Darcy and Elizabeth: Fair Trade

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Kate Bedlow

Narrated by: Jannie Meisberger

The morning after the Netherfield ball, Elizabeth Bennet refuses an offer of marriage, setting off a row in the Bennet household that ends tragically.

Faced with homelessness and untenable poverty, Elizabeth receives a different sort of offer - from quite an unexpected quarter - and finds herself considering the once-inconceivable prospect of going into trade.

When Elizabeth and her sisters open a tea shop in Meryton, she must deal with Mary's penchant for entertaining the customers, Mama's enthusiasm for the officers, Kitty's fear of French spies, Caroline Bingley's relentless attempts to degrade her, and Mr. Darcy's irritating refusal to get out of her life!

©2016 Kate Bedlow (P)2016 Kate Bedlow

What if the Bennet sisters ran a tea room...

The usual characters (for the most part) in a version of the story with some very fine twists and turns along the way. I especially liked this portrayal of the younger Bennet sisters, Darcy and Fitzwilliam's new cousin and the ending - which is not to be missed.

A real delight!

What fun! Character twists and lively dialogue make this version different in a good way from the original as well as different from others who have adapted the original for those of us who weren't as enamored of Austen originals. No spoilers here, just opinion that most will thoroughly enjoy this work regardless of fondness for Austen's original!
I was very fortunate to snag an audio copy and Jannie Meisberger does as fine a performance with this as she does for Barbara Silkstone's gigglefests.

A Twist to Darcy and Elizabeth

This was such a fun story that has quite a twist from the original, occurring just after the Netherfield Ball. I enjoyed the portrayals of the characters. Lydia's role was quite unexpected, but we don't realize what she is doing until the very end. There is a angst eased by some parts that had me laughing. I love how Jannie Meisberger narrated the story. She brought out nuances and made the characters come to life. An excellent story told by a wonderful narator. I highly recommend this story.

fun trade

what a fun journey to take miss elizabeth from trade to marriage t ok mr. darcy. didnt think it was going t ok hapoe .

What a Treat!

This Pride and Prejudice variation is a true gem. It stays true to the tone and humor of the original while adding so much more. I'm not an Austen purist, but if you are, this variation treats the original characters and plot with care.

Our story begins true to canon with Elizabeth right after the Netherfield ball. The only difference is that Mr. Gardiner has recently passed, leaving his estate to Mrs. Gardiner with small sums to his nieces. Mr. Collins makes his disastrous offer to Elizabeth, and she rejects him with gusto. That day, Mr. Bennet is caught in a rainstorm and becomes very ill, sparking the events of the rest of the story.

With Longbourn entailed to an angry Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet and the girls are left homeless and nearly penniless. The Bennet family splits between the Gardiner and the Phillips' households, but the prospect of living on the charity of relatives is difficult for Elizabeth. She's approached by a very unlikely person and offered a business partnership running a little tea shop in Meryton. She accepts, and she and her sisters become tradeswomen.

Most of the events up to the Netherfield ball are quickly summarized without being rehashed, so the story isn't bogged down with events we're very familiar with. Instead, we jump right into Mr. Bennet's accident and then the story introduces all new scenes. The story is alternately told from Elizabeth and Darcy's point of view with very surprising fun additions by Caroline Bingley.

In the original P&P, the only characters that experience any development are Darcy and Elizabeth. All the other characters stay as silly, sweet, arrogant, obsequious or mercenary as they were in the beginning. In this variation, most of the characters experience realistic and welcome character arcs. I loved the new relationship between the sisters and the different strengths they each showed running the shop. Caroline Bingley was a joy and a surprise, most authors depict her as an over the top villainess, this variation made her chapters fun.

The narration was well done, each character had their own recognizable speaking voice. I really enjoyed it, and I'd listen to this narrator again.

With the interesting plot twists, character development, and one of the most outrageous Darcy proposals I've ever read, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for more D&E.

Amazing

This is my first book by this author & it didn't disappoint. I love anything remotely related to Pride & Prejudice. Especially variations & new twists on the original story. Kate Bedlow's new book was just the right mix of lol moments & a few tears.
She captured the spirit, politics & social mores of the time to the point, I felt I was actually there at times.

The narrator, Jeannie Miesberger is her usual wonderful self. I love listening to anything she has done for Barbara Silkstone so I was very pleased to find that she had done this one.

If you are looking for a new author with a fresh, new take on period Lizzie & Darcy, Kate Below's Fair Trade is perfect.

Not What I Expected

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review via audiobook boom. This story was well written and the narrator was spot on. Each character was unique. But I think I was expecting to spend my 8 plus hours listening to the story of how Darcy and Elizabeth worked together to make the tea shop a continued success with doses of the other stories thrown in. I was disappointed to find that their love story came in the epilogue. I have listened to several variations of the story and this was a good one. i just expected more of the H and h love story.

Excellent!

This particular version of Darcy And Elizabeth is every bit as good as the original. The story is very well written and reads extremely well.
I particularly loved the unique 2nd proposal by Mr Darcy. It was very touching.
I found the characters true to form, all of them and the way Kate Bedlow has told her story left me thirsting for more.
As usual, Jannie Meisberger has done a wonderful job with the narration.
Thank you to both of you for a most entertaining listen.
I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator for an unbiased review.

In the spirit of Jane Austen and yet...

I started listening to the series with the second installment (A Beau Bon-Bon Christmas) last year, and I liked the story a lot, especially that it focused on Mrs Bennet of all people:) So I was happy when I got the first and the third parts of the series to listen to and review. And while I generally like all three books a lot, this one turns out to be the one I like the least...

The plot includes all the crucial events from the original while also obviously introducing changes that are starting points for the different paths that things take in this version. And that's exactly what we want from any variation - alternatives, things that may have happened had the events turned out differently for this or that character... And this part is very well done, indeed. But... a good variation needs to build on those elements from the original that make us feel familiar with the characters, their surroundings, their world. And we find them here as well, only the similarities are too similar (I know it sounds strange put like that but I can't explain it better), they feel too literally 'copied' into the new version - and somehow sometimes that made things clash for me... Like an old cracked mirror, a family heirloom, that suddenly doesn't look so good on the newly redecorated wall in your house...

But, with all the above said, it's a good introduction to the series, with all the favourite (and less favourite:)) characters from the original, with some great ideas for the development of events, with surprises on the way which put some of our heroes and heroines in a different light:) and with a wonderful narration by Ms Meisberger. As usual, she's perfection when it comes to bringing the world of the gentry - ladies and gentlemen:) - to life:) You'll just forget it's the 21st century, with all its problems and hustle and bustle of everyday life and immerse yourself in the 19th centry rural England with her wonderful, warm voice:)

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

WOW, I so enjoyed this audio

What did you like best about this story?

The narrative by Jannie Meisberger was outstanding I enjoyed every moment, it felt like I was watching a movie. It was beautifully written so I'm sure it was a joy for Jannie to narrate.

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

This is my first audio with Jannie but I will certainly look for books that she has narrated.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy by the author, narrator or publisher.