The Darcy Monologues: A romance anthology of "Pride and Prejudice" short stories in Mr. Darcy's own words (The Quill Collective)

This anthology has everything! It has regency, modernizations, different eras, comedy, drama, romance…and all that from Darcy’s POV. They are short stories that can easily be read before getting in the office, so whenever I’m starting the day with a bad vibe, because I didn’t sleep or I got stuck in traffic for one hour, etc, I can always take a break, read one of them, and be ready to start my day with a positive approach!

I absolutely loved The Darcy Monologues, each story is special in its own way, and that is why I thought that it would be more enlightening to you if I wrote a little of each story.

Death of a Bachelor – Caitlin Williams

This story will follow Darcy’s last days as a bachelor until his wedding night. We will see how Darcy deals with all the changes in his life, the constant presence of Elizabeth’s relations and not controlling all aspects of life. I loved the tone Caitlin Williams chose for this story; we will read about a struggling Darcy, which was a raw but true perspective of the character. I could not have picked a better story to start the anthology.

What I loved the most about it: The incredibly prodigious writing style! Oh My God…Caitlin Williams is a natural talent!

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From the Ashes – J. Marie Croft

Everyone knows how perfect Mr. Darcy’s letter was. It was written with some bitterness and it is a little harsh in some parts, but it was truthful, passionate and revealing of his true character.

But have you ever wondered if that was the first draft he wrote? Did he review it? Did he change anything? And what happened during that night?

Marie Croft describes the night when Mr. Darcy wrote Elizabeth’s letter…and I bet you would never imagine anything like this!

What I loved the most about it: The humour! I laughed so hard while reading this book! I can’t even say which was the funniest scene, but Lady C’s visit has a good chance of winning that competition 🙂

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If Only a Dream – Joana Starnes

After the disastrous proposal Mr. Darcy wants nothing more than to leave Kent and forget about Elizabeth Bennet, but Lady Catherine turns out to be the biggest ally of this love story. It is unwillingly done, of course, but as she takes a fall down the stairs, she forces Darcy to stay in Kent. You all know that this means Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy will have another chance in love, and the romance and intensity in this story will make some of you swoon 🙂

What I loved the most about it: We are talking about Joana Starnes, so you are probably waiting for me to say the angst right? Wrong! It was the humour… Darcy’s dialogues with Lady C? Priceless! There is a new facet of Joana Starnes on this one 🙂

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Clandestiny – Karalynne Mackrory

What if during the Netherfield Ball Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet found themselves trapped in a room with a secret passage? Could they have an open discussion about their feelings? Could they reach an understanding in one night? If anyone can make that happen it is Karalynee Mackrory!

What I loved the most about it: The coziness feeling that reminded me so much of Haunting Mr. Darcy. It was dreamy, romantic and breath-taking.

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The Beast of Pemberley – Melanie Standford

In Melanie Standford’s story Pride & Prejudice meets The Beauty & the Beast and transports us to a magical setting with a coursed and disfigured Darcy who manages to bring the beautiful Elizabeth Bennet into his home. The story follows the narrative of The Beauty & the Beast but continues very truthful to P&P’s characters.

What I loved the most about it: The ending! I loved it that the author made sure the ending showed us a real life love instead of a Disney perfect ending. It may appear a small detail, but in my opinion this added a big value to the story.

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A Resenful Man – Lory Lilian

Have you ever wondered why Darcy returned to Pemberley a day earlier than his party which allowed him to encounter Elizabeth Bennet there? Lory Lilian takes us into the depths of Darcy’s soul as he recalls his journey with Elizabeth Bennet from Meryton, to the Hunsford proposal and until he meets her once more at Pemberley. Their encounter will be slightly different than the one Jane Austen created and their HEA is found much sooner 🙂

What I loved the most about it: How Elizabeth subtly made her feelings known, and the touch of their hands… Their encounter was utterly romantic and obviously up to the standards we expect from Lory Lilian!

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In Terms of Perfect Composure – Susan Adriani

In this story Darcy is encouraged by the Gardiners to travel to Hertfordshire to ascertain Elizabeth’s feelings and he arrives just in time to witness the famous confrontation between his aunt and Elizabeth Bennet. How perfect is that? I always wanted to read a story with this premise, and Susan Adriani made that possible 🙂

What I loved the most about it: The way the author played with the scenes and wording in Lady Catherine’s confrontation scenes, and how she changed it to fit Darcy’s discourse.

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Without Affection – Jan Hahn

The last regency story in this anthology is also the perfect ending for this part of the book. It starts with an elderly Darcy having a flashback of the time his son was born and all the difficulties his marriage faced after that. After witnessing how complicated and painful the birth of his child was, Darcy reacts in a drastic way and Elizabeth will not like that at all! Without Affection is a story of a man who has too much affection for his wife. Had he loved her less, he would have behaved differently…

What I loved the most about it: The intensity of Darcy’s feelings allied with the grey cloud that involved the story. Also, the way Elizabeth sets Darcy straight. Jan Hahn knows how to get to my heart!!!

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Hot for Teacher – Sara Angelini

The first modernization of the anthology transports us into a high school where Elizabeth is an art teacher and Darcy is the principal. But Wickham and Collins are also present and even Mrs. Bennet has a small appearance.

Needless to say I loved the setting…who wouldn’t want Darcy as a teacher?

What I loved the most about it: It’s hard to say if what I loved the most was the shocking revelation regarding Collins, the nicknames, or Darcy as a teacher…but I think I’ll go for Darcy as a teacher…sigh…

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You Don’t Know Me – Beau North

You Don’t Know me will transport us back to the 60’s when radio still played an important role in people’s lives, and events were lived in a completely different way. I always feel I don’t belong in this century, well, at least not in this decade, and if I could go back, I would probably choose the 60’s. But I digress…

In this story magnate William Darcy is forced to leave his city condo to move to Buffalo and run his family’s radio station. This is where he will meet Bingley, Jane and disc jockey Eliza Bennet, or should I say Elizabeth Benowitz?

What I loved the most about it: Darcy’s proposal, well, it’s not really a proposal, but it is one of the best love declarations ever! Also, Lady C…she almost took Darcy’s declaration of the podium, but I could never let her win could I?

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Reason to Hope – Jenetta James

Jenetta James will take us a little further back to a WWII setting in England. In this story, Group Captain Darcy meets Elizabeth Bennet in a rather different encounter but the end results are pretty much the same: she will fascinate him, and he will upset her. Elizabeth’s family is a little different in this tale and Darcy finds a new way to save Lydia…

What I loved the most about it: The setting! I confess to love stories set in the WWII era. It gave the story a certain charm and a feeling that didn’t leave even after I read 🙂

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Pemberley by Stage – Natalie Richards

Pemberley by Stage will take us to the Wild Wild West where Mr. Darcy’s stage is assaulted by the known bandit Wickham! Bingley is severely injured and Georgiana is kidnapped, but Darcy will not be alone in the quest to save his sister, he will have the assistance of Elias Bennet who soon reveals to be a very different person than Darcy initially thought.

What I loved the most about it: The companionship, regard and love that are created between Darcy and Elizabeth. I also loved the setting, the adventures and Wickham’s last moments, but Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship really stayed in my heart 🙂

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Darcy Strikes Out – Sophia Rose

In this modernization Darcy is a well-known baseball player and the last man in the world with whom reporter Elizabeth Bennet will go out with. This story will actually follow a similar premise to P&P but with small nuances that made it unique, interesting and compelling.

What I loved the most about it: That Lizzie is a journalist, Darcy is not a morning person and the incredible perfect way Sophia transported the characters and the story into the XXI’s century!!! I loved the setting and the story 🙂

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The Ride Home – Ruth Phillips Oakland

Elizabeth goes out on a date with Mr. Collins and soon realises the only way she will make it through the night is by drinking alcohol, lots of it… But not even that prevented her from getting horrified by the prick in front of her, so when the most ridiculous man on earth becomes truly insupportable, she tells him to stick his tongue up a certain place and leaves him standing.

With that she looses his ride home, but guess who will come to her rescue?

This story will focus on the ride home Mr. Darcy gives to Elizabeth and it is the sexiest story of the anthology 🙂

What I loved the most about it: Sexy Darcy! This was a hot, sexy, irresistible Darcy 🙂

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I, Darcy – Karen M. Cox

Mr. William Darcy was named after the fictional character Jane Austen developed 200 years ago and that has upset him his entire life. So when he sees several people dressed up for a Jane Austen convention he is not afraid of voicing out his opinion to his friend…but the witty, intriguing girl standing nearby happens to hear is remark and is also unafraid to tell him he is completely wrong. Of course this is just the beginning, and as the story progresses we will have the pleasure of seeing Mr. William Darcy reading and liking Pride and Prejudice!

What I loved the most about it: The moral of the story: It takes an Elizabeth Bennet to see the Mr. Darcy’s of life 😉

The Darcy Monologues is the book every Janeite has been waiting for. It is the perfect anthology for anyone in love with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and I don’t think anyone will be able to resist it.

I thought I would prefer the regency stories, so when I realised the book would have two separate parts and that the last one would be for the different era stories, I thought I would lose interest, but I couldn’t be more wrong. I enjoyed the different era stories just as much as I did the regency ones. There is a perfect balance in this book that shows a particular care in making sure every reader will find a story for his taste…I personally found them all to my taste 🙂

The Darcy Monologues is an extraordinary piece of literature written by a very talented group of authors and edited by someone who knows exactly what the readers are looking for.

'Pride & Prejudice' is very much a book written from Elizabeth’s perspective. We get the occasional glimpse into Darcy’s thoughts and feelings, but it’s Lizzy that we journey along with. In ‘The Darcy Monologues’, edited by Christina Boyd, 15 authors take on the task of giving us things from Darcy’s point of view in an anthology of short stories. Some of the stories pick up directly in/after ‘Pride & Prejudice’ while others transport us to another place and time. Here’s a quick rundown of the stories:

‘Death of a Batchelor’ by Caitlin Williams opens the book. Be not afraid, angst-weenies, at the title of this story, nothing bad happens! This story takes a look at the type of thoughts that Darcy may have been having as his marriage with Elizabeth Bennet approaches. Considering the grave doubts he first had, and the struggle he put himself through before proposing to her initially, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect that Darcy would have some worries and lingering doubts while doing his best to endure the company of his future mother law and doing the social rounds in the wilds of Hertfordshire. I thought this was a plausible look into what struggles Darcy might have had and I didn’t like him any the less for the idea that he might still have some doubts, intermingled with passionate regard and incredulity at his good fortune in securing the affections of the woman who he at one time despaired of. This was such a fantastic story to start off the anthology with; just so passionate and romantic!

The first story was a tough act to follow, but I also loved, ‘From the Ashes' by J Marie Croft. I’ve read this author’s work previously and I know how fond she is of wordplay and puns, and there was plenty of this in this story. This short story starts many years after the events of P&P with Mr Darcy reminiscing. He thinks back to the time directly after the Hunsford proposal and scornful refusal. Darcy had decided that he needed to put his side of the story across to Miss Bennet, and the letter he writes her is the precursor to the edited version that we have read in ‘Pride & Prejudice’. It is frank, and frankly, hilarious. Ms Croft’s take on Darcy has quite the sense of humour, and speaks so little because he thinks a lot of things that are not prudent to be put into words! It was a change of pace and style which I really enjoyed.

I had high hopes that I would enjoy ‘If Only a Dream’ by Joana Starnes and as ever with this author, I was not disappointed. I was initially a little discombobulated, as this story picks up at just about the same point as the previous story, although this is a variation story rather than an alternate point of view. Darcy is reeling after having his proposal so rudely dismissed, and, having delivered his letter to Miss Bennet he wants nothing more than to leave Kent as soon as possible. However, Lady Catherine tries her hand at a little manipulation, and, betrayed by an over-polished banister and a tumble down stairs, Darcy finds himself unwillingly tied to Kent for a while longer. He wants nothing more than to avoid Elizabeth, and she, having read his letter, has realised how mistaken she has been on a number of points. I think most of us enjoy seeing poor Mr Darcy being made vulnerable, and few do it so well as Joana Starnes. This was a wonderful story!

‘Clandestiny’ by Karalynne Mackrory was a very fun read, picking up at the Netherfield Ball, with Darcy fighting against his attraction to the unsuitable Miss Bennet, and she, fighting with the moldings find themselves unexpectedly having an encounter which brings them to know each other better. Again, this was very romantic, which I love!

Bearing in mind recent film releases, ‘The Beast of Pemberley’ by Melanie Stanford takes us on a timely journey into a fantasy land. Here, the Wizard Wickham has cursed the inhabitants of Pemberley, Lumiere, Cogsworth et al, but the worst affected of them all is Mr Darcy. Knowing that his disfigurement makes him an object of ridicule and pity, the proud Darcy keeps to Pemberley, but he keeps an eye on the local town with the help of his magical mirror, which is how he comes to know and love Elizabeth. She agrees to marry him to pay off her family’s debts, but there is no way she could come to love such a beast.. is there?

We move next to the meeting at Pemberley. Mr Darcy described himself as ‘A Resentful Man’ at Netherfield, but when Elizabeth visits Pemberley and meets with him again, she doesn’t find him to be so. Lory Lilian is known as the ‘Queen of Hot Mush’ and this is a wonderful example of it. So romantic! Be still my beating heart!

‘In Terms of Perfect Composure’ by Susan Adriani is another excellent story, full of romantic yearning. Here, we have Darcy getting some encouragement from the Gardiners to renew his suit, and ending up back in Hertfordshire just in time to catch the end of Lady Catherine’s visit to Elizabeth. Dare he try to talk to her again, when she seems so bent on avoiding him?

‘Without Affection’ by Jan Hahn is the last of the Regency stories, and explores a real danger in those times – the danger of dying in childbirth and how the fear of this could affect a relationship. It’s the type of story that will make you want to give Darcy a shake for how he must be making Elizabeth feel with his selfish behaviour, but at the same time, you have some sympathy for his fears. Rest assured, the desire to slap him will pass!

‘Hot for Teacher’ by Sara Angelini sees Mr Darcy as the principal of a school, Ms Bennet as the art teacher he thinks slightingly of, and George Wickham as his nemesis-slash-literature teacher-slash-resentful half-brother. The Darcy in this story was both obtuse and endearing, and I enjoyed spending time in his head.

“You Don’t Know Me” by Beau North takes us to the early 1960s in the USA. I was a little surprised by this, but I shouldn’t have been, as one of Ms North’s previous works took us to the post WW2 period. One thing I enjoy about such time travel is the chance to pick up some of the flavour of the era, the space race, and disc jockeys trying to push the boundaries of playing ‘black music’.

‘Reason to Hope’ by Jenetta James takes us back a little further, to WW2, and to England. Again, this was a good chance to pick up some of the flavour of the era. Elizabeth in this has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, which can be hard to resolve in time to make us warm to a character in a short story, but I thought Ms James did an excellent job.

We then take another jump in time and place and find ourselves in the old West, and straight into an old fashioned ambush, kidnapping, disguises, brothels, and attempted rescue! ‘Pemberley by Stage’ by Natalie Richards was a very exciting read. There is both pride and prejudice in this tale, though not the sort we are used to.

‘Darcy Strikes Out’ by Sophia Rose moves us to modern day baseball in the US. This is something I know zero about. As is stated in the story, Baseball is generally not a thing loved in the UK, however, though I had very little idea of what was going on at the beginning of the story, which starts at a ball game, I stuck with it and soon found myself in an understandable situation. I thought this story neatly touched on many of the key points of P&P.

‘The Ride Home’ by Ruth Phillips Oakland was my favourite of the ‘other-era’ reads. It was just adorable. Darcy is woken by a drunken Bingley in the middle of the night to drive to pick up Elizabeth, who has had a bad date (with a Mr Collins). Darcy is reluctant to do so, having been turned down without ceremony by her very recently, but being a true gentleman, he does so. We meet a drunken Elizabeth (having turned to martinis as a crutch to see her through her date!) and it turns out that not only is a drunken Elizabeth an affectionate Elizabeth, but she is also an Elizabeth who is very forthcoming with her views, and her secret fears of coming to love somebody who, being rich, may well leave her for supermodel Heidi Klum. Elizabeth is very sweet and funny in this story, and Mr Darcy unfailingly gentlemanly.

‘I, Darcy’ by Karen M Cox pokes a little fun at our Mr Darcy. William Darcy has been named after Fitzwilliam Darcy from the novel ‘Pride & Prejudice’. He is sick of comparisons, and sick of seeing Mr Darcy being held up as the perfect man. As time goes on, and as he gets off on the wrong foot with Lynley, he starts to consider and refine his views, and so does she. As Lynley says, Mr Darcy isn’t perfect – just forgiven. This story, which takes a look at the character of Darcy and of the lessons of P&P was a wonderful way to end the anthology.

This anthology was an excellent collection of stories. You’d definitely need to have read ‘Pride & Prejudice’ at least once to understand some of the stories, particularly some of the Regency-set ones, as they assume knowledge of what is going on. There are some instances of bad language, but not much, and a little sex, but nothing at all graphic. On the whole, I probably enjoyed the Regency stories a little more, as there was just so much romance and yearning.... sigh! I thought the standard of the stories was very high, four and five star stories, definitely. So on balance, it gets a 4½ star rating from me and I’d recommend it.

This book was certainly hyped for months. So hyped it weaved its magic on me and I couldn't wait to get started. The anthology is 1) exactly what the title implies in that all the stories are from Darcy's POV. I was afraid they'd all be told in the first person but luckily that wasn't the case. And 2) they're split up into two parts: Regency and "other eras."

I have to say I much preferred the "other eras" portion. Not that there was anything bad about the Regency part but the stories weren't as memorable as the second half. The only memorable one was the story by J. Marie Croft. Otherwise my vote is for the other era stories.

I would have to say my favorite stories were "Hot for Teacher" and "Darcy Strikes Out." The reason is simple: as a teacher I loved having a story centered on my career and "realm" (and let's face it I've fantasized on occasion of having a David Gandy-esque principal and this story did me a great favor of verbalizing that fantasy haha). Plus I adore Sara Angelini's Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy so this story was a treat. As for "Darcy Strikes Out," it's centered around baseball, my favorite sport. So these two stories certainly were the most memorable for me.

But aside from my two favorites every single story in the other eras was memorable. There was a story from pretty different historical and time periods, from WW2 to the early 60s to the 1860s. I enjoyed the variety, which is part of the reason I didn't find the Regency as memorable. That would be the reason I give this 4.5 stars and not the full 5. But they're all honestly great stories and now I know I can go back and revisit them in whichever order I choose.

A few of the stories are racy, but for the most part they're clean. I was expecting a bit more from some of the authors considering their past stories, but it's spicy enough without being "raunchy."

This anthology certainly lived up to its hype :)

I received this collection of short stories as gift for which I will be forever thankful. Christina Boyd and the 15 gifted authors within, gave voice to Mr. Darcy. Each story is unique and everyone will have their own favourite(s). The cover alone is absolutely enticing. For me, they whet the appetite and soothed the palate...Bravo!

As my favourite era is Regency, I decided to read the short stories from back to front, so I could end with my favourite time period. Each story was flawlessly executed and gave us a further look into the mind of Mr. Darcy. Since I read this book differently, I will write my review differently as well. For each of the stories, I will provide a glimpse to Mr. Darcy's feelings/actions in the order that I read them.

15. 'I Darcy' - Karen M. Cox:
Darcy delivers

14. 'The Ride Home' - Ruth Phillips Oakland
Darcy's delight

13. 'Darcy Strikes Out' - Sophia Rose
Darcy's dandy

12. 'Pemberley by Stage' - Natalie Richards
Darcy's decided

11. 'Reason to Hope' - Jenetta James
Darcy's determined

10. 'You Don't Know Me' - Beau North
Darcy's distraction

9. 'Hot for Teacher' - Sara Angelini
Darcy's dazed

8. 'Without Affection' - Jan Hahn
Darcy's dilemma

7. 'In Terms of Perfect Composure' - Susan Adriani
Darcy's discomposure

6. 'A Resentful Man' - Lory Lillian
Darcy's desire

5. 'The Beast of Pemberley' - Melanie Stanford
Darcy's daring

4. 'Clandestiney' - Karalynne Mackrory
Darcy's destiny

3. 'If Only A Dream' - Joana Starnes
Darcy's disasters

2. 'From the Ashes' - J. Marie Croft
Darcy's dumbstruck

1. 'Death of a Bachelor' - Caitlin Williams
Darcy's doubts

I highly recommend this collection of short stories to all. They can be read in any order and at any time when you just want to be in the head of the ever inscrutable Mr. Darcy. Bon appetit!

OVERVIEW:

Full of ardent admiration and love but not the talent of conversing easily, Mr. Darcy doesn’t always express himself well. And even though he is haughty, insulting, and in need of a proper humbling, Mr. Darcy is one of the most iconic and beloved romantic heroes of all time. In The Darcy Monologues an inspired collection of Austenesque authors have collaborated together to allow the brooding and reserved Mr. Darcy to have his say. United by their intimate knowledge and insightful understanding of Mr. Darcy’s character, these fifteen accomplished Austenesque authors have composed well-crafted and inventive tales that take place in a variety of time periods and situations.

MY READING EXPERIENCE:

This anthology is divided into two sections “Regency” and “Other Eras.” There are eight Regency stories and seven Other Eras stories, and all range from 15 to 35 pages in length. In the Regency section several stories can be categorized as variations and vignettes, but there is also two that are more like sequels and one that is a mash-up with a fairytale. And while most of the stories in the Other Eras section take place in modern day, there are three that take place in different time periods – 1961-62, 1943, and 1860.

Even though I was inclined to read these stories in a voracious and binge-like manner, I paced myself and only read a few stories in each sitting. I did read all the stories in order, but I’m thinking it might be more fun to mix it up next time and alternate between Regency and the Other Eras. If I were to give a star rating for each individual story, it would mostly be 4.5 and 5 stars across the board, with only one or two being 4 stars.

MY ASSESSMENT:

I’m blown away… The anticipation for this collection has been building for months, the hype is so much that I couldn’t help but have raised expectations, and yet…I’m still blown away! I can’t see how, but this collection actually exceeded my high expectations! The creativity and diversity of all these stories is utterly impressive. It is impossible for me to choose a favorite, or even five favorites! There were stories that gave wonderful laughs, some that exhibited beautifully tender scenes, some that ratcheted up the angst a bit, some that pulled at the heartstrings with sweet poignancy, some that took us to a unique setting, and some that cranked up the heat! The fact that each story is memorable and unique truly makes this collection an outstanding feat!

I think what I loved most about this collection is how well each author rendered Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. Each portrayal of this illustrious man of consequence was thoughtful, sensitive, and reverent. These stories illustrated the many different facets of Mr. Darcy’s character at different moments in his journey – both the negative and the positive. Sometimes insufferable, sometimes adorable, but always irresistible! These stories perfectly convey the reasons why Mr. Darcy is a timeless romantic hero.

CONCLUSION:

The Darcy Monologues is a tremendously impressive and compelling tribute to Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy! Brava to Christina Boyd for her inspired decision to create this magnificent anthology and for assembling the remarkable talent of these fifteen skilled story-tellers! This whole project was extremely well done! I can only hope that Ms. Boyd will one day select another Austen character “to have their say!” I wholeheartedly recommend!

NOTE: With some brief references of intimate moments and one use of profanity, I would recommend this book for PG-13 readers.

Austenesque Reviews

This collection of stories is fantastic! I am thrilled to have new authors to get to know and follow. I loved and enjoyed all of them. The toughest decision is which story and author could be my favorite! The variety and the different Darcy perspectives is a treat to my imagination. Being a Jane Austen fan, I enjoyed all the stories written around her style and time. I was pleasantly surprised to read the "Other Era" stories and enjoy them just as much, with some taking over my "favorites" list. Happily, this has become one of my go to books.

"The Darcy Monologues" was the perfect way to sneak my love of all things "Darcy" in every day. Some days I only had time to read one story while on other days, I could read many more. Each one was like opening a beautifully wrapped gift and finding a gem. Every author that Ms. Boyd so brilliantly brought to this project, was able to weave a tale that immediately draws you in and leaves you wishing it wouldn't end. They were so entertaining, I couldn't choose a favorite! Not only are there 15 stories to enjoy from Mr. Darcy's point of view, but they meander from the Regency era all the way through to modern day times - there is something for everyone. Even those who are not "P&P" enthusiasts should enjoy this collection. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy for that upcoming beach trip, day by the pool or an evening curled up on the couch!

It's everything I never knew I was missing. After discovering Jane Austen several years ago, I became enamored with her writing -- could anyone capture her world better? Could anyone else describe the back and forth of a romantic relationship with more clarity? Could anyone else create a more perfect imperfect man? The answer, of course, is no. Jane's creation of Mr. Darcy cannot be compared. However, his story can be continued. And The Darcy Monologues does just that. Through these authors and their vision, we get to dive into his very intimate thoughts on his world and on his Lizzy. Reading stories set in both the original Austen era and more current times, it's intriguing to see him in a more complete way. While I don't think Austen was lacking in anything she wrote, these women have created a whole other view of the man. I cannot begin to recommend this book more.

I loved this collection! Well written, impossible to put down. I was hooked from the very first story to the last and was left wanting more!

Christina Boyd, maven of The Quill Ink, has come up with a rich multi-course feast for lovers of all things Austenesque. *The Darcy Monologues* brings together fifteen of the hottest authors of Jane Austen fan fiction writing today. The point of the collection is to take a gander at what *Pride and Prejudice*’s story might look like when seen from the hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy’s, point of view. It is clearly pitched toward lovers of P&P: anyone who hasn’t read Jane Austen’s classic novel should be warned that in many cases, if you lack the background of the original, the situations and characters in these little nuggets of romantic goodness might be bewildering to you. Those of you who have read P&P, dive on in!

The book is divided roughly in half between stories set in Jane Austen’s lifetime and stories set in other eras. About half of the period tales start at the point in the narrative when Elizabeth Bennet has rejected Darcy’s marriage proposal at Hunsford Parsonage. So we get a series of variations on the angry, resentful Darcy who slowly learns to appreciate Elizabeth’s criticisms of his character and manners before working toward reconciliation. It’s a natural place to start a short story, but I found myself taking more pleasure in the ones that took their material a little farther afield.

I was charmed by Melanie Stanford’s “Beast of Pemberley,” which weaves a mythic fairy tale out of the warp of P&P and weft of “Beauty and the Beast.” The opening story in the book, Caitlin Williams’s “Death of a Bachelor,” takes us on a slightly warm (but not pornographic) journey through the happy couple’s wedding night; it was vividly realized and cleverly conceived. I also found Jan Hahn’s story “Without Affection” very touching; it focuses on the early years of the marriage but sees it through a frame set fifty years on. And Karalynne Mackrory’s “Clandestiny” gives us a warmer-hearted, more thoughtful Elizabeth and shows us how the same words, when spoken in a different tone, can be understood very differently. I appreciated the deftness and the wisdom.

The stories set in other eras allow for greater reshuffling of plot and characters, and personally, I found more unalloyed delight in these pages. (I am often a stickler for historical accuracy and word choice in period Austenesque fiction, so I’m easier to please when we escape the Regency; plus I miss Austen’s sardonic narrative voice in most period tales.) Here we find the characters acting out their destinies in the 1860s, 1940s, 1960s, and a variety of unspecified present days. Darcy is a Boston Brahmin attorney headed for post-Gold Rush San Francisco; a school principal; a pro baseball player; and, most often, a mogul with a successful family business. Each incarnation allows us to see a different facet of his character as well as presenting us with a spectrum of Elizabeths—all alluring, all capable, but with a range of maturity levels.

There’s something here for every taste. Ruth Phillips Oakland’s insanely inebriated Elizabeth in “The Ride Home” stepped a little outside the pale of Austen variation for me, but I adored the resourceful, courageous heroine of Natalie Richards’s “Pemberley by Stage,” a true Western adventure yarn. I also found myself attaching to the Darcy and Elizabeth of Karen M. Cox’s “I, Darcy”—they were both humble and willing to change, and the story has a nifty meta touch with their respective interpretations of *Pride and Prejudice* being integral to their character development. Cox’s tale seemed truest to the spirit of the original. Farther removed from P&P but especially delightful reading for me were “You Don’t Know Me” by Beau North and “Darcy Strikes Out” by Sophia Rose. Beau North has long since earned my respect for her impeccable period re-creations and deep characters; she doesn’t disappoint with her story of reconciliation across religious boundaries, her mixture of darkness and light. And Sophia Rose has a beautiful gift for creating natural-feeling characters and tends to incorporate into her stories people with physical challenges in a way that is profoundly humane. I love reading anything that comes from these two pens.

*The Darcy Monologues* will give any Austen lover hours of pleasure as they luxuriate in these inventive, touching, exciting glimpses into the world from Mr. Darcy’s point of view.