The Darcy Secret

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Kelly Miller

Narrated by: Scott Fleming

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Will a dire family secret lead to Fitzwilliam Darcy’s ruin?

Darcy’s heartfelt conversation with Miss Elizabeth Bennet leads to their engagement. But just when his future could not appear brighter, a dreadful revelation casts a cloud of gloom over him, threatening his hopes and plans.

And when an ominous shadow of suspicion falls upon his beloved sister, Georgiana, Darcy is compelled to determine the truth. Does her angelic countenance conceal a deviant, even dangerous, nature?

In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy and Elizabeth face several grim obstacles, including the sudden death of a family member. Will these challenges drive them apart?

The Darcy Secret contains adult situations with themes of violence and a graphic description of a fox hunt.

©2023 Kelly Miller (P)2023 Kelly Miller

Narration a bit distracting

I enjoyed this story pretty well, I feel like I may have enjoyed it better with a narrator that was better suited to the story. Mr. Flemming is a good narrator (aside from a slight bumble in some of his pronunciations? not sure that's the right word?? some words sound a bit like Yosemite Sam, which is distracting when trying to listen to super proper English). He has talent and voices male characters really well, female voices NOT GOOD! I listen to a lot of this type of book and usually settle into narration that isn't my favorite to start, the female voices in this one are distracting and grating the entire book. OK, enough about narration, now about the story

This story is unique in the P+P genre so that was refreshing. It includes most of the main characters plus a few new ones. It was well written and follows an entertaining path. I liked the interaction between ODC and Georgianna was a big player in this one. Her character was a big uncertain in the beginning, but that is intentional. I would say it's a good book overall, maybe a great one. For me the reading was the only distraction - had certain conversations been read with different inflections they may have come across more pleasing and less awkward.

Loved it!

This story is perfect for all those Pride and Prejudice fans who can’t get enough of Mr. Darcy! The characters hold true to the original story and the glimpses the author gives into Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy’s courtship as well as their life together after they are married are precious gems! Plus, there’s the secret which is an unexpected juicy twist that made me love the story even more! Highly recommend!

"An unhappy alternative is before you."

Kelly Miller’s novel The Darcy Secret begins where Pride And Prejudice ends, with Darcy proposing marriage to Elizabeth Bennet at the Longbourn family estate. After Fitzwilliam Darcy leaves Elizabeth Bennett’s company, he realizes she never told him she loves him. Does she return his affections? Or did Elizabeth agree to marry him out of gratitude? After all, he saved her family’s reputation by arranging her sister Lydia’s marriage to George Wickham.

After Elizabeth assures Darcy of her love, past indiscretions return to haunt him. A chance meeting with Lady Marchant in Vauxhall Gardens reminds Elizabeth that societal expectations of acceptable conduct differ between men and women. She wonders how many former lovers might return to sway his affections. Can Elizabeth be assured of his steadfastness? Or might Darcy follow the conventions of the age and take lovers when his infatuation fades?

While battling the doubts and fears that afflict any engaged couple, Darcy’s family questions Elizabeth’s motives. Lady Catherine might have declared Elizabeth’s unsuitability, yet a far more agreeable relative questions Elizabeth's motives. After all, their courtship—if one can use that term—occurred after the Gardeners brought Elizabeth to his impressive Pemberley estate.

Darcy’s sister Georgiana is reluctant to accept Elizabeth. But Elizabeth soon wins her over, and after Elizabeth and Darcy marry, the two women regard each other as sisters. Zounds! The Gardeners receive a disturbing report about Georgiana from a former teacher. Her aunt and uncle send Elizabeth the letter that implicates Georgiana in another student’s death. While the couple ponders Georgiana's involvement, the report awakens an earlier concern. A final letter from Darcy’s late father claimed a streak of madness afflicted women in his family. Did Georgiana kill her schoolmate? And if madness runs through their family, what evils might their children perpetrate upon an unsuspecting world?

Kelly Miller’s novel The Darcy Secret: A Pride & Prejudice Variation tackles alcoholism and drug use in Regency England, the perils of ignoring the class structure, attitudes toward sport, and the rise of modern psychiatry. While faithful to the characters and spirit of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, events force Elizabeth and Darcy to investigate a tragic event. Having listened to the audiobook version, I confess that Scott Fleming's female voices initially made me titter with laughter. Yet I felt his deep voice lent gravity and authenticity to Kelly Miller's family drama during my second listen.

Warning: Contains a scene of animal cruelty.

Don’t miss this! Wonderful Austin Fan Fiction!

‘The Darcy Secret’ carries the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ story forward with an imagined future for Elizabeth Bennett and her dashing husband Fitzwilliam as husband and wife, dealing with narrow-minded society, the intrusion of family and unwanted past acquaintances, and a disturbing family mystery. Riding on the current popularity of Regency period romances, this wonderful audiobook deftly brings our favorite characters to life, provides a swoon-worthy (PG-13) view into their marital bliss, and tangles them in complex and quite modern situations never considered by Austin. While I had trouble believing in Lydia’s contribution to the story as I was convinced Wickham would have had her with child a year before Elizabeth married, I suspended my disbelief to enjoy the story and overall found this a fun reimagining of a classic tale.

Scott Fleming is a great narrator. The well-crafted novel gives him a solid foundation for his talents and his ability to bend pitch and inflection provides a wide range of easily discernable characters and makes the audiobook easy to follow, even when navigating I-95 traffic! I highly recommend this audiobook for those who can’t get enough of Austin’s work, lovers of Regency period dramas and light historical romances.

Sexier than ever

Miller has done it again with The Darcy Secret, the latest in her pride and prejudice, variations, and this time it’s sexier and more thrilling than ever. Picking up just before Miss Bennett and Mr. Darcy wed, the focus, this time is on a secret or two in Darcy‘s past that threaten the newlyweds happiness, and possibly, their entire future. Miller so perfectly captures the essence of the area, but confuses the story of new life, new twists, new fabulous what, if that keep you listening for just one more chapter, with excellent narration that feels like a radio drama until the very end. This is my favorite in her series so far!

Can the Darcys be mad?

After a Darcy family secret is revealed to him upon his engagement by his Uncle Lord Matlock, Darcy worries about the possibility that madness can be inherited. Soon to be married, he must tell Elizabeth, but he is seized with anxiety and even falling to drink with worry. Will Elizabeth end the engagement? Not a chance. She is steadfast and determined to have him, and they will face the future together come what may. Darcy’s Fitzwilliam family is also very supportive.

They marry early in the book so there’s plenty of Darcy and Elizabeth romance to enjoy. Alas, something must interrupt their peace, and a past paramour of Darcy’s rears her despicable head to cause our dear couple strife. Add to all that, a revelation from Georgiana’s time at school surrounding her conduct there, will naturally nourish Darcy’s worry about the family secret. A Darcy friend adds a touch of angst as he endeavours to know Elizabeth better. The reader wonders—will he betray Darcy’s trust? Lydia Wickham’s unexpected and uninvited arrival at Pemberley will provide a two-eyebrow-raising shock.

A compelling plot, this multi-POV variation is also supported by good dialogue throughout, along with a very good narration by Scott Fleming. I did have to slow the playback speed down a little, as I found his pace a bit too fast for my taste. His voice is great though.

Always well written and edited, this variation has all the makings of another intriguing read from Kelly Miller, whose books never disappoint.

Fun with an Austin and Brontë Twist

As his wedding to Elizabeth approaches, Darcy learns a family secret that could wreck their nuptials as well as their future. Family and pests from the past complete a perfect storm front moving in on the couple’s happiness.

Scott Fleming is the perfect narrator on our journey. His deft reading transports us to the Regency period in comfort and understated style. His rendering of author Kelly Miller’s well written prose is effortless and entertaining.

I found the female voices odd

The story was interesting if a bit weird. However what stands out most for me was the performance of the female characters. They all sounded too old and breathless.