Responsibility and Resentment

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Melissa Anne

Narrated by: Stevie Zimmerman

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

A conversation that changes everything...

What if Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy spoke honestly to each other in Kent and clarified any misconceptions prior to his making his proposal? What would happen if Mr. Bennet made an ill-fated attempt to resolve the issue of the entail only to create a much bigger problem for his family and Mrs. Bennet were even more of a shrew than in canon? What if Mr. Bennet had a secret reason to encourage the couple to marry quickly and before returning home? Will they ever be able to overcome the resentment that results from Mr. Bennet's manipulations or from Mrs. Bennet's subsequent behaviors?

Join our dear couple as they find happiness together sooner than in canon but still have to fight against outside influences that seek to destroy it before and after their wedding. A story where responsibility is accepted by some and shirked by others, leading to resentment that requires effort to overcome. Will it be enough?

©2023 Melissa Anne (P)2023 Melissa Anne

Rather shallow

Excellent narrator, but story is a bit shallow. IMO, starts out well but later in the story it skips ahead brushing past monumental events in the lives of the characters. It transitioned into a narrative with much less dialogue. Not sure what exactly the story is about. That the Bennet parents are horrid, Lady Katherine is horrible, Mr. Collins is beyond disgusting. Once that is established their story is pretty much over until it becomes a labor and delivery birthing thing with TMI. I can only imagine may be an indulgence by the author. Many other plot lines started are not explored or expanded until the epilogue. Darcy is the only hero, everyone else is a fail. I look forward to finding a book that doesn’t make Elizabeth a shrew and Mrs. Bennet has already shuffled off.

Great long story.

This book was well written and it starts at Hunsford before the proposal. Mrs Bennet is very harsh on Elizabeth and that goes as a red line throughout the book. Great Jaff

Good story, felt a little long

This is a fairly new author to me. I liked the story but it felt a little to long. That being said I will listen to it again. In this story Darcy & Elizabeth talk before his bad proposal so that canon event was avoided. Some spoilers: Because of their talk and clearing the air some other non-canon things came out including that Darcy & Bingley have pretty much cut ties. Elizabeth is able to process through her misconceptions and Darcy is able to deal with his pride too. Now enter Lady C who suspects that D&E are an item and she conspires with Collins to get rid of Elizabeth. Darcy & Col F suspect something and thankfully place a plan in action to protect her. When in London Elizabeth gets to know Col F's parents and they love her and can't wait for her to be part of their family. Mr B gives his blessing & tells them to marry quickly & stay away from Longbourn; the reason for this was a surprise and what changes / ripple effect this has on everyone. I love that D&E are fully committed to each other & their marriage and it is sweet to see their love story. Stevie Zimmerman again does her magic bringing her narration skills to this story.

Family matters

I liked the relationship depicted in this story between Darcy and Elizabeth. It remains true throughout the trials they go through with Elizabeth’s parents.

The kinds of issues that affect families today are explored in a P&P variation. The big issues here are Mr Bennet making a disastrous mistake in trying to gamble in order to make money for his family but ends up asking Darcy to bail him out because he’s rich and asks for Lizzy’s hand. Mr B. balks at the deal Darcy gives him on the money to repay the loan sharks. A loan not a handout. He tries to sneak around the stipulations attached to the loan but it takes a series threat to get him on the straight and narrow. He’s a bit quicker than Mrs B. realizing he’s been a bad parent. And he makes a turnaround, which is nice to see.

The biggest issue is Lizzy’s relationship with her mother. Mrs Bennet will never understand how her least favorite daughter managed to marry so far above her sisters, makes no secret of the fact she doesn’t think she deserves it-in her hearing- saying outrageous nonsense in the most hurtful way. Then later doesn’t even remember saying those things.

While the Darcys help the rest of Elizabeth’s sisters in various ways all of this is resented. Yet Mrs B. Doesn’t get what she’s done that has caused her not to be invited to Pemberley. Even though her sisters report Mrs B is taking on more duties as the mistress and enjoying them Elizabeth has stated that unless she gets a personal apology from her she won’t let her mother visit them in London or at Pemberley and doesn’t want to see her anywhere.

IMHO this part of the plot goes on for far too long, with the wording being repeated again and again. The story needed to be tightened up. These Mother Daughter relationships are quite recognizable to all of us, some more personally than others. They are as old as time and drag through our lives for decades and sometimes the rest of or lives. The conclusion or Elizabeth’s realization at the end was finally the mature action I was hoping to get from her, just wishing it had happened quicker along the path.

Well, there’s a first time for everything

I’ve often, in fact very often, said that I’ve never listened to a Stevie Zimmerman JAFF that I didn’t love. Well….while her narration was terrific, this story fell flat for me. It just didn’t keep my interest and I’ve struggled to finish it. In fact, I left it, listening to other books, with 3 hours left to hear. I won’t delete it from my library yet as I may try it again, maybe on a day when I need a nap. (Oops!🤣)