The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds

My misgiving about this book is the Pemberley staff’s overly solicitous management of Darcy’s reaction to a “certain happy event.” It may illustrate how beloved a master Darcy is but it comes across as babying him.Ĭlick here to buy this book on. I found the unfolding of their love story irresistible and Elizabeth’s awakening at Darcy’s touch quite steamy. After a short period wallowing in misery in his London home, Darcy was talked by his cousin Richard into going back to Longbourn, assist in Charles Bingley’s courtship of Elizabeth’s sister Jane, and basically show Elizabeth that he is worthy of love.

This novel introduced me to the Pemberley Variations and got me hooked to the series. What if, instead of disappearing from her life after his disastrous proposal, Darcy was persuaded to return to Hertfordshire and change her mind about him? Darcy (republished from Impulse and Initiative) The combinations of familiar and new elements make the Variations, as a whole, very compelling reads. Darcy, his reticence misconstrued as arrogance by Elizabeth and the Meryton folks, his termagant of an aunt in Lady Catherine DeBourgh and the role played by Elizabeth’s relatives, the Gardiners, in bringing them together. Most of the elements that readers love about P&P remain: the Elizabeth’s initial dislike of Mr. She later titled this series as Pemberley Variations. She even adapts some of P&P’s popular lines to new situations. Her works explore different plot elements that deviate from the course of Jane Austen’s original, the “what-ifs” that builds upon the situations and motivations of the protagonists, but will inevitably conclude with a happily-ever-after ending of Elizabeth and Darcy getting married. One such fan is Abigail Reynolds, a Massachussetts-based physician who started writing P&P fan fiction, posting her work in Jane Austen fan sites and later expanding her reach through self-publishing. Through their exciting repartee and their dealings with other characters, the readers see the development of their feelings for each other to overcome their differences and get the happily-ever-after ending of marital bliss.Īs with all fiction that truly engages with their audience, Pride and Prejudice inspired works from its fans that expands upon the original.

Initially titled First Impressions, the novel set in Georgian Era England depicts the courtships, manners and concerns of the landed gentry through the romantic developments between protagonists Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Author Jane Austen produced a timeless masterpiece in her novel Pride and Prejudice.

The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds