Of Scribblers, Schemes, and Suitors

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Gift from Publisher

TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation

THE PREMISE: With her father’s passing and the situation at Longbourn being unbearable, Elizabeth and Jane have moved in with the Gardiners in Cheapside. But our dear girl isn’t one to accept their charity freely – she puts her talents of observation and wit to use and writes a popular column for The London Herald under the alias of Mr. Pennywithers – a fictitious valet to a gentleman. Because the anonymous Mr. Pennywithers is known for being a truth-teller and a gossip columnist with honor, Miss Georgiana Darcy seeks him out in hopes that he can help correct the misinformation that other gossip columns have carelessly and injuriously posted about her brother…But in order for Mr. Pennywithers to do that, he must form his own opinion about Mr. Darcy first…

WHAT I LOVED:

• Elizabeth’s Situation: I was immediately intrigued by Elizabeth having an occupation of sorts in this variation. And also the circumstances that brought her to seek out this work. What a brilliant way for her to exercise her cleverness – much more fitting for her than becoming a governess or companion. But at the same time it is also a much more scandalous choice that makes her all the more an unsuitable marriage prospect.

• A Pemberley House Party: There is nothing I love more than a Regency house party! The pleasure-seeking schemes and the personality/relationship dynamics are so vastly entertaining to witness! Especially in this story, where the Matlocks, Bingleys, de Bourghs, and Bennet sisters all visit Pemberley at the same time! And what makes it even more exciting is that several of these guests are coming with agendas and goals they hope to achieve…

• Elizabeth’s Revelations: Story-time with Elizabeth was one of my favorite segments in this variation. She had me captivated. But poor girl has been through it! The last few years have had a lot of challenging situations and damaged relationships – no wonder Elizabeth is in a place where she feels she cannot hope or trust. These new developments to her character were interesting to explore and still felt very authentic and plausible.

• Mr. Darcy’s Listening Skills: *swoon* Oh how I loved seeing Elizabeth unburden herself to Mr. Darcy. I loved how a new dimension of her past was revealed to us one story at a time. I loved how hearing of Elizabeth’s harrowing hardships and distressing experiences always prompted Mr. Darcy to give some sort of physical comfort. And lastly, I loved that Mr. Darcy had his own past traumas that he shared in his own story-time with Elizabeth too.

• Every Scene with Richard Fitzwilliam: This energy. This emotion. I want more of it. I’m being purposefully vague to avoid spoilers, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the development of this character, these new challenges he was dealing with, and his relationships and interactions with other characters – especially Miss Bentley!

• Games, Romances, and Schemes: So eventful! So much to delight and entertain! Shuttlecock games, drawing contests, curricle races, chess matches – I loved the competitive games featured in this tale. It was a wonderful way for the characters to interact and display their personalities. And during all the fun and games, there is plenty of machination and manipulation happening – whether it be to bring forth a desired match or discredit an assumed opponent.

WHAT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:

• Cohesion: Between Elizabeth’s past and journalism career, Georgiana’s request to Mr. Pennywithers, and the house party contests, there was a lot going on. Maybe some more page time was needed to join it all together and come full circle so-to-speak. I would have loved to see more of Georgiana towards the latter half of the book and follow through with her initial concerns about her brother. And maybe see Pennywithers write one more column about either Mr. Darcy or his maligners!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

💭  Julie Cooper continues to dream up some of the most inventive, captivating, and clever stories – what a creative mind!

❤️‍🩹  Elizabeth works through both her scars and secrets in the most admirable and inspiring way in this tale!

🎩  Is Mr. Darcy as dangerous as the scandal sheets say? Yes! Yes, he is. But only to readers everywhere who want to be ardently admired and loved by a principled, considerate, and feeling man.

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