Three Little Gems Rescued From the Editing Room Floor!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Gift from Mom 🙂
The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh is an anthology encompassing three Pride and Prejudice related scenes that were once apart of Skylar Burris’s novel An Unlikely Missionary. In the Introduction, Ms. Burris explains that while revising An Unlikely Missionary, it became necessary for these scenes to be cut. But because they were some of her favorite scenes, she opted to tweak them a little and publish them in this compilation. These three scenes are scrumptious little morsels that will be sure to stave off your hunger for some Jane Austen!
In this forty page novelette, the Darcys meet Mr. Jonson, Mr. Collin’s successor and Lady Catherine’s new parson. Even though the attractive and charming Mr. Jonson makes every effort to be agreeable to the Darcys, they cannot help but feel uneasy and apprehensive about his presence at Rosings Park. Especially when they catch Lady Catherine frequently gazing upon Mr. Jonson with considerable pleasure! But who is the duplicitous and grasping Mr. Jonson really trying to seduce, Lady Catherine or her daughter, Anne de Bourgh?
As always, Ms. Burris’s representation of Austen characters is flawless and her new additions are well-drawn and intriguing. I greatly enjoyed the twist at the end of this story, it caught me completely off-guard! (5 stars)
This short story utterly delightful! It was fantastic to see Darcy and Elizabeth in a literary battle of wits, challenging one another, and stubbornly refusing to claim defeat! Brava to Ms. Burris for the lovely sonnet she composed! (5 stars)
After weeks of torturous separation and tantalizing letters, Darcy is finally returning home to Pemberley and his new bride! In this eight page short story we see just how eager Darcy is to be once again in Elizabeth’s embrace.
This story was fun little glimpse at the amorous and ardent relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. (Don’t worry, nothing graphic or explicit). I enjoyed seeing Darcy and Elizabeth be playful with each other, but I sort of wished this story was a little bit longer. (4 stars)
There is so much to admire and appreciate in Skylar Burris’s writing, but what I love most is her sparkling wit! Although these stories are brief, Ms. Burris’s clever and satirical writing is visibly present in each one. At such a reasonable price, this collection is sure to please any Austen admirer!
I greatly enjoyed these stories too, and they salvaged my day one particularly nerve rattling afternoon in my first trimester. Thank you, Ms. Burris, for publishing these tales, and thank you, Meredith, for the lovely review, as always!
Thank you, Alexa! It was because of YOUR review that I asked for and received this book for Christmas!
I am 90% certain that I have read these before… Were the posted online at one point? If so, they are delightful stories that I would not mind reading again. If they are not the stories I recall, then I have new items on my TBR list!