane fell in love, or lust.

“One Fair Claim” (Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion) by Christina Morland;
Oh he was such a pompous fool!

“The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot” (William Elliot, Persuasion) by Jenetta James;
I found myself liking him as he fell in love and I felt sorry for him

“As Much as He Can” (General Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Sophia Rose;
Yes, NA is another one that I do not know that well, but I take it from this that the General was not a good guy ;) But here, awww, I get man, I get it

“The Art of Sinking” (John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey) by J. Marie Croft;
Well this guy is just an idiot. Interesting to hear about, but what a rogue! You had it coming

“For Mischief’s Sake” (Captain Frederick Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Amy D’Orazio
.THis even had me snorting. At first I was not sure what to make of him, but I guess I get it in a way, and then when he finds love. All is forgiven.

Conclusion:
All these rakes and rogues. Some I can not forgive, some are shown in such a good new light here, that I am inclined to forgive them. But they are all interesting to hear about. What made them into rakes and how it shaped their lives.

Narrator Andre Refig
I like his rake voice ;) They sound so very snobbish at times (in a good way) cos it is just so fitting.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

very entertaining

Loved the different stories about Austen Rogues. In particular in the sir Walter Elliott story, I kept hoping it would turn out differently (even knowing it didn't). Some stories were better than others. My only challenge was when the two Tilney stores followed each other, but depicted General Tilneys marriage differently.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Rakes & Gentlemen

Great short stories by some very talented authors.
Some very funny moments threw out this book, excellent narrative.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dangerous to Know? But not necessarily all bad!

Following on from the wonderful anthology The Darcy Monologues, Christina Boyd has assembled another team of accomplished Austenesque writers for this second volume from The Quill Collective. This time, we're focussing on many of the "bad boys" from the six novels of Jane Austen. In order we have: John Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility), George Wickham & Colonel Fitzwilliam (Pride and Prejudice), Tom Bertram & Henry Crawford (Mansfield Park), Frank Churchill (Emma), Sir Walter Elliot & William Elliot (Persuasion), General Tilney, John Thorpe & Captain Frederick Tilney (Northanger Abbey). You may wonder why Colonel Fitzwilliam is in this list, but you'll understand when you read it.

I read this as an ebook last year not long after publication and have just finished listening to the recently published audio version as narrated by André Refig. Christina Boyd did a fantastic job with the choice of writers and the editing of this anthology and has chosen well once more with her choice of narrator. Mr. Refig's voice is so well suited to this type of fiction and his range of voices for the many and varied characters is phenomenal.

A couple of the stories are marked in the ebook as having mature content (Wickham & Crawford), another three are "moderate" (Willoughby, Churchill & William Elliot), two are "mild" (Fitzwilliam & Bertram) and the rest as "none". In none of them is the sexual content gratuitous or overly explicit.

Let me give you a warning: though some of these "bad boys" are redeemed during the course of their stories, by no means all of them are. However, we do get to see some of their back stories and get to understand some of the reasons why they are the way they are in canon. Of course, I'm not going to tell you which is which. That's for me, and those who've already read and/or listened to this anthology, to know and for you to find out by reading/listening to it! Even though each story is relatively short, the plots and the characters are fully fledged and fully fleshed out. You can read the entire book from start to finish, or dip in and out as the fancy takes you. However you choose to read or listen, it's well worth the time you'll invest. Can't wait for the next anthology!