What Would Mr. Darcy Do?

A Pride & Prejudice Variation

By: Abigail Reynolds

Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

There's only one gentleman to turn to when a lady is in desperate need of answers...

With scandal descending on the Bennet family (again!), Elizabeth absolutely refuses to drag Mr. Darcy's name into this shocking situation. But how on earth is she going to get her family out of trouble this time without his involvement? Hiding things from Mr. Darcy is getting more and more impossible, especially since he's started letting his feelings show...

©2001, 2011 Abigail Reynolds (P)2013 Abigail Reynolds

Entertaining Read

This Pride and Prejudice variation begins right after Lizzy and Darcy meet at Pemberley. Darcy rides to the inn in Lambton to see Lizzy just as she receives the awful news of Lydia's elopement. Forced to disclose everything to Darcy, she breaks down in tears.

It's here that the variation breaks from canon, as Lizzy realizes this is the last time she might see Darcy. Recognizing all that he means to her, she gathers her courage and apologizes to him for her harsh refusal in Kent. Overcome by her words, Darcy offers her comfort and they share a kiss, or rather several of them! They're discovered by the Gardiners, but Lizzy is still unwilling to enter into an engagement. Instead, they start a courtship, and when Darcy arrives at Longbourn things heat up even more.

This was an interesting variation that explored a more physical relationship between our dear couple. I loved the series of letters exchanged between Lizzy and Georgiana, and the Gardiners were the calm eye of the Bennet storm. All Wickham action is off screen, so the focus is all on Lizzy and Darcy's relationship.

And wow, is there a lot of focus on their physical relationship! Lizzy and Darcy are unable to keep their hands off each other. Their scenes consist of the pair professing their love for each other, trying to find corners to make out in, and chastising themselves for making out. Absent any other real plot or tension, I wouldn't say this is my favorite Reynolds, but it's an entertaining read.

Pearl Hewitt is the perfect narrator for this audiobook. Her voice and accent are so friendly, and she reads the funny parts like she's sharing in the joke. She performs consistent voices for each character, and I love her voice for Lizzy.

Darcy and Elizabeth as Sexual Beings

Any additional comments?

What Would Mr. Darcy Do? by Abigail Reynolds is an alternative telling of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s relationship under the premise that they profess their love for each other sooner than in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story begins when Elizabeth receives word that Lydia has eloped with George Wickham and ends with the expected wedding between Elizabeth and Darcy. In between there is repetitive passionate embraces and a lot of heated groping. Besides that, not much happened. I’m sorry, but hearing Mr. Darcy profess how much he wants to take Elizabeth, including all the salacious details of how he makes her lose control sexually — before their wedding night — just seemed wrong. Simply put, too much sex and not enough substance, especially for an audiobook lasting almost 6 hours.

Pearl Hewitt did an great job narrating, as she does with other Jane Austen Fan Fiction books. Pearl’s narration is natural, easy to listen to, and really brings the characters to life each with their own distinct voice. It's nice to see her narration remains top-notch even when the source material is not up to scratch. I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

Calling ALL Austen Fans!!!

Loved this audible,only wish it would have been a longer story .Maybe there will be another volume ...

Wonderful story

I just love Abigail Reynolds what-if stories. She is a very skilled writer. I highly recommend this book both to read yourself and to listen to.

Romantic

I enjoyed the amount of Elizabeth and Darcy interaction in this novel. Those scenes are the reason we love to read about them. The banter, the flirting, the inevitable misunderstandings. The more the better.

A good P & P "What if?"

Where does What Would Mr. Darcy Do? rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's one of my top 20 overall and top 5 Jane Austen variations.

What was one of the most memorable moments of What Would Mr. Darcy Do??

Darcy staying with Elizabeth at the Inn at Lambton, instead of leaving as he does in the original. This is where this variation diverges from the original.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Probably the male characters but I think female narrators always have a problem when it comes to this. It goes both ways though, I've rarely heard an audiobook narrated by a male artist who manages female characters very well either.

Pearl Hewitt narrated most of this book beautifully, however, making all the characters distinct and you can tell she's British by birth and not from the USA aping an English accent.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some of it made me laugh, especially when Elizabeth was teasing Darcy and he responded likewise. I knew that there would be a "Happy Ever After", as Abigail Reynolds has always made clear that in this series of variations, the outcome is always going to be the same as the original, so I didn't cry. On a couple of occasions, though, I did wonder what torture Ms Reynolds was going to put the couple through before reaching it.

Any additional comments?

Some people complain that Ms Reynolds puts too much non-Regency behaviour (e.g. the love scenes) in her books but after all, these are modern re-tellings and variations on the original, still set in period, so I don't have a problem with it. If our beloved Jane was writing now, what would she do? Very much the same IMHO.

Love this author

I really enjoy these retellings and this author is one of my favourites in this genre.

A sweet, low angst variation...

...that starts in Lambton with the news about Lydia. However, the focus of the story is Darcy and Elizabeth growing closer and learning to understand each other and their own hearts. Wickham, Collins and Lady C. don't appear at all, and Caroline is limited to a little spiteful gossip. There is some scandalous behaviour for the time, but this is a clean variation and they don't go beyond passionate kisses and light petting. Pearl Hewitt's narration is average: not bad enough to put me off, but I certainly won't be looking for more by her!