May I Have the Pleasure

Six Pride and Prejudice Stories in Six Styles

De: Wade H Mann

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Cozy up for a tour of six Pride and Prejudice stories in a variety of flavours. This collection encompasses six different forms from play to epistolary novella. Enjoy as we push the boundaries of propriety, stubbornness, pride, and even absurdity. From the silly to the sweet to the serious, this collection appeals to everyone.

• The Propriety Fiction: Elizabeth Bennet enters the Netherfield Ball with a desperate plan in mind, willing to break, or at least bend, all the rules of propriety just to save herself, no matter the cost.
• The Sounds of Silence: What happens when the intervention of a mysterious benefactor helps Mr Darcy learn the folly of slighting a lady very soon after the event, and he subsequently tries his best to make amends? Will he be able to overcome the bad start, or will his overtures be met with the sounds of silence?
• Letters From Cheapside: After Elizabeth Bennet is thrown out of Longbourn by her mother over her refusal of Mr. Collins, she returns to Cheapside with her aunt and uncle, then begins a long correspondence with her sisters. How long will it go on? How long will she be banished from her childhood home? What other mysteries await?
• The Bad Lot: When Mr Collins takes a couple weeks to work up his nerve to propose, Lizzy hears Mr Collins's proposal long after she knows the Netherfield party has decamped, Jane has gone to London leaving her alone, and Wickham has moved his attentions to Mary King. She therefore has a much more cynical view of the Netherfield party, her matrimonial prospects, and perhaps even…
• The Propriety Advisor: Since the rules of propriety are sort of like laws, what happens when you violate one… or two… or maybe more? What happens if two different people break the code? Do they cancel each other out, or do you have two wrongs don't make a right? If any of this unclear, do you need a referee or umpire… or maybe a Propriety Advisor.
• The Wedding Afternoon: Ever wonder what happened during the ever-important interval between the wedding breakfast and the wedding night? Let's find out!

Definitely need live narrators

As I write this, I'm still trying to figure out what my rating will be. Unfortunately, my feelings about the stories were dragged down by the fact that I listened to the audiobook with virtual voice. While I never find virtual voice more than just okay, it completely ruined a couple stories for me.

The Propriety Fiction: I had some tech problems with this one and I'm not sure if it was the recording itself or my internet connection or what. I loved Darcy's clever use of words to turn Collins away from Elizabeth and at the same time cleverly told Elizabeth how he left about her. That was delightful.

The Sounds of Silence: I think perhaps this should have been titled The Rule of Six. I loved how Darcy worked to become social with Meryton society and in so doing actually learned to like them. And his altered behavior had a great effect on individuals. One person can make a difference. The rule of six was clever.

Letters From Cheapside: I got the idea that this author might really dislike Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. This isn't the only story in which Elizabeth takes a harsh stance against them, and in at least this one against Darcy, Bingley and the Colonel as well.
I generally get tired of epistolary stories before all the letters are read. This was no different for me but I will say it made the virtual narration a little more palatable since it just had to read the letters rather than exclaim in dialog etc. This was the best one for narration purposes.

The Bad Lot: This story was unique in that Elizabeth turns to Darcy for help after she told her father off for his indolence. Mr. B thought it was kinda funny but Lizzy became demanding about what she needed from him if he wasn't going to do anything else to help. Heaven help him if he failed this one last request. She wasn't having it.

The Propriety Advisor: This one was told as a play which could have been really fun if the narration had been live and each character had their own voice to act in the play. Instead it was ruined by the virtual narration. It made it really un-fun. As Elizabeth shared her story, we as readers, didn't learn anything new about it that we wouldn't have read in canon but getting the reactions to the story was fun. How uncomfortable would it have been to be Darcy and Colonel F in that conversation? It would have been better to read this one myself than listen to the lousy virtual narrator.

The Wedding Afternoon: This one was written to be farcical and is all dialog. It didn't work with virtual narration at all. The narrator doesn't know how to do dialog well. And being a farce there was much humor in the writing but none of it came through in the audio. Zero. I kept thinking, "Huh. That would have been a funny line if said properly". But it wasn't. I tried to watch for the humor anyway because without it, this would be a terrible, unrealistic story. With the humor it is fun, a bit whimsical and requires the reader to set aside reality for a while.
(This story has implied, off page intimacy before and after marriage)

I have liked the few books I've read by this author but I beg of you to get a live narrator so your stories can shine as well as the writing.

1 star for audiobook, 4 stars for stories

Great fun!

Six very different P&P themed explorations, each with its own quirks and variations on the characters. Not at all sure why it doesn’t have higher ratings. I don’t love virtual voice, but it’s better than not having the book available. If you like to imagine various scenarios, several with different literary styles, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Excellent Collection of P&P Vagaries - VV is Good

Very surprised by this Collection - unusual and clever and witty. And the Virtual Voice is pretty good. I will be re-listening to these stories and I will listen to this author’s other books.

I enjoyed it so ooo much!

I like your writing, humor, wit! And enjoyd every and each of the stories, but with the last two... I loughd soo much! Have to say just "carie on"! 🤌🫶

delightfully irreverent

I have searched out any tales by this author, anticipating outrageously direct, well edited, and erudite tales full of humor and fun. I am not disappointed in this collection, though I do mourn the virtual voice rendering.