What If Someone Attempted an Assault on Elizabeth Bennet?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Gift from Author

With admirable daring and sensitivity, author Christie Capps begins her story with our dear heroine just experiencing a very traumatic and terrifying attack. (Potential readers should be made aware that the attack does not happen on page, but its effects are described – i.e. torn clothing, bruises, emotional damage.) An attack like this sadly, is not implausible for this time period, or for the world we live in now. Lizzy’s proclivities to ramble outside alone, unprotected, and away from visibility place her in a vulnerable situation, just like walking alone at night do in our time. While this is not a story Jane Austen herself would have written, I applaud the Christie Capps for choosing to write a variation in this vein because, in reality, it is something that probably did happen during this time.

While this story does have a traumatic beginning, a rescuer comes onto the scene just a few minutes after the attack. And this rescuer is none other than the man Elizabeth Bennet has for weeks now enjoyed despising. But the events of this day have changed our Lizzy, and instead of frustration or dislike, she immediately feels comfort and security when Mr. Darcy holds her in his arms and takes charge. *Sigh* Mr. Darcy’s rescue of Lizzy is such an incredibly tender and gentle scene. Be prepared to swoon, dear readers! I don’t want to give away all the lovely bits, but I will say that I love how Mr. Darcy would do and be whatever Lizzy needed or wanted of him. It just made your heart melt! One of my favorite exchanges were when Lizzy would say something like “I cannot…” and Darcy would simply reply “Then do not.” This quick and brief reply spoke greatly of his love and compassion.

If anything, I wanted to see more of this premise developed. It had a serious and dark beginning, yet as we might expect, progressed into a happy ending.  But it all happened a little quicker than I would have liked. Elizabeth’s feelings for Darcy, the repercussions from her attack – I would have loved to witness her growing in love and understanding and her healing process take a more leisurely pace. I adored seeing Darcy as such a strong and patient protector, and I loved witnessing Elizabeth find comfort in his words, actions, and his arms. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptions of what Lizzy felt, heard, smelled when she was in his arms.

Ms. Capps created quite a beautiful and inspiring journey for these two characters, and truly it is a compliment to her writing that I wanted it to last another hundred pages more. Yet, at the same time, I know Ms. Capps intends for these novellas to provide short and sweet reads for when readers don’t have a lot of reading time available. And truth be told, that is precisely why I read For Pemberley this week. I did not have a lot of reading time over the weekend and wanted to read and review something, so I decided a novella from Christie Capps would suit me perfectly – and it did! 🙂  I guess I am a bit contradictory at the moment!  Nonetheless, I applaud Ms. Capps for selecting a darker premise and her wonderfully thoughtful and sympathetic approach. It was well done indeed!

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