What If Elizabeth was a Pregnant Widow?
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation
THE PREMISE: A whirlwind romance and a brief but tragic time on the battlefront leads to Elizabeth being alone, pregnant, and poor. Being forsaken and disappointed by various men in her life has only made Elizabeth’s fortitude stronger. She fights fiercely for her independence and her rights, but what about love and happiness? Is there a place for them in her future…?
WHAT I LOVED:
- Daring and Different: A prior marriage, a pregnant widow, killing off a beloved character – Heather Moll took a lot of bold swings with this premise and I was thrilled about it. I love the plausibility of this premise too – I could easily believe these characters met, fell in love, acted precipitously, and faced opposition. I was immediately invested in these new challenges Elizabeth faced and eager to witness her journey through them.
- Elizabeth’s Courage: Girl has courage in abundance. She has been through it, and it has been rough! Elizabeth’s perseverance and strength are points of high admiration in this variation. Especially because she was dealing with unexpected circumstances and horrifying situations – and facing them alone. Again, her resiliency and tenacity are extremely plausible.
- Mr. Darcy’s Friendship: I loved witnessing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth beginning their relationship from this unique angle – there was no terrible first impressions, no insults, no Wickham speaking lies. Their connection is through another and it is shared through the unique experience of grieving immense loss. I loved witnessing their developing appreciation and affection for each other.
- Mr. Darcy’s Understanding: Mr. Darcy was patient and selfless in such admirable ways in this novel. He understood that he didn’t fully understand Elizabeth’s pain and fears. He never doubted or discredited what she was feeling or going through. And he was the very definition of putting someone else’s needs and desires before your own. Mr. Darcy in all ways acted as a caring, compassionate, and considerate friend. I loved this portrayal of his character.
- Compelling and Poignant: Beyond courtship and marriage, this variation touches upon some troubling hardships and realities – a tragic death, traumatic experiences, unjust legalities, and limited rights for women. These experiences were very moving to witness and created some strong tension.
WHAT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:
- Some Quibbles: There was a lot of repeated statements and thoughts about Elizabeth vowing to “never again” marry or submit/allow herself to being in “another man’s control/power.” It was repeated in some version almost every chapter, and felt a little unlike Heather Moll’s usual style. I think the reader would be able to infer or understand this point on their own without it being brought up and stated so frequently. In addition, if I wanted to pull at a thread it would be the implausible inactivity of some parties – one for naively assuming Elizabeth was being taken care of by others who have vowed to never care for her, and others for completely doing nothing. While their absence is explained away, the fact that they weren’t frequently corresponding, expressing any concern, or sending any type of assistance didn’t make sense. We are talking about a serious tragedy for someone they love. But I get it, Elizabeth being more isolated and unsupported is more dramatic and compelling.
- Elizabeth’s Stubbornness: I cannot claim to fully understand all of Elizabeth’s feelings, and it is clear that the trauma she has experienced has left real scars. While I understand her need to achieve her own independence and placing such a tunnel-vision focus on being self-sufficient, I wish we saw those feelings balanced with some acknowledgement of logic, internal struggles between her trauma responses and reason, or awareness of her own irrationality. Her obstinacy grew to an extreme, almost self-destructive state.
NOTE: A few scenes towards the end of this book are best suited for Mature Audiences.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
📖 A moving tale of unfathomable hardships, resilient strength, and selfless devotion.
⚔️ Even though she left the battleground behind her, Elizabeth has a staggering amount of internal and external battles to fight in this tale.
✍🏼 I truly loved so much about this daring premise. I hope Heather Moll continues to write stories that are complex and complicated.
I also read and liked this book. The amount of trauma Elizabeth experienced after the death of her husband was astounding. I had no idea she would be abandoned in such a manner, especially after giving her assistance to the army during her marriage. I also disliked her extreme stubborn stance about being independent. She was willful to the point of endangering herself and her child. It was a very good book and, even though pretty angsty, I’m glad I read it.
I also read this story and enjoyed it.
The premise of this is SO unique and intriguing, and I very much look forward to when I’m able to get to it {juggling the immense TBR}! I especially love the idea of Elizabeth and Darcy becoming friends first, without all the Pride/Prejudice drama 🙂
As you know I’m not an angst lover but I did love this book! Darcy was my dream man, caring, considerate and compassionate as well as loving. It was a pity that Elizabeth was so stubborn but when you know what she went through, cast out in a foreign country at her age and pregnant, as well as the things she had to do to get them both home it’s definitely easy to see how trust would come hard!
Yes, this does sound like a different and interesting situation for Elizabeth and Darcy.
Thanks for your review and posters’ thoughtful comments. I have been on the fence about reading this because I don’t like wading through alot of angst. I’ll likely give it a go and see how it goes.
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Apologies for weird post prior. I’m not sure what happened there.
I have also read this book, and had the same likes and dislikes that you had with it. Overall, I liked the book and premise much more than disliked.
Whilst understandable that Elizabeth would not wish to be under the power of a man agin and would rather be independent, I did find it frustrating that she continued in this vein without acknowledgement of the hardship she would be putting her child through. That Charlotte did not point out the hardship to her child instead of harping on about how Elizabeth needed a man was incredibly frustrating. Also, Darcy could have pointed out the benefits for her child by marrying him also. I find it hard to believe that such arguments would not find solid ground with Elizabeth despite her stubbornness in this book. Yet, nobody adequately pointed it out to her, nor did she stop to adequately consider it herself.
This was my favourite book so far this year. I loved the angst.
I agree that Elizabeth was so focused/fixated on some aspects that she didn’t see benefits of others. Charlotte was tough to deal with later in the story. This is one story that it helps if you are in a mood to read the trials that Elizabeth goes through to appreciate it more. I do like how Darcy was so patient with her.