Abandoned at the Altar

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Julie Cooper

Narrated by: Gill Mills

To hear that some impoverished girl you met a couple of months ago and with whom you have been in close company for a few days is now your affianced bride?

Incredible! Elizabeth Bennet is surprised and delighted when Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy and handsome bachelor from Derbyshire, declares himself to her. Still more surprising are her own feelings for him; a chance overheard conversation had changed her first impression of him enough to see the good man he was…and she had fallen in love.

Having made an unexpected choice, Darcy is certain marital felicity awaits him. Alas, a calamity of unexpected events conspire preventing him from honoring the promises he has made to his intended bride.

What should have been the happiest day of both Darcy and Elizabeth’s lives becomes the source of their deepest heartbreak. Elizabeth is left standing at the altar, her bridegroom having failed to arrive and Darcy is left bereft amid the wreckage of his hopes and dreams.

Only one thing grows more certain each day: Darcy loves Elizabeth, and wishes more than anything to forge a future between them. But can abandonment be forgiven? Will they successfully overcome the forces aligned against them to build a happily-ever-after from the ruins of the past?

©2024 Julie Cooper (P)2025 Quills & Quartos Publishing

A tearful read in parts.

This was tough to listen to sometimes it was either very sad or shocking or maddening. The prologue sets us up as to what to expect so it’s like the tension of a very large shoe waiting to drop. The early parts of the story were charming when ODC are falling in love. But then that enormous shoe does drop. Colonel Fitzwilliam is very unlikable in this story. My figurative mouth was gaping open with his actions as I was shocked listening to what he did.

The road to the happily ever after was rough and bumpy. But Darcy gets some help from an unusual source to bring them together after it really felt like all hope was lost.

Although I found it hard to get through, I know I’ll want to listen again in the future. This author always delivers. Highly recommended.

How Does One Recover?

I truly enjoyed the way Darcy courted Elizabeth, even when he thought she had wronged his family. He never gave up on them, despite her family thwarting his efforts and his family causing MANY PROBLEMS. But Ms Mills voices were not very distinct... even when she read Elizabeth's young cousin saying that Elizabeth was the best reader because she did the voices the best. It is entertaining and I will enjoy it again after I've forgotten how they go from the first chapter to the HEA another time.

Great read

This book started with Elizabeth being stood up at the altar. Then we found out what really happened great read. Great Jaff.

Amusing and Fun

As in all P&P variations there is a happy ending, and many other happy endings on the way there and after the one with which we are all familiar.
Characters behave in ways familiar to us, and yet their interactions in this book move in totally unfamiliar ways. The writing focuses on multiple relationships, so characters are not quite as deeply drawn. Still, it is an enjoyable and satisfying read.

Absolutely lovely story

This is one of my top 10 P&P variations! I like the narrator for the female characters but did not especially like her portrayal of the male characters. However for me it was fairly easy to look past, the story was so engaging and well done.