“Heaven and Earth” Is Lady Catherine About to Become a Likable Heroine?

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Prequel, Secondary Character

THE PREMISE: Thirty years before Elizabeth Bennet met Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine Fitzwilliam was expecting a prearranged marriage proposal that would secure her fate and future and satisfy her family’s aspirations. But when that proposal never happens, Lady Catherine’s life becomes unsettled and she becomes untethered. Trying to avoid scandal and spinsterhood, Lady Catherine’s journey takes her in unexpected new directions of honesty, discovery, and love.

WHAT I LOVED:

• A  Villain Origin Story: I was so thrilled when I heard about this book. A prequel about Lady Catherine? Her own coming of age? Yes, yes, yes. I’ve always wanted to ask Lady C – “who hurt you?” 😆 or “why are you the way that you are?” 😝 I love that Paige Badgett decided to take up her pen and tell us all about Lady Catherine before she became Lady Catherine.

• Family Dynamics: Were Lady Catherine and Lady Anne always close? Was Lady Catherine’s own mother as domineering and protective? What was it like growing up in a aristocratic family as the daughter of an earl? There is definitely some interesting stories to tell here. New perspectives, new backgrounds, and new developments. I loved all of Paige Badgett’s choices, and I appreciated seeing how the difference of class, expectations, and even generation all had their impact on Lady Catherine’s character and future choices.

• Sir Lewis de Bourgh: Not going to lie… I’ve never had much interest in Sir Lewis and always assumed he was something of a dullard. BOY, was a I ever wrong! He is dashing, playful, charming, honorable, and a very swoony man of action. An Austen hero worthy of the name. He was a perfect blend of Austen hero qualities – Mr. Knightley’s independence, Colonel Brandon’s understanding of grief, Mr. Tilney’s affability, and Mr. Darcy’s preference for obstinate, headstrong women.

• The Anti-Heroine: It was easy to understand. It was he easy to feel sympathy. It was easy to care. She may be something of an antagonist in P&P, but to learn about the pain and challenges Lady Catherine faced thirty years prior sheds a whole new light on this haughty, domineering, and condescending character. I love how Paige Badgett took such a hard and unlikable character and exposed all the hidden soft spots. I feel like I completely understand, forgive, and support the Lady Catherine we later know.

• Celebrated Frankness: Something Lady Catherine is ICONICALLY known for. In P&P we observe her habit of having decided opinions and dispensing unsolicited advice. It was interesting to learn that there was a time where Lady Catherine wasn’t so good at being frank and forthright and to see how and why that changed.

• Everyone Else in 1782: How fun that Paige Badgette included some tidbits of the other characters we see later in P&P. I loved how we heard mention of an eligible landowner in Hertfordshire being pursued by a very young flirt, observed Lady Catherine’s newest friend receiving a marriage proposal from Lord Metcalfe, plus many others.

• Coming Full Circle: While we are busy forming our favorable opinion about the Lady Catherine of this prequel, we eventually remember that there needs to be another evolution of sorts as her character needs to return to the Lady Catherine know and loathe. The events and circumstances Paige Badgett put in place were brilliant, plausible, and poignant. She brought the character and the story just where it needed to be so masterfully. It broke my heart…but in the most beautiful way.

WHAT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:

“Let me be rightly understood…” absolutely nothing.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

🤔 Lady Catherine spent the first twenty years of her life striving to be dutiful and perfect for her family, now we see what happens when she starts thinking for herself.

👏🏼 Exquisitely crafted and skillfully composed – brava, Paige Badgett – you are revolutionizing our understanding of a difficult and hard-to-love character.

🪭 You can be at no loss, dear readers, to understand that I give this thoughtful and inimitable Pride and Prejudice prequel my highest recommendation. Also, both Lady Catherine and I will be “most seriously displeased” if you don’t give it a try!

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