Meryton Vignettes: Tales of Pride and Prejudice in Austen Variations

Mar 07, 2017 wosedwew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-reviews, 2025, owned-books, 2016

If you can't write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don't have a clear idea. ~David Belasco

Short stories -- a moment captured.

What were Charlotte's emotions as she returned to Longbourn as mistress?
Could Elizabeth have had a childhood love?
Did Lydia really have a HEA with Wickham?

There were also brief excerpts from two books I have read before. I would recommend those books if you haven't already read them.

The book seemed a bit pricey for only about 100 pages, but that's my only cri ...more

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Jul 27, 2018 Sheila Majczan rated it really liked it

Down the Road/Mistress of Longbourn - Charlotte Returns: Yes, Mr. Bennet has died and the new Mistress of Longbourn remembers how it all came about that she is now there. She wants to make her own mark and not be compared to Mrs. Bennet who knew how to set a find table and so she plans a picnic. It is a day which will be long remembered by the residents of Meryton.

@16% Life After Darcy: Caroline Bingley opines about how she should have been the one to marry Mr. Darcy. But as life goes on and she Down the Road/Mistress of Longbourn - Charlotte Returns: Yes, Mr. Bennet has died and the new Mistress of Longbourn remembers how it all came about that she is now there. She wants to make her own mark and not be compared to Mrs. Bennet who knew how to set a find table and so she plans a picnic. It is a day which will be long remembered by the residents of Meryton.

@16% Life After Darcy: Caroline Bingley opines about how she should have been the one to marry Mr. Darcy. But as life goes on and she is running out of options and even having to think about life on her own she finds a man who is “a male version of herself”! They spend time at dinners and at dances looking down on and taking apart the physical characteristics, wardrobes and even the connections of all upon whom they gaze. Caroline is then shocked when she asks Brook if he knows of any man who might be a good match for her and he becomes quite cold and distant.
The put-down from a friend makes a mark and she begins to think seriously about her actions. And in the end she is surprised by what she did not know about him.

Alternate Paths/@32% First Attachments: I did not care for this story as it has Elizabeth Bennet with a “First Love”…a boy, then teen, then man of the servant class who goes away to apprentice as a carriage maker. He also bestows on her that first kiss. Maybe I am at fault but I only want Darcy to be her first kiss and her first love.

@44% To Do Her Duty: Mrs. Bennet, late in life, has one of those “after- thoughts” – a child in her older years and I actually cried reading about the result. She would be forty-one and she knows the risks but “duty” makes her thinks that if it can be a boy it will be worth it…the pain and the risks.

In The Dark/@54% To Fool a Fool: “On her wedding night, Elizabeth Collins, nee: Bennet…” I was repulsed at the idea of Elizabeth being married to Collins but you may find it amusing as to how this wife actually “managed” him. Ugh!
There are always those papers both her father and her husband signed which might make it worthwhile – the entail is to end with Collins’ death and she would inherit Longbourn.

@60% He Had It Coming: Married nine long years Lydia devises a way to finally communicate with her sisters without Wickham censoring her letters. Elizabeth and Jane had their suspicions but when they view Lydia’s face those are not only confirmed but added to the oral report just one part of the abuse she has suffered. Even Jane is on board to take matters into their own hands. And as the story progressed Lydia has some sunshine on her horizon.

@93% excerpt from Unwilling
@95% excerpt from The Houseguest

The two vignettes I did not care for but they were all well written if you can accept those premises among the others. I have read her other books and enjoyed those. I want to read her newest one: The 26th of November: A Pride and Prejudice Comedy of Farcical Proportions ...more

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Apr 19, 2018 Dung rated it really liked it

Shelves: austen-inspried

What a great collection of short stories. I wouldn’t mine reading a bit more on some of the stories.

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Jan 04, 2019 Michelle David rated it liked it

Interesting

Some very different variations of the lives of some of our Meryton friends from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice

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Jun 08, 2024 Craftyhj rated it it was amazing

Shelves: yes, zz2024jaff, own-copy, anthologies

An interesting and eclectic mix of short vignettes

What an amazing blend of stories. This may all be short stories but there is so much depth in each one of them. I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite as they were all so very good in their own way.

Highly recommended.

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