Thwarted

A Darcy and Elizabeth Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: MJ Stratton

Narrated by: Harry Frost

Mr. Darcy is unmarriageable. Every time he shows any interest in a lady, be it casual or serious, the lady disappears or has disaster befall her. Soon, society spreads gossip that he is cursed, and mamas and daughters alike shun his company.

Some unknown nemesis keeps the rumors alive, and soon, he suspects he will never find happiness until he discovers who wants him ruined.

In Meryton, a humbled Mr. Darcy finds himself drawn to a local beauty. Ever cautious that the villain behind his misfortune is watching, he takes great pains to keep his courtship a secret. He disguises his intentions by showing equal attention to all the ladies and being amiable to everyone.

When an old enemy arrives in Meryton unexpectedly, Darcy is instantly wary and works even harder to keep his relationship with Elizabeth from being widely known. Will he ever be free to marry and love her openly, or is his love doomed to be thwarted?

Thwarted can be considered far-fetched, but it was fun to write, nonetheless.

©2024 MJ Stratton (P)2025 MJ Stratton

Great read

I love listening to Harry Frost’s narration. All these different voices :) amazing. The story I had read before. It is so witty and I laughed out loud many times. Just the thought that mr Darcy repelled miss bingley 😂 wow. Just listen to it. Great jaff.

Darcy proves himself

from my original review of the book:
4 1/2 stars rounded up
Someone is out to make Darcy’s life miserable and the fallout to those around him can be devastating. It takes time for Darcy to see the truth and realize that he needs to approach things differently. This change along with the truth of his situation goes a long way to make him a more agreeable man. This is a Darcy who will do anything for people he loves including Elizabeth. I enjoyed how Mr Bennet understands the situation and facilitated a secret courtship. It was also fun to see how Bingley‘s sisters absolutely believed the gossip about Darcy thus Miss Bingley was not fawning over him the entire book. Quite enjoyable. I loved seeing Darcy and Elizabeth fall in love with each other. This is a story that I will read again.

Now for the audiobook: Harry Frost does it again! He is one of my favorite JAFF narrators and truly brings the story to life. I read this last year but got the audiobook as soon as it was released. His narration make any story better!!

Darcy under pressure

I have found that listening vs. reading a book leaves me with different opinions on how I view the book. After reading this book, I pretty much dismissed it as a light hearted romp. After listening to it, I kept that impression but I was waiting for the compensation that was due to at least two of the ladies Darcy was “dating”. First, the lady who fell from her horse could have been killed and secondly, there is a young woman whose life was ruined and she is left with a child. Admittedly the lady who became pregnant bears equal responsibility but she would never have been in the company of Wickham were it not for her association with Darcy. I am surprised at how much it irritated me that no mention was made of any attempt to recompense either lady. There was mention of keeping Anne’s mental state quiet however. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
Harry Frost, as always, was excellent.

Very good

I enjoyed the ending. A very good variation with an excellent narrator. I'm only now getting into this author's work and I thoroughly recommend it.

Imaginative Storyline

This was an imaginative story with a wonderful twist. If I could give this more than five stars I would. Harry Frost is magnificent with the narration. This is now on my very favorites list.