Darcy and Elizabeth: Fair Trade

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Kate Bedlow

Narrated by: Jannie Meisberger

The morning after the Netherfield ball, Elizabeth Bennet refuses an offer of marriage, setting off a row in the Bennet household that ends tragically.

Faced with homelessness and untenable poverty, Elizabeth receives a different sort of offer - from quite an unexpected quarter - and finds herself considering the once-inconceivable prospect of going into trade.

When Elizabeth and her sisters open a tea shop in Meryton, she must deal with Mary's penchant for entertaining the customers, Mama's enthusiasm for the officers, Kitty's fear of French spies, Caroline Bingley's relentless attempts to degrade her, and Mr. Darcy's irritating refusal to get out of her life!

©2016 Kate Bedlow (P)2016 Kate Bedlow

What if the Bennet sisters ran a tea room...

The usual characters (for the most part) in a version of the story with some very fine twists and turns along the way. I especially liked this portrayal of the younger Bennet sisters, Darcy and Fitzwilliam's new cousin and the ending - which is not to be missed.

A real delight!

What fun! Character twists and lively dialogue make this version different in a good way from the original as well as different from others who have adapted the original for those of us who weren't as enamored of Austen originals. No spoilers here, just opinion that most will thoroughly enjoy this work regardless of fondness for Austen's original!
I was very fortunate to snag an audio copy and Jannie Meisberger does as fine a performance with this as she does for Barbara Silkstone's gigglefests.

A Twist to Darcy and Elizabeth

This was such a fun story that has quite a twist from the original, occurring just after the Netherfield Ball. I enjoyed the portrayals of the characters. Lydia's role was quite unexpected, but we don't realize what she is doing until the very end. There is a angst eased by some parts that had me laughing. I love how Jannie Meisberger narrated the story. She brought out nuances and made the characters come to life. An excellent story told by a wonderful narator. I highly recommend this story.

fun trade

what a fun journey to take miss elizabeth from trade to marriage t ok mr. darcy. didnt think it was going t ok hapoe .

What a Treat!

This Pride and Prejudice variation is a true gem. It stays true to the tone and humor of the original while adding so much more. I'm not an Austen purist, but if you are, this variation treats the original characters and plot with care.

Our story begins true to canon with Elizabeth right after the Netherfield ball. The only difference is that Mr. Gardiner has recently passed, leaving his estate to Mrs. Gardiner with small sums to his nieces. Mr. Collins makes his disastrous offer to Elizabeth, and she rejects him with gusto. That day, Mr. Bennet is caught in a rainstorm and becomes very ill, sparking the events of the rest of the story.

With Longbourn entailed to an angry Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet and the girls are left homeless and nearly penniless. The Bennet family splits between the Gardiner and the Phillips' households, but the prospect of living on the charity of relatives is difficult for Elizabeth. She's approached by a very unlikely person and offered a business partnership running a little tea shop in Meryton. She accepts, and she and her sisters become tradeswomen.

Most of the events up to the Netherfield ball are quickly summarized without being rehashed, so the story isn't bogged down with events we're very familiar with. Instead, we jump right into Mr. Bennet's accident and then the story introduces all new scenes. The story is alternately told from Elizabeth and Darcy's point of view with very surprising fun additions by Caroline Bingley.

In the original P&P, the only characters that experience any development are Darcy and Elizabeth. All the other characters stay as silly, sweet, arrogant, obsequious or mercenary as they were in the beginning. In this variation, most of the characters experience realistic and welcome character arcs. I loved the new relationship between the sisters and the different strengths they each showed running the shop. Caroline Bingley was a joy and a surprise, most authors depict her as an over the top villainess, this variation made her chapters fun.

The narration was well done, each character had their own recognizable speaking voice. I really enjoyed it, and I'd listen to this narrator again.

With the interesting plot twists, character development, and one of the most outrageous Darcy proposals I've ever read, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for more D&E.