Prudence and Practicality

by C.J. Hill

Mr. Collins must marry.
If Lizzie won’t take him, then Charlotte certainly will.

Mr Collins may be a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man, making him the object of considerable scorn for the Bennet sisters, but Charlotte knows to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

After a week in his irksome company, her friend, Elizabeth, can only see his irritating manner. Whereas Charlotte, after a matter of hours, has already estimated his value and weighed it against the mortification she will undoubtedly have to endure. The opportunity to become the wife of a well-connected clergyman does not come along every day, and in a prudential light, it is certainly a good match for her. Charlotte believes it to be a trade she is willing to accept.

If only she can secure his attention before he must return to Kent.

You’ve read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; now read it again from the perspective of Elizabeth Bennet’s friend, Charlotte Lucas, an intelligent young woman, prudent and sensible. Marriage and a comfortable home has always been her object - not love or romance. Her story is woven into the fabric of the original novel as we follow her eventful year as she makes many discoveries about herself, her husband, and married life as the wife of the vicar of Hunsford parish.

Will Charlotte discover practicality to be a strong enough basis for marriage … or is this a marriage doomed to failure?

Genres: Regency

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2012

About the author

!NEW NOVEL RELEASE!
Lydia: A Backstory to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

In her fifteen years, Lydia Bennet has drawn attention to herself everywhere she has gone.

As the youngest of five daughters Lydia has been indulged by her mother, and is now beyond restraint and determined to have her way. Her romantic imaginings of seeing the world, falling violently in love, and attending balls, parties, dinners and the theatre are her only escape from the unrelenting boredom of life in a small village.

Happily for Lydia, the Militia comes to Meryton for the Winter to supply all the glamour, uniforms and charming young men she could wish for and immediately there is one, and one only, for whom Lydia has eyes and plans. Unfortunately, her looks, youth and wit are of no consequence to him without an accompanying fortune; but unperturbed by his disinterest, Lydia weaves her way towards ensnaring the man of her dreams for her own happily-ever-after.

Author’s note: As this story involves characters and some situations that occur in both Pride and Prejudice and Wickham’s Wife, some necessary scenes have been repeated from Lydia’s perspective. I hope that rather than detracting from the overall narrative, they provide a more complex understanding of Lydia’s behaviour.

C. J. Hill is the author of eight historical novels based directly or indirectly upon Jane Austen’s delightful characters who are so familiar, but masterfully undefined enough so that every reader imagines differently how they will turn out, how they will behave, and the choices they will make beyond the novel’s final chapter. Hopefully, in these adaptations they will continue to surprise and delight their new and old readers alike.
Originally from England, C. J., lives in New Zealand. When not lost in the Regency or reading multiple books, she can be found gazing out to sea, sampling wine, or taming her garden, all the while paying close attention to the conversations going on in her head. She apologizes if at times she appears inattentive.

Get her attention through any of these sites; she'll be delighted to hear from you!

https://cjhillauthor.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Hil... 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Lucas has married the officious and unpleasant Mr Collins because she has no other prospects for a home and family of her own. How does she cope with being married to a man so hard to like? C. J. Hill writes her story with sensitivity and understanding, telling a totally believable version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from Charlotte's point of view and giving the reader some insight into what past events might have shaped Mr Collins personality and behaviour. I couldn't put it down and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[Leigh Meggison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant adaptation of an Austen classic. There must be some readers of the original who did not find Mr Collins all that alluring. However, in this novel, he is. The relationship between Charlotte and Mr Collins is both touching and laugh-out-loud funny. Anyone who loved the original will love this too. Those of you with this on their 'shelf' or 'to be read' pile should immediately move it to the 'reading' pile.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was an interesting POV from Charlotte's perspective. Though I did have trouble tolerating how much more obsequious Mr Collins is in this book. I wanted to reach in and strangle him at times, but I had a better respect formed for Charlotte seeing how she dealt with Mr Collins and Lady Catherine. I would recommend it to any and all JAFF fans.

[Tammy Buchli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Pride and Prejudice retelling from Charlotte’s POV. I usually enjoy a Charlotte Austenation because she is such a likable character. But it’s hard to give her a happy-ever-after because she’s married to the yucky Mr. Collins. Some authors have gone in the obvious direction of killing Collins off so that a more appealing candidate can be subbed in. This book chose (as the title says) a more practical path, with Charlotte coming to know and understand her husband, and trying to influence him to improve. It’s bittersweet, because - geez - he really IS a boob and there’s only so much even a super-competent gal like Charlotte can do to mitigate that. No glaring anachronisms, the language was acceptably Austen. Hill has also written a book from Lydia’s POV as well. I’m looking forward to reading it.

[Lisa Pianka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have always loved Charlotte. This adds further dimension to Mr. Collins.

Enjoyed a more complex Mr. Collins along with Charlotte whom I have always enjoyed. Ann was also more interesting. Over all enjoyed it very much.

[Debra McMaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down

Wonderful job of writing from Charlotte’s perspective. I admired her attempt to understand how William Collins came to be as he was.

[Liz H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good

This book delves into the hearts and minds of Charlotte and William Collins as they work their way to a happy marriage. Along the way there is heartbreak and outrage aplenty for both parties alternating with quiet contentment and even joy.

[C.J. Hill]

An alternative for those Austen fans out there who crave another perspective of Pride and Prejudice.
Mr. Collins has always been a 'most-disliked' character in literature - he makes everyone's skin crawl because of Austen's amazing descriptive powers! But why is he like that? What made him the man he is portrayed as being? Those are the questions that needed addressing and, hopefully, this adaptation will provide some answers! Of course, it would be nice to know what happens to Charlotte too, once she becomes Mrs. Collins....

Here are some extracts of reviews on https://www.amazon.com/author/cjhill about Prudence and Practicality:

This book did something remarkable; it made its main characters, Charlotte and Mr. Colllins, my favorite characters of Pride and Prejudice. Yet they still seemed to be in character. EAdR

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this story--I have read so much bad Jane Austen fiction lately that I didn't anticipate this one to be any better. It was more than a pleasant surprise to discover that I was very wrong. What can I say but: exceptional writing, exceptional characterization, exceptional plot. Bravo! D E Trail

This is Charlotte Lucas' story and she is a sensible, well-meaning person who is easy to relate to. The Bennets, Darcy and Bingley are minor background characters. The writing is generally good and the events and characters seem to be the way Jane Austen intended them. C Knierim

I really liked it. Although I would have liked a little bit more interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. It was nice to read about how Charlotte might have seen the events, how she really felt about Mr. Collins and their marriage and how she grows and finds her own kind of happiness. L Rennie

I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was an interesting POV from Charlotte's perspective. I would recommend it to any and all JAFF fans. E L Hoemke

CJ Hill has brilliantly expanded upon the classic Pride and Prejudice. By the end of it Mr. Collins becomes a character you actually start to root for rather than hope against. The story makes you rethink Pride and Prejudice as it weaves so well into the original and is written as if Jane Austen assisted herself! The discussions (some of them quite heated and leads to rapid page turning!) between Charlotte and Mr Collins are so engrossing and witty the book is a rapid read and thoroughly enjoyable. kahlowee

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have tried to read many parallels/continuations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but have been unable to finish any of them. Either the language was all wrong, or they took too many liberties with the characters making them inconsistent with Jane Austen's characters, or they were just boring. I have since avoided all of that genre, but since I adore CJ Hill's books, I gave this one a try. I was delighted! It was very well written, the characters meshed perfectly with how I knew them and I loved reading Charlotte's story. It answered satisfactorily the great question I always had about how Lady Catherine found out about Darcy and Elizabeth. (That never made sense in the book to me...) I am grateful she didn't mess up any of the "facts" from Pride and Prejudice and only built on what was already established by Jane Austen. Well written CJ Hill! Write on!

[T.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love both this author and Jane Austen, so I was excited to discover this book. Charlotte's choice has always intrigued me, so my expectations were high. I did enjoy it, but it has taken me months to read it, as it did not draw me in nor generally hold my attention. Austen's Pride and Prejudice hampers Charlotte's story; nothing of truly great excitement can happen that was not included in the original work. So their life is necessarily dull, and Mr. Collins predictably irritating. His slow improvement under Charlotte's tutelage is quite charming, though, and I think I'll file this away as a believable side story of Austen's famed work.

[Madenna U · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put down this version of Pride and Prejudice from Charlotte's point of view. The author did a wonderful job of adding the thoughts and feelings of Elizabeth's best friend. She also stayed true to the concept as the only time Elizabeth's voice was heard was in direct conversation or the occasional letter. The story also adds a nice touch on Mr Collins. I actually felt sympathy for the man!

The story followed the original plot line perfectly and will be one I will read again in the future.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely a unique look at P&P from Charlotte's perspective. It develops Charlotte and gives depth to Mr. Collins.